Hello! I'm Elisa.
I started The Trailing Apron as I wanted to share the recipes, ingredients and flavors I’ve learned to love and cook with during my travels. My goal is to help connect you to delicious, diverse and healthy (maybe some not so healthy, but flavorful) recipes at home.
Who is the Trailing Apron?
My name is Elisa Sanwick and I’m the passionate owner of The Trailing Apron. I’m an ingredient and food hoarder, yes you read that right! My favorite “alone” time is going to the grocery store scouring every inch of the international section and buying ingredients and stocking up “just in case” I need it for later. But hey, it makes me happy and more than once my ingredient hoarding has come in handy while living overseas!
My passion for cooking and helping people has led me to this journey of providing private and group cooking classes for anyone who loves food. I started this journey teaching nannies and housekeepers in my travels to Turkey, Jordan, Argentina and Mexico. I bring the flavors from all world right to your kitchen.
My core services include teaching nannies & housekeepers how to cook healthy American foods, comfort meals from home, and tasty cuisines from around the world. My clients have benefited from both private classes and group classes. Additionally, I provide personalized and interactive group cooking lessons to my community for adults and kids. I absolutely enjoy sharing some of the tips and tricks I’ve learned and giving classes allows clients to experience my travels through food!
I am a mother of 3 kiddos, lover of food and anyone who loves to eat and cook. Some of the best memories I have had are sitting around a dinner table, or any table with food, and connecting with family and friends! I have always said you can bring peace to the Middle East by sitting down together and enjoying a meal. Maybe not any time soon, but I like to think at the end of the day, food is the common language that connects us together. ?
Where It All Began
My passion for cooking, food, and helping people has led me on a path to creating The Trailing Apon, LLC (TTA). I started TTA while living in the Middle East. My amazing nanny made delicious Sri Lankan food but I found that my family was missing healthier options. With two young kids, a baby on the way, and being a working mom, I wanted to find a way to teach my nanny how to cook healthy and delicious recipes for my family, save money and provide my nanny with valuable cooking skills she can take with her. With the help a friend, we worked out a plan to start teaching my nanny some new recipes and the results were amazing for everyone! Most importantly I saw how proud my nanny was to learn and create something new and delicious. She was proud of the dishes she created and gained the skills she needed to help her in her journey.
Don’t Cry For Me, Argentina
After the Middle East, we moved to South America, and this is where TTA really blossomed! While we were living in Argentina, I craved the ingredients and recipes my family enjoyed in the Middle East, my family Mexican favorites and overall familiar food that was not readily available in Argentina. I searched the local stores and markets for ingredients to replicate the recipes I enjoyed. I finally created a feast of Middle Eastern Kebabs, Creamy Hummus, Tangy Lebneh, and finally fresh Tabbouleh! It brought me and my family back to our time in the Middle East and I wanted to share that with other families. Realizing the need for familiar ingredients, and tasty recipes from home, I tested and created a list of recipes. With the benefit of speaking Spanish I started providing lessons to nannies and housekeepers during our time there. As a result, more and more clients wanted to learn how to make the recipes themselves. That is when I started to give small classes out of my kitchen. It was amazing to see the smile on their faces when they learned they can have hummus and guacamole in Argentina! I also started experimenting with some family recipes and was able to create my mom’s Mexican recipes of red chile enchiladas, homemade Mexican rice and guacamole. Home is where the Mexican food is.
What I Offer
Virtual, Personalized Cooking Classes
Have a dish or cuisine you would like to learn? In a recipe rut and need new recipes? Let’s cook together!
Housekeeper/Nanny Cooking Classes
Would you like your housekeeper or nanny to learn delicious and healthy meals for your family? They will learn the basics.
Private & Personalized Cooking Classes
Ready for a fun, interactive date night? Want to hang with your girlfriends and learn something new? I come to you!
Testimonials
“The Trailing Apron classes helped transformed eating-in for our family in Buenos Aires. Through a series of classes with Elisa, our domestic helper learned how to make sushi, Thai, kebabs/hummus and tacos. Each course was tailored to our goals, needs and preferences. We are still enjoying delicious and healthy dinners from The Trailing Apron recipe book nearly two years later.”
“I loved every class I took with The Trailing Apron!!! Elisa is patient, kind and beyond organized in her classes. Her recipes are always something she has made with her mom or recipes she has developed during her travels. Elisa takes time to not only share her recipes with you, but also gives you time to learn exactly how to prepare for the meal.. chopping veggies, prepping meat, safety in handling foods and more. Her classes are fun, informative and always end with an amazing group meal!! So while you may come in a stranger.. you leave as family. I highly recommend spending time with The Trailing Apron.”
“The Trailing Apron is an incredible service which not only gives families superior meal options but really helps supports the ex-pat lifestyle. After one session our picky eater mentioned how much the Middle Eastern food tasted like “home.” And after the sessions we really felt grateful for our helper and understood how committed she was to our family!”
Let’s Cook Together!
Cooking is MY love language and I want to help you create great food and good memories!