The event organiser, Lope Ariyo Cookery School, has the legal responsibility to tell ticket buyers and event attendees how their personal information will be collected and used. You can find their Privacy Policy below or contact them to request it.
Last Updated: February 2026
1. Introduction
This privacy policy explains how Lope Ariyo (trading as 'Lope Ariyo Culinary and Creative Group') collects, uses, and protects your personal information when you visit our website or participate in our cookery classes. We are committed to ensuring that your privacy is protected and that your personal data is processed in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.
We may update this policy from time to time by updating this page. You should check this page periodically to ensure that you are satisfied with any changes. This policy is effective from February 2026.
2. Who We Are
Data Controller: Lope Ariyo, trading as Lope Ariyo Culinary and Creative Group
Brand Name: West African Cookery Classes with Lope Ariyo
Website: events.lopeariyo.com
Email: hello@lopeariyo.com
For any questions about this privacy policy or how we handle your personal data, please contact us at the email address above.
3. What Personal Information We Collect
We may collect the following personal information from you:
- Name
- Email address
- Telephone number
- Dietary requirements and food allergies
- Health-related information relevant to your participation in cookery classes
- Postal address (when purchasing merchandise or physical products)
- Payment information (processed securely through our payment processor)
- Photographs and videos taken during classes (with your consent)
- Feedback and responses to surveys or questionnaires
4. How We Collect Your Information
We collect information about you in the following ways:
- When you book a cookery class through our ticketing platforms (EventBrite, ClassBento, or TicketTailor)
- When you sign up for our newsletter or email communications via Kit (formerly ConvertKit)
- When you complete feedback forms using Google Forms or Typeform
- When you interact with our website (events.lopeariyo.com) built on Webflow
- When you communicate with us via email or other channels
- When you participate in our cookery classes and provide dietary or health information
5. Legal Basis for Processing Your Data
We process your personal data on the following legal bases under UK GDPR:
5.1 Contract Performance
We need to process your data to fulfil our contract with you when you book a cookery class. This includes processing booking information, dietary requirements, and payment details.
5.2 Legitimate Interests
We have a legitimate interest in running our business efficiently, improving our services, and maintaining records for accounting and tax purposes. This includes keeping booking records and financial information.
5.3 Consent
Where we send you marketing communications, use your photographs or videos for promotional purposes, or process sensitive health information beyond what is necessary for class participation, we do so based on your explicit consent. You can withdraw your consent at any time.
5.4 Legal Obligation
We are required to keep certain financial records for tax and accounting purposes under UK law, which forms the legal basis for retaining some of your information for specific periods.
6. How We Use Your Information
We use your personal information for the following purposes:
- To process your bookings and provide you with the cookery classes you have purchased
- To ensure we can cater to your dietary requirements and allergies during classes
- To communicate with you about your bookings, class details, and any changes to scheduled classes
- To send you marketing emails about upcoming classes and special offers (only if you have opted in)
- To improve our services based on your feedback
- To maintain financial records for accounting and tax purposes
- To use photographs and videos for marketing and promotional purposes on our website, social media, and other marketing channels (only with your explicit consent)
- To process orders for merchandise or physical products
7. Who We Share Your Data With
We do not sell, distribute, or lease your personal information to third parties. However, we share your information with the following trusted service providers who help us operate our business:
7.1 Ticketing and Booking Platforms
- EventBrite: For processing class bookings and ticket sales
- ClassBento: For processing class bookings and ticket sales
- TicketTailor: For processing class bookings and ticket sales
7.2 Payment Processing
- Stripe: For secure payment processing. Please note that we do not store your complete payment card details; these are handled securely by Stripe in accordance with PCI-DSS standards.
7.3 Email Marketing
- Kit (formerly ConvertKit): For managing our email newsletter and marketing communications
7.4 Website and Automation Tools
- Webflow: Our website hosting platform
- Zapier: For automating workflows between different platforms
7.5 Feedback Collection
- Google Forms: For collecting feedback and survey responses
- Typeform: For collecting feedback and survey responses
7.6 Accounting
- Xero: For accounting purposes. Note that payment transactions from Stripe do not include participant personal data.
All of these third-party service providers are carefully selected and are GDPR compliant. They are contractually obligated to keep your information secure and confidential and may only use your information to provide services to us. We do not share your data with venue partners, ingredient suppliers, or insurance companies.
8. Data Security
We are committed to ensuring that your information is secure. We have implemented appropriate technical and organisational measures to safeguard your personal data, including:
- Using secure, encrypted connections (SSL/TLS) for data transmission
- Working only with GDPR-compliant third-party service providers
- Using secure payment processing through Stripe, which is PCI-DSS certified
- Limiting access to personal data to only those who need it for legitimate business purposes
- Regularly reviewing our security practices to ensure ongoing protection
9. How Long We Keep Your Data
We retain your personal information for different periods depending on the purpose for which it was collected:
9.1 Booking and Class Participation Data
We keep records of your class bookings, dietary requirements, and participation indefinitely for the following legitimate business reasons: maintaining a record of our business activities, providing you with information about classes you have previously attended if you enquire, complying with our legal obligations for financial record-keeping (HMRC requires us to keep business records for at least 6 years), and improving our services based on historical data.
9.2 Marketing Data
If you have subscribed to our marketing emails, we will keep your contact information until you unsubscribe. When you unsubscribe, we will remove you from our marketing list immediately, although we may retain a suppression record to ensure we don't accidentally contact you again.
9.3 Financial Records
Under UK tax law, we are required to keep financial records for at least 6 years. This includes records of transactions and payments, which may contain some personal information.
9.4 Right to Request Deletion
Despite our general retention practices, you have the right to request deletion of your personal data at any time, subject to our legal obligations to retain certain information (such as financial records for tax purposes). If you wish to exercise this right, please contact us at hello@lopeariyo.com.
10. Your Rights Under UK GDPR
Under the UK GDPR, you have the following rights regarding your personal data:
10.1 Right of Access
You have the right to request a copy of the personal information we hold about you. This is known as a 'subject access request'.
10.2 Right to Rectification
You have the right to request that we correct any inaccurate or incomplete personal information we hold about you.
10.3 Right to Erasure
You have the right to request that we delete your personal data, subject to certain legal obligations that may require us to retain some information (such as financial records for tax purposes).
10.4 Right to Restrict Processing
You have the right to request that we restrict how we use your personal data in certain circumstances.
10.5 Right to Data Portability
You have the right to request that we transfer your personal data to another organisation or directly to you in a commonly used, machine-readable format.
10.6 Right to Object
You have the right to object to our processing of your personal data where we are relying on legitimate interests as the legal basis.
10.7 Right to Withdraw Consent
Where we are processing your personal data based on your consent (such as for marketing communications or use of photographs), you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time.
To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at hello@lopeariyo.com. We will respond to your request within one month. If you are not satisfied with how we have handled your request, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK's data protection regulator, at ico.org.uk.
11. Cookies and Tracking Technologies
Our website uses cookies and similar tracking technologies to enhance your browsing experience and help us understand how our website is used. A cookie is a small file that is placed on your computer or mobile device when you visit our website.
11.1 Types of Cookies We Use
Essential Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function properly. They enable you to navigate our website and use its features.
Analytics Cookies
We use Google Analytics to understand how visitors use our website. This helps us improve our website and services. These cookies collect information anonymously.
Marketing Cookies and Pixels
We use tracking pixels and cookies from Facebook, Instagram, Google, and TikTok to measure the effectiveness of our advertising campaigns and to show you relevant advertisements on social media platforms. These cookies may track your browsing activity across different websites.
11.2 Managing Cookies
Most web browsers allow you to control cookies through their settings. You can set your browser to refuse cookies or to alert you when cookies are being sent. However, please note that if you disable cookies, some features of our website may not function properly.
For more information about cookies and how to manage them, visit www.allaboutcookies.org or www.youronlinechoices.com.
12. Photography and Video Consent
During our cookery classes, we may take photographs and videos for use in our marketing materials, including on our website, social media channels (such as Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok), promotional materials, and advertising. We will always ask for your explicit consent before using any images or videos that feature you.
If you provide consent for us to use your image, you can withdraw this consent at any time by contacting us at hello@lopeariyo.com. Upon receiving your request, we will stop using your image in future marketing materials, although we may not be able to remove images that have already been published or distributed.
You are under no obligation to consent to being photographed or filmed, and refusing consent will not affect your participation in our classes.
13. International Data Transfers
Some of the third-party service providers we work with may store or process your data outside the United Kingdom or European Economic Area (EEA). When we transfer your personal data internationally, we ensure that it is protected to the same standards as it would be in the UK.
All of our third-party providers (including Kit, Zapier, Stripe, EventBrite, ClassBento, TicketTailor, Webflow, Google, and Typeform) are GDPR compliant and have appropriate safeguards in place, such as Standard Contractual Clauses or adequacy decisions, to protect your data.
As we expand our online class offerings internationally, we may process personal data from participants outside the UK. In such cases, we will ensure that appropriate protections are in place for all personal data we process.
14. Children's Privacy
Our cookery classes are currently designed for adults aged 18 and over. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 18 without parental consent.
In the future, we may offer classes specifically designed for children. When we do, we will ensure that we obtain appropriate parental consent before collecting any personal information from children under 18, and we will implement additional safeguards to protect children's privacy in accordance with UK GDPR requirements.
15. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this privacy policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, legal requirements, or for other operational, legal, or regulatory reasons. When we make changes, we will update the 'Last Updated' date at the top of this policy.
The latest version of this policy will always be available on our website at events.lopeariyo.com. We encourage you to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how we are protecting your personal information.
16. Contact Us
If you have any questions about this privacy policy, how we handle your personal data, or if you wish to exercise any of your rights under UK GDPR, please contact us:
Email: hello@lopeariyo.com
Website: events.lopeariyo.com
Data Controller: Lope Ariyo, trading as Lope Ariyo Culinary and Creative Group
We aim to respond to all enquiries within one month. If your request is complex or you have made multiple requests, we may need additional time and will notify you accordingly.
This privacy policy complies with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.