For many years now I have been obsessed with food.
Creating it, eating it, photographing it, reading about it, watching shows about it, reviewing it and travelling to places just to try it.
I’ve been lucky enough to eat at some amazing places over the years; Le Gavroche, The West House, Waterside Inn, Epicure, Le Manoir to name but a few plus countless other gems.
Quite often I find myself day dreaming about meal combinations and ideas; dishes I can put together. ‘Pinning’ recipe ideas on Pinterest, having the Great British Chefs website as a ‘favourite’ and declining social invitations just to stay in to watch Masterchef.
Spending time, money and effort hosting dinners for my friends so I can spend the day prepping and the evening receiving compliments on my food.
What on earth could I do to indulge my passion and hobby?
I have worked in the Banking industry since I was 16, which is a long 28 years now. This was back in the day where there were jobs a plenty and it seemed quite fashionable to work for a bank as it a ‘job for life’ they said.
I didn’t have any real passions at 16; it was all about working, money and having a social life. Next in life generally comes mortgages and other financial responsibilities so by the time you do become passionate about something, it’s almost impossible to change careers.
Next in life generally comes a family and by then your needs are almost at the bottom of the list of importance and quite rightly so for a period of time.
Fast forward 28 years and redundancy is looming. Gone are most of the financial responsibilities and the children are grown up and at university. This is finally THE time to indulge in my passion.
How can I do something that fits in with my life-style and that allows me to be my own boss; to work when I want to work? I haven’t the time or inclination to start right at the bottom, working long hours in a professional kitchen; if I were 20 again then I certainly would. The buzz, the smell and the adrenaline would excite me but at 44 I don’t have the commitment.
Having visited and been inspired by a few home supper clubs, I decided this was the perfect route for me.
To enable me to become a better cook I enrolled at Le Cordon Bleu, the leading culinary arts school in the UK to study a Le Cordon Bleu diploma, one of the industry’s most revered qualifications.
The rest of the story is yet to be written & I look forward to meeting lots of new people on my journey.
