One Step Forwards, Two Steps Back

“Do not fear mistakes. You will know failure. Continue to reach out.” – Benjamin Franklin

After what feels like a lifetime of laborious job hunting, still nobody wants me.

I am really starting to dread and despise the word ‘experience’.
I can’t get experience until someone gives me a chance, and I can’t get a chance, without experience!

Even companies who’ve interviewed me have said that there’s absolutely nothing wrong with me; I really impressed them; I would have been a great fit… Someone else had a little more experience.

All I want is to work with food. I love food. Eating it, cooking it, experimenting with it, tailoring it to people’s needs, moulding it into something that people love. I want to be part of the process, from seed to stomach, of creating what ends up on your plate and in your tum, hopefully doing wonderful things to your health!

In a nut shell…

I started, at an early age, accompanying my mum in the kitchen. The cake recipe I use now is still the one in ounces that she taught me. My fish pie, that my boyfriend loves, my mum’s. I was enthralled by Miss Makowski’s Food Tech lessons at GCSE, and carried this on to A Level, cementing my position as teacher’s pet! We went on trips that allowed us to cook with Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsey, and I was sponsored to attend a summer school with Heston Blumenthal. I loved it!

It was a no brainer for me to study Human Nutrition at university. On my first visit to Manchester for the open day, I fell in love with the city, so Manchester Metropolitan it was. I was amazed by the science behind food - the physical characteristics of ingredients and how their molecules interact and change cleverly during cooking to make the food we love, and loathe, to eat every day and take for granted. And, food's effect on our bodies - I am a firm believer that the lifestyle choices we make are a huge factor in determining our health status, and that with a little help, we can improve their quality and longevity of life, by making simple changes to our diet.

After finishing my degree (and getting a First, with a Certificate of Excellence, I might add!), I took an admin job so that I could become financially stable and stay up North. With rent and bills, and no more student loan, it had to be done!

Outside of work I am constantly cooking, baking, researching (and job hunting!) and using my friends and colleagues as guinea pigs for my inventions. I also bake products on demand when people need them. Now that I am self-sufficient, and settled, it is time for me to concentrate on my career, and start doing something that I love.

As I rethink my approach, and my life goals, I have ‘rebranded’ my blog, so that you can also follow my personal journey, as well as my foodie posts. If anyone has any advice for me, I would love to hear it!