Writer, Researcher, Girl about Planet... Chef
I have always cooked but I didn't want to work in a hot and noisy kitchen. I also loved research and relished the idea of working alone. So when studying for my A Levels and doing a Prue Leith cookery course it didn't occur to me to look at catering colleges; cooking was a hobby and I was going to do a degree. But the cooking kept creeping in. I travelled throughout Southeast Asia for my academic work and did a cookery course wherever I went. One day while procrastinating over my masters thesis I decided to write an application to take part in Masterchef. I got as far as the semi-finals and think what blew it was me talking about the PhD I was planning to do in the 'passion test' (I didn't get kicked out at a cooking round).
I don't hesitate before saying I'm a chef these days. It took me a while to put it together but I'm getting my head around the idea that we can design our careers to be what we want them to be. So I'm a chef (with a very tiny restaurant in my back garden). I also describe myself as an academic (despite not working for a university) and still undertake work as a consultant because I still love marketing (the career I fell into).
I don't hesitate before saying I'm a chef these days. It took me a while to put it together but I'm getting my head around the idea that we can design our careers to be what we want them to be. So I'm a chef (with a very tiny restaurant in my back garden). I also describe myself as an academic (despite not working for a university) and still undertake work as a consultant because I still love marketing (the career I fell into).