Me
Student food blogger documenting my gap year foodie discoveries. When I'm at home I'm an obsessive baker but, as a current gap year participant, work and travels have taken me a little further afield. I'm off to Bristol University in September to study French and Italian, so I'm spending this year travelling, learning languages and, of course, eating! My main destinations this year have been Italy, France and the UK (Cornwall, London and my home in Worcestershire).
For my first summer I spent three months waitressing and surfing in Cornwall, tackling the challenge of fast, healthy and budget cooking in the staff house kitchen. You can try the recipes and read about my findings here.
After that I journeyed further afield to stay with an Italian family in Umbria, Italy, helping out around the house and with their eleven year old daughter. The italian hospitality I experienced was nothing short of incredible, instantly welcomed in like a member of the family: learning to cook with the Italian grandma, assisting the olive harvest, being invited for meals with countless members of friends and family, all wanting to feed me and offer their hospitality... it's all a bit overwhelming really. Take a look at my Italy page here to see the recipes I've discovered, and there are also lots of local Italian hints and tips thrown in for good measure... including a jaw-dropping Pizzeria near Montefalco.
That took me pretty much up to Christmas and, after a quick stint at an Italian school in Milan, I quickly found myself on a somewhat unplanned and insanely last minute 3 month ski season. Hence the quiet period earlier this year… apologies for my absence, I can assure you my dedication to food never waned… the bursting of my salopettes on week two is evidence enough.
After a painful lent in the alps of giving up bread, cakes and potatoes (too reluctant to buy new salopettes!) I returned home entirely obsessed with skiing, and full of mountain withdrawal symptoms, but hugely excited for the next adventure.
It was time to get serious (well, kind of). I spent three wonderful weeks working with Muddy Boots Foods, Crouch End (if you haven't been, please do, they're a pioneering meat shop making butchered goods sustainable, delectable and entirely accessible to even the most squeamish) and then had a wonderful day leading a workshop at Made in Hackney, an inspiring London based charity truly offering classes for all, no matter what budget… food as it should be. To round off my London stint in style, I joined Jamie Oliver's food team on work experience for Food Revolution Day and the week that followed. This had been two years in the planning and proves that good things do come to those who wait. I learnt so much and had a ball calling my passion 'work'. I'm thrilled to say I've been back since for assistant styling work and I'm loving every moment working in such a creative environment, doing what I love.
For my first summer I spent three months waitressing and surfing in Cornwall, tackling the challenge of fast, healthy and budget cooking in the staff house kitchen. You can try the recipes and read about my findings here.
After that I journeyed further afield to stay with an Italian family in Umbria, Italy, helping out around the house and with their eleven year old daughter. The italian hospitality I experienced was nothing short of incredible, instantly welcomed in like a member of the family: learning to cook with the Italian grandma, assisting the olive harvest, being invited for meals with countless members of friends and family, all wanting to feed me and offer their hospitality... it's all a bit overwhelming really. Take a look at my Italy page here to see the recipes I've discovered, and there are also lots of local Italian hints and tips thrown in for good measure... including a jaw-dropping Pizzeria near Montefalco.
That took me pretty much up to Christmas and, after a quick stint at an Italian school in Milan, I quickly found myself on a somewhat unplanned and insanely last minute 3 month ski season. Hence the quiet period earlier this year… apologies for my absence, I can assure you my dedication to food never waned… the bursting of my salopettes on week two is evidence enough.
After a painful lent in the alps of giving up bread, cakes and potatoes (too reluctant to buy new salopettes!) I returned home entirely obsessed with skiing, and full of mountain withdrawal symptoms, but hugely excited for the next adventure.
It was time to get serious (well, kind of). I spent three wonderful weeks working with Muddy Boots Foods, Crouch End (if you haven't been, please do, they're a pioneering meat shop making butchered goods sustainable, delectable and entirely accessible to even the most squeamish) and then had a wonderful day leading a workshop at Made in Hackney, an inspiring London based charity truly offering classes for all, no matter what budget… food as it should be. To round off my London stint in style, I joined Jamie Oliver's food team on work experience for Food Revolution Day and the week that followed. This had been two years in the planning and proves that good things do come to those who wait. I learnt so much and had a ball calling my passion 'work'. I'm thrilled to say I've been back since for assistant styling work and I'm loving every moment working in such a creative environment, doing what I love.
The Blog
I've been trying to get a blog going for a few years now, trying and failing with names and concepts. I was always trying to be something, finding a new niche. But the problem was that the food 'scene' was just too good, finding something 'new' was near impossible and, as a result, I wasn't really cooking anything at all, too hung up on my search for a concept. So I decided to just blog. As me, just me, no concept no niche. To some, this may seem like a mistake, but it got me cooking again and I figured that if I just cooked what I wanted to cook, a 'niche' or an 'angle' might appear in time. Perhaps it's the age thing? Or maybe the languages? To be honest, I'm still not sure, but I'm having a ball.
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