Question 1

How significant was food to you when you were younger?

Answer

Oh, I’ve always loved cooking since I was a very small girl. From cooking with my Mum as she created wonderful meals (apparently out of thin air), to watching my Dad as he made incredible Sunday roasts with gravy to die for! I was inspired to learn how to cook from a very young age. So off I went to Bath College and I’ve worked in the food industry ever since (Actually, I always wanted to teach Home Economics, but I didn’t get the A levels required!).

Question 2

Tell us about your personal journey with food

Answer

It was later on in my life, right after my son was born, that I seemed to put on weight like there was no tomorrow! As a single parent with a full-time job, I didn’t really have time to think about the food I was choosing and, like many new mums, fell into the trap of grabbing quick convenience meals and snacks and grazing throughout the day – just to get some energy to keep going. I knew that I was stuck in a rut, but I didn’t know how to get out of it. Then my weight seemed to be getting the better of me and my ongoing symptoms, such as rosacea, were getting worse. I realised I was yo-yoing from diet to diet, trying all sorts of things – from cutting out certain food groups to restricting calories – all in the hope of one of them being the magic answer. I just wanted to get on with my life and not feel tired, irritable, overweight or anything else ever again! Only, of course, these ‘quick fixes’ didn’t give me the freedom I yearned for.

Question 3

How did food change your life?

Answer

I really fell in love with delicious food in its purest form. As a result, I lost weight and felt fantastic! And guess what? My rosacea also cleared up and so my confidence came back! Crikey! Who knew food had the power to do all of this? The more I thought about it, the more obvious it seemed – we aren’t actually taught how our bodies really function. Or why our energy goes up and down? Or why we get period pains? Why we can’t sleep? Why we feel down or irritable sometimes? Instead, we are taught mainly about disease. But, even then, we aren’t taught about what contributes to disease and what we can do to help prevent it, and we certainly aren’t taught what we need for peak and amazing health! I really wanted to learn more. Then. Guess what?! I then discovered I could train to do this! I mean really learn about how what we eat affects how our body functions – by studying nutritional therapy. So, with absolutely no thought whatsoever, I embarked on a four-year course in Functional Nutritional Medicine in London. Did I mention that I also had a 14-year-old son and we lived in Dorset? And that I hadn’t done anything remotely academic for over 20 years, and then needed to study for, oh, at least 100 hours a week, while also having a full-time job? Despite this craziness, I began my journey to find the answers I knew we all needed (if I needed them, I just knew others would too). Graduating with distinction in 2013, I finally fully understood how certain foods and ingredients may contribute to metabolic processes, imbalances and dysfunction in the body.