My Food CV

My second crowdfunding campaign ran in September-October 2016 and sought to raise £1,000 to fund the purchase of a smoker and the construction of a “Fire Kitchen” for my restaurant, Gloucester Studio. The campaign was successful and I raised £1,235.

In May 2016 I ran my first wild cookery lesson. The idea is that I’ll teach a group of friends how to cook over real wood fire at a location where they’d like to cook in future (most commonly, in their garden. I bring all equipment and ingredients to cook a meal not just for them but for any family and friends who wish to join them.

In September 2015 I successfully crowd funded my first book: The Pyromaniac Chef Cook Book. My team and I worked to a somewhat crazy deadline and photographed, edited and produced the book in just two months.

In May 2015 I decided that I wanted to focus on food and decided to call myself the Pyromaniac Chef. My main objective was to get my restaurant Gloucester Studio past pop-up status to become an official Gloucester restaurant (this was finally achieved in April 2016) but there were to be lots of fun projects. I created a candle called ‘Sweet Bonfire’ which smells like sandalwood, coffee and toasted marshmallows and began drafting ideas for a cook book.

In November 2014 I had the idea of opening a restaurant from the Kota Hut in my back garden. I sent a press release and upon getting a really positive response, opened my doors. My first customers came through the door of Gloucester Studio in January 2015.

In September 2011 I spent a fortnight travelling around Turkey after my fiancé suggested I have a last big adventure before settling down (we got married that December and I found I was pregnant with our son early in 2012). I had an incredible time visiting Istanbul, Pammukale, Ephesus and Cappadocia and fell in love with the country and its amazing food.

I was working in my first marketing role and we had limited budget for an event. I quietly mentioned the Masterchef thing and that I’d be happy to cater. I loved every minute of the Halal Middle Eastern feast I put together.

I moved to Kuala Lumper for practical reasons. I was doing PhD on Malaysian Political Economy and in the aftermath of a relationship breakup it was an affordable place to live which made sense given I needed to do fieldwork there. But I fell in love hard. I’m happily settled in the Cotswolds but I’ll never be 100% at home in the UK again and I rather like that.

Masterchef was terrifying but since it’s about as scary an activity I can imagine so I’m a far braver person as a result of doing it.

I did a two year cookery course alongside my A Levels and it absolutely filled the gaps in my gastronomic upbringing. While it only covered the basics, it gave me the confidence to try my hand at anything.

I had a lovely childhood. My grandparents owned a villa in Spain so we went there every summer and ate paella cooked on the beach over wood fires. My love of trying new dishes was always encouraged and I don’t think I ever ordered off a children’s menu.