Intro: 15 Facts & A Strong Opinion on Salad

It’s funny, I spent years thinking about leaving PR to pursue a career in food, and the vision for the kind of cook I want to be, where I’d love this career to take me, and the overall goal were all very clear - but what wasn't clear was where to start.

If I were to pull out my phone and show you my FYP on Instagram, you’d see about 70% food-related content, 10% cycling/running/skiing content, 10% interior design, 5% fashion content, and 5% montages of life-altering live music performances from the past five decades. It’s a split that represents who I am both online and offline rather accurately.

But since you're here, and since no one cares what my FYP consists of, I figure I should start with an introduction. LunchLately is the front-facing food blog; I'm the personal chef and recipe developer behind it. For the past four years, my Notes app has quietly collected every recipe idea and meal concept that's ever popped into my head - no matter the time of day (or night) - and I'm thrilled they're finally about to see the light of day.

So, before we get into all that, here are 15 random facts to help sum up who I am: the person behind the screen, who spends 70% of her time thinking about or looking at food, and the remaining 30% doing other things she really loves.

1. In my 30 years, I’ve lived in 20 different houses I’ve called “home”

2. My first language is French, but my better language is English

3. I studied abroad twice in university; once in London, and once in Rome. I now live in London again

4. I have been fortunate enough to make really wonderful friends everywhere I’ve moved, but I’m even more fortunate to call a big chunk of them “childhood friends”

5. I fell in love with running 12 years ago; I’m good at it, but I don’t do any organised races

6. I also train in the gym 4-5 days per week, and I cycle and ski a lot (seasonally, of course) - can you tell I have a hard time sitting still?

7. My favourite cities in the world are London, Paris, Rome, and Tokyo, but I’d choose to be in the mountains or by a body of water over a city almost every time

8. I really believe that food is what brings people together and allows us to experience different walks of life through a culinary journey

9. I grew up in a wine family - my grandfather retired at 50 years young to become a winemaker - so wine is a big part of my life; pairing food with wine is an art I will never tire of

10. My comfort TV show is Friends

11. I listen to a lot of music, but you won’t catch me listening to any of the new Gen Z pop stars 

12. I developed a severe sweet tooth after graduating from university, and I’m just waiting for my metabolism to pull a Benjamin Button on me

13. I’m very sarcastic

14. My dream is to live locally in a quaint town in France or Italy for some time one day

15. I love taking risks risks, and when I start to feel comfortable, I get the itch to change something... which usually triggers a domino effect. Taking LunchLately from passion project - cooking for friends, writing recipes for fun - to a full personal chef career, is one of these risks, and I couldn’t be more excited.

There you have it - the 30% of me that isn’t thinking about food. If you’re curious about the other 70%, have a look around: you’ll find the LunchLately story, a growing collection of recipes (straight from the Notes app!), and some information about my services.

If you’re looking for someone to do the cooking for you, reach out - I’d love to work together!

Most importantly, thank you for being here. It means the world.