We interview Grace a content creator, recipe writer and food stylist currently enrolled on Essential Cooking online.
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Meet Grace, aka @Gracie.in.the.kitchen, a content creator, recipe writer and food stylist based in Plymouth, UK. Grace is currently enrolled in Essential Cooking, and has just completed Week 19. We've loved keeping up with Grace's journey through her video updates week by week which you can find across her instagram account. Read her interview here…
Until now I’ve been entirely self-taught, so I thought it was about time I invested in myself and got some training. I wanted to have some credentials to show that I’ve put the time in to learn proper technique and am credible in the kitchen. I debated it for months - even though I knew it was exactly what I wanted to do - and finally decided there’s no time like the present. So if you were looking for a sign to get started, consider this as it!
I’d definitely say I lean more towards relaxed, family-style food. To me, food is the way we connect with people we love so I thrive making honest food with big flavour that everyone will savour. My family and friends keep asking when I’m going to open a restaurant, but I’m not sure that translates to a cohesive menu!
I used to be in food marketing. I worked for two family-run brands, one in agriculture and one in food retail. Through that role I had the opportunity to take on recipe development and food styling (with an amazing photographer, Lara Jane Thorpe) and had work published in multiple magazines. I’ve always loved food, cooking and feeding people, but realising I could make a career out of it really lit a spark in me and I’ve been creating food content ever since. After being made redundant there, I moved to a corporate marketing role and now write, photograph and film food content with every spare minute I have.
My favourite part of learning online with Leiths is the confidence it’s given me.
Helpful feedback from my mentor at my fingertips while learning new skills that challenge and excite me has really helped me to push myself. My cooking is better than ever. I’m really proud of how far I’ve come, and the only way is up!
This is going to sound vague but going back to basics! Excellent food is built on solid foundations. Stripping it back and learning proper technique for things like knife skills and setting good habits with mise en place have really helped me take my cooking to the next level. There are, of course, specific things such as fish filleting, chicken jointing and pastry making that I know will stay with me forever.
Once I’ve completed the course I’m really keen to go for the full accreditation! From there, I’ll certainly be putting my skills to good use in my own content creation and recipe development. I’m hoping to use some of the time I was devoting to learning to get back to hosting supper clubs with mouthwatering seasonal menus. More than anything, I would love the chance to work with more brands and partners to develop incredible food that is accessible to everyone.
I would absolutely recommend Leiths Online to anyone who is passionate about food and looking to further their skills in the kitchen! Having the knowledge and experience of the Leiths team combined with the flexibility of learning from home has been amazing. Life is busy, being able to learn at my own pace, around my schedule, has provided an opportunity for development that I wouldn’t have otherwise been able to take.
