Location: Switzerland
Profession: Home Baker
Social Profiles
About
I like a thick slice with salted butter or butter with some sea salt sprinkled or just the bread simply with nothing. I bake for myself, my daughter and my friends ( anyone who likes my bread)
My Work
I am based in a small village just outside Geneva where I have lived for 25 years. I orginally come from South West Wales. I have always been interested in food and cooking mainly for my family and just out of a curiosity for how things are made and from an interest in travel and country cultures. I have lived and worked in Italy and France as well as Switzerland. I was introduced to sourdough on a one day course at the Hobb House bakery in 2012 which I was supposed to do with my sister who runs a café but when she dropped out I did it anyway. I tried on and off without much success. Lots of life changes too from that period to now.
My interest revived when I decided if I was to pursue my idea of creating a project where my 18 year old daughter could work with me I needed at least to master making sourdough myself. November 2022 I decided to make one loaf a week until June 2023 and not give up. In about the beginning of June I started to produce loaves that I could share with family and friends. Summer 2023 I thought about next steps. My objective this year is to get my daughter interested in baking too and see where people with special needs could enjoy/ add to the process. Joining the sourdough school course would give me more knowledge and increase my enjoyment and understanding and strengthen my conviction.
Passionate about Baking as Lifestyle Medicine
I am surprised at how much pleasure and satisfaction the process of making bread gives me. I have my dream project and although I don't know if I will be able to achieve it I think the journey may be enough or who knows where it will lead. I am very interested in the much wider implications of what we eat and am keen to know much more. I heard once about a school that teaches the whole curriculum through the medium of food ( although I have since never managed to find any information on such a school) and I often think of how appropriate this could be. Baking as Lifestyle Medicine will allow me to reflect on all of these strands and perhaps lead me to a practical path to follow
My Community
Today, I don't have a community but through my work ( in a school) and local leads I could build one. The idea of creating a bakery where special needs people could work and build a centre around is my rough idea as I take on this course.
How I use BALM Protocol
This will become concrete as my knowlege develops.