Thermomix Archives - Page 6 of 6 - One Girl and her Thermie

Tasty Thursday: Christmas Gifting Video

Recording of my Tasty Thursday workshops; a regular slot where I offer themed virtual demonstrations of Thermomix TM6. This week, I was delighted to be joined by my friend and TM5 owner, Kerry New.

Please find below the recipes we cooked together. It was nice to share the call with someone else and I thoroughly enjoyed working with Kerry, my dear friend. She’s received her TM6 after our video call and I believe delighted with the upgrade.

Hot Orange on a stick https://cookidoo.co.uk/recipes/recipe…
Caramel Fudge https://thermobliss.com/the-best-ther…
Chocolate Body Scrub https://onegirlandherthermie.co.uk/ch…
Irish Cream http://thermofun.com/thermofun-bailey…
Berry Liqueur https://cookidoo.co.uk/recipes/recipe…

If you would like to book a demonstration or find out more, please contact me on Ankita@onegirlandherthermie.co.uk or call/text/ WhatsApp me on 07977 563537.

Thermomix is a direct sales business

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How many times have I been asked if Thermomix is a pyramid scheme so I wanted to set the record straight; we are a direct sales business. Thermomix is a direct sales business. Let me explain.

Direct selling is selling products directly to consumers in a non-retail environment. Instead, sales occur at home, work, online, or other non-store locations. That is why as a Thermomix Advisor and Team Leader, we offer demonstrations, called Cooking Experiences to showcase the product. This in non-Covid times is a face-to-face demonstration at your home or mine, whether we cook three or four recipes in the comfort of a home environment and you get to see, touch, hear, smell and taste the recipes we cook together. In Covid-times, we have also gone online offering a virtual cooking experience via Zoom.

Having been an Advisor for over 12-years and sold to countless delighted customers, I love to think the sales process is enjoyable, pressure-free but gives you a chance to make informed purchase decisions. Some customers buy on the spot – even halfway through the demonstration, others take the time to make this considered purchase – a day later, a week, a month…I have customers who have even come back to me 5 years later. Don’t believe me? Please read my independent Google reviews.

How direct selling works

Direct selling eliminated several intermediaries involved in product distribution, such as regional distribution or wholesales. Instead, products go straight from the manufacturer to the direct sales company, then to the distributor or representation, and then finally to the consumer. The products sold through direct sales channels are usually not found in typical retail stores, which means finding a rep is the only method to buy the product.

Sounds like Thermomix, doesn’t it? Yes, absolutely. In this case, Vorwerk is the manufacturer of Thermomix and actually wholly own their direct sales channels and distribution network. Around the world, we have regional offices which are subsidiaries of Vorwerk; here in the UK, it is Vorwerk UK our head office. I am an authorised and recognised agent of Thermomix UK, which is why I have an Advisor ID: 8000000068 (previously 210220044).

Direct selling takes place when individual salespeople reach out to consumers. In the Thermomix business model, we use the single-level and host or party-plan model to achieve this, and Advisors are paid a commission on closed sales.

Thermomix Cooking Experiences

Single-level direct sales are performed one-on-one through an in-person presentation or online meeting. Host or party plans are made in a group setting, usually involving the agent going to the potential customers’ homes.

I personally, offer and enjoy both.

Hosting a Thermomix Cooking Experience with 3 friends enables you to qualify for a host gift which could be a Thermomix cook or branded accessory, but it also allows you and your friends to have groupthink. Having friends around may encourage them to ask questions, that you alone may not have considered. That can be useful. Plus, there’s also enough food from the demonstration once I have left to enjoy a nice lunch or dinner with your guests; after all, we do cook a 3-course meal in under 45 minutes in the kitchen, so think of it as a private dinner party where we cook your meal. It’s usually the host who may make a purchase decision first as they have researched the Themromix or are familiar with it, which is why they are hosting a demo in the first place, but occasionally guests do buy too at a later date.

However, for those not keen on getting a group together, I am always happy to do one-to-ones with your immediate household too. The advantage of that is that I can really personalise the demonstration to you and your needs, and get to know you. After one-to-ones, I not only come out of a demonstration, usually with a sale but also a friend too having spent one and half hours with you swapping holiday & travel tips, school recommendations, or decorating tips. I often come out of one-to-one, not as the sales representative of Thermomix but as a customer myself, buying services from you; anything from booking a family photoshoot, locking in a solicitor for house conveyancing, or music tuition recommendations, so you never know where the demonstration will take you or me. It’s one of the things I love best about this role. It’s a chance to meet like-minded individuals and spend a few hours getting to know them.

Direct sales sometimes are mistakenly referred to as multi-level marketing (MLM) or network marketing, but these terms are not interchangeable. While MLM and network marketing are a form of direct sales, not all direct sales systems involve MLM. For instance, in the Thermomix transaction, which I would call single-level marketing, the sales agent is only paid a commission on the sale they personally make – i.e. a sale of a Thermomix. We do not take any commission on any accessories or books that you buy at the point of sale or later on. I am very clear about that. I believe in being transparent and honest. It’s also the reason why many of my customers refer me to their friends and family, neighbours, and work colleagues.

This is the same reason we are not a pyramid scheme. Most pyramid schemes will keep the income stream going by charging fees and requiring distributors to regularly purchase a certain amount of products – even if they don’t need it. Again, once you have bought your Thermomix, that’s it. (Unless you want another or an upgrade…)

There is a recruitment opportunity, but we only mention that as a method of purchasing. There are 3 ways to buy a Thermomix. One payment, Ikano finance and Earn and demonstrate program as I did. I have been an Advisor for so long, that we have had upgrades during my time in the business. So whilst, I did purchase my very first Thermomix as a customer and then became an Advisor. In the past, I have earned by Thermomixes by selling in an incentive period and this is a great way to either join the business for the business opportunity or earn your Thermomix so pay with your time, not your wallet.

Benefits of direct selling

The beauty of a direct sales business like Thermomix, especially in the current climate, direct selling offers important benefits to people who want an opportunity to earn income and build a business of their own. In these uncertain COVID times, it’s the perfect opportunity to earn a little extra on the side, if you have been furloughed or made redundant, and looking for a stop-gap until you find your next job.

So like well-established direct sales companies such Amway or Avon, Vorwerk/Thermomix is just like any other business opportunity where you have honest, hard-working individuals selling a fabulous product they truly believe in. Someone who just wants to do good, honest work. Anyone can be an Advisor and I have men and women in my team, who work full-time, part-time, or were house persons before they took this role. The role fits in around their main career and family life. We have all ages and all ethnicities. But together we form the most amazing and supportive team. We form a Thermomix family.

Your sales representative or Thermomix Advisor in this instance is a known entity. A real person. When someone makes an inquiry, has a cooking experience with me, or purchases, I save your details. Not in a stalker way, but it means that if you email, call or text me, you don’t have to explain who you are and go through identity checks to an unknown call-centre operative before you explain why you are contacting me. I already know who you are and we can just take it from there.

My name is Ankita. I have been a Thermomix owner for over 12-years and an Advisor just 2-months shy of that. I live and breathe Thermomix and that’s why I am an Advisor; to share my passion for this innovative kitchen robot with anyone who eats. I hope you’ll join me on this Thermomix Advisor journey.

Contact me at Ankita@onegirlandherthermie.co.uk, or call/ text/ Whatsapp on 07977 563537, if you would like to join the business, book a Thermomix demonstration with me or place an order with me.

Thermomix Friend launched

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Today, the manufacturers of Thermomix, Vorwerk, have announced they are currently engineering the next Thermomix accessory, Thermomix Friend, which is estimated to arrive in the UK, early-2021.

A wonderful addition to our smart, connected kitchens, Thermomix Friend is a Bluetooth enabled docking station that works alongside your Thermomix TM6 or TM5.

The Thermomix Friend is a smart device, a true friend to you, your Thermomix, and your kitchen. This accessory allows you to double up cooking alongside your Thermomix. The Thermomix Friend is connected by Bluetooth to your Thermomix TM6 and using the onscreen instructions, you will be guided to add ingredients to one bowl or the other. This is parallel guided cooking with Cookidoo recipes to simultaneously cook two dishes side by side, or you can simply use it manually.

The Thermomix Friend is designed to save you time and make things even easier in your kitchen. While your Thermomix works efficiently on one side, you can use the Thermomix Friend on the other side for cooking, simmering, and stirring the ingredients to get them ready to incorporate when needed. With ingredients ready quicker, you have even more time to serve delicious meals to family and friends. They’ll all wonder where you’ve gotten a second pair of hands from! Get ready to double the wonder whilst putting in half the effort.

The cost of the Thermomix Friend is as follows:

Thermomix Friend, £360
Thermomix Friend plus TM bowl, £529.

The Thermomix Friend is not yet available to purchase in the UK, but since it’s launch and press release in September 2020, I have received a number of messages from my client base regarding this. I have therefore created a pre-order list of any of my clients who want to be the first to get their hands on it. I am not planning on taking any money, just simply names so when it is released, I come to you first.

Contact me on Ankita@onegirlandherthermie.co.uk or call/ text/ WhatsApp on 07977 563537 to be added to the pre-order list.

Lifetime Achievers Awards – Level 6

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Enjoy a demonstration with Ankita Stopa, UK’s leading Diamond Advisor and Team Leader and now the first in the country to reach Level 6 of the Lifetime Achievers Award.

I’m super proud to announce that I am the first Advisor in the UK to reach the newest level for the Lifetime Achievers Awards – Level 6.

The achiever’s awards began at the launch of the TM5 in September 2014 and are in recognition of an Advisor’s lifetime achievements.

These can be celebrated at the following levels:

Level 1- 10 sales
Level 2- 25 sales, 2 recruits
Level 3- 50 sales
Level 4- 100 sales, 10 recruits
Level 5- 250 sales, 25 recruits
Level 6- 500 sales

It so wonderful to not only enjoy what I do, I really do love sharing my passion for healthy cooking with the time and cost savings of the Thermomix with anyone who will listen BUT also be rewarded and recognised for my commitment to the business.

Thank you to Thermomix UK and Ireland for this. I’m so, so happy.

Thermomix: Your Best Friend in a Crisis

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Thermomix in a Crisis For all those Thermomix owners out there right now, I thought I would share this article here – Thermomix: Your Best Friend in a Crisis. I hold my hands up that I didn’t write this and don’t know who has (I did ask but haven’t had confirmation yet), but I thought it was important to share with you how Thermomix makes healthy home cooking, fast, easy and fun. It is the perfect solution for any household and invaluable as we plan to cope with the Coronavirus crisis and potentially long stretches of self-isolation.

(For my own views and rambling – see the other post)

Thermomix: Your Best Friend in a Crisis

Why?

Anyone can cook a nutritious meal from scratch.

Yes, anyone just needs to follow our guided cooking instructions on the screen. This means that even if the main cook becomes poorly the family can still eat well and stay well with healthy mealtimes

You can cater effortlessly for your special occasions at home.

With Thermomix you can celebrate with restaurant-quality food effortlessly. Starter, main courses, dessert. Thousands of possibilities plus cocktails too! Entertaining at home reduces your contacts with the outside world and with Thermomix self-isolation celebrations can be memorable!

What we choose to eat is now even more important! With Thermomix healthy food is easy and effortless.

What we eat does make a difference to our wellbeing and ability to fend off illness. Fresh vegetables and fruits are key to boosting our immune system and with our Cookidoo recipe platform, there is plenty of inspiration for how to include and create healthier meals and treats.

We can make our own kitchen basics.

With the possibility of food stores limiting some basics we can be reassured that with Thermomix we can make many basics ourselves. From yoghurts, bread, stock paste, sauces and so much more!

Store cupboard mealtimes with Thermomix.

Should food shopping not always be possible we can rely on Thermomix to help create delicious meals from store cupboard ingredients. The search function on Cookidoo enables you to type in the main ingredients to hand and then it lists the possibilities.

Enjoy your own takeaways or ‘fakeaways’ with Thermomix.

Perhaps you are unsure of the safety now about getting those takeaways in for the family? With Thermomix pizza nights, Indian feasts and Chinese are all easy and healthier!

A chance for the whole family to enjoy cooking.

With many of us spending more time at home there will be more time to enjoy cooking as a pastime. Inspire the children and encourage and teach healthier eating. With Thermomix cooking is fun with perfect results every time!

Thank goodness for Thermomix! The smartest kitchen appliance that will quickly become your best friend in the kitchen and especially in these uncertain times. Available with a bespoke, personal service to help you use your Thermomix to its full potential.

#Thermomixathome Cooking experiences tailored for you online by our expert advisors.

Store cupboard staples

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It appears that we must all prepare for the arrival of the Coronavirus pandemic lockdown in the UK. It hasn’t happened officially but with our European partners locking down one by one, it’s inevitable. Panic buying has already started, toilet paper seems to be the top purchase item on the public’s shopping list but as a foodie, I’m all about the food. I have a large pantry and a deep freezer, so I personally bulk buy anyway (yes, I’ve had Costco Membership for years), but given the current climate, I wanted to share some of my hints & tips for being able to stay home and still eating well. Here is my store cupboard staples list.

Kitchen and pantry essentials

Please find below a list of the most used, versatile, and budget-friendly pantry staples. Keep these pantry essentials on hand for quick and easy meals!

Tinned foods:

Tomatoes – Tinned tomatoes in the juice are a versatile ingredient. They can take centre stage as a simple sauce for pasta as well as being an ingredient in dishes like Bolognese or chilli.
Fruits – Tinned fruit keeps for ages and will count towards your five a day. During the winter it can be a good way of getting more exotic fruits in your diet like peaches, apricots, and pineapple. Just make sure the fruit is tinned in fruit juice rather than syrup.
Tinned fish – Tinned tuna is a useful ingredient to have to hand, whether you use it for a simple tuna sandwich filling, to top a salad or jacket potato or for more substantial meals like a tuna bake or in a tomato-based pasta sauce. Don’t just stick to tuna: oily fish like salmon, sardines, and pilchards are also a good choice. The important thing is to choose fish that have been tinned in water, tomato sauce or unsaturated fats like sunflower or olive oil rather than in brine to keep the salt down.

Dry foods:

Beans & Pulses are a good ingredient to bulk out meat dishes as well as being a vegetarian source of protein. Dried pulses keep well too but when they are tinned in the water they are ready to eat making them a quick and easy choice.
Nuts and seeds: Always a great stand-by to keep in your kitchen. Use as instant nutrition when you have no time to cook, but wonderful added to your food, both savoury and sweet, cooked or raw.
Herbs and spices: Adding flavour is important when it comes to cooking with less salt. Dried herbs and spices are an inexpensive way of doing that and have the advantage of keeping for a while if they are kept well sealed and out of direct sunlight.
Pasta: Higher in fibre than white pasta, whole wheat pasta is a filling choice and will keep for a long time in your cupboard ready for a quick evening meal. Use it as a starchy accompaniment for main meals as well as having it cold in pasta salads.
Flour: flour can be useful for making bread, pancakes, and scones, as well as to thicken a white sauce or casserole. I bake a lot, so I have everything from plain flour to self-raising, bread flour which contains a higher percentage of gluten and also specialty flours such as wholemeal and pizza flours, to rye flour for my sourdough baking. I also have ‘chappati atta’ for all my Indian bread.
Dried fruits such as sultanas, apricots, figs and dates are all useful for adding sweetness to breakfasts, stewed fruit and adding to stews and casseroles. While dried fruit won’t have the vitamin C that fresh fruit does, dried fruit still contributes to your five a day and can also be a source of nutrients like fibre and iron.

Fresh fruit and vegetables

Onions A basic ingredient that contributes towards your five a day, onions are a versatile ingredient whether you are making a cooked dish or a salad. They keep well stored in a cool, dark place without needing to be refrigerated. You can also buy fresh and freeze to increase the shelf life of onions.
Potatoes: Whether they are baking potatoes, sweet potatoes or new potatoes, these root vegetables keep well when stored in a cool, dark place. Eat them with their skins on to benefit from some extra fibre. Again, these again are frozen if making french fries/ chips, or wedges; grated for hash browns to increase the shelf-life. Obviously can also be bought as frozen versions

Fridge

Eggs, whether that be for breakfast, lunch and dinner eggs, are quick to cook source of protein and keep well. Use them when they are at their freshest for poaching and for a Spanish omelette, boiled or scrambled if they are nearing their use-by date.
UHT Milk, whether it’s for hot drinks, on cereal, or to make a white sauce, milk is in most of our fridges. Using low-fat milk like semi-skimmed, 1% or skimmed milk will help to reduce the amount of saturated fat in your diet. It might seem like a small change but because milk is such an everyday food the benefits can add up.

Freezer goods

Frozen vegetables can sometimes have more nutrients in them than fresh and will count towards your five a day. Having a bag of peas in the freezer means you will never be short of a vegetable to serve with your main meals and you can also use defrosted frozen peas as an addition to salads as well as to make a filling soup.
Ice-cream. Yes, you can hardly call ice-cream a staple food group but who hasn’t felt better grabbing a spoon and eating right out of ice-cream tub. There’s a reason why it is called a comfort food and in this climate, I think we all deserve a hug from a tub.

In the coming days, I will be uploading more recipes to this blog and also posting on my new social media ch

One Girl in the Mix

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Vorwerk UK and Vorwerk International have recently changed their social media policy, which means for socials such as Facebook and Instagram, I am no longer able to use the name Thermomix or any abbreviation of Thermomix, such as Thermie within my business name.

This has had a huge impact on the workforce on the ground, who like me have been running their Independent Thermomix. Some of my best friends in the business have been Thermomix Advisors for years with names like ThermieChef to LivingwithmyThermie or Thermbalina. All these will have to be changed in the next few months.

After much deliberation that I have finally worked up the name, “One Girl in the Mix” for both my Facebook and Instagram accounts. It was a resounding yes from all of you that I needed to keep the One Girl in my name, so it was either One Girl and her Journey (detailing my journey with Thermomix…and if you say it fast enough, it sounds like Thermie) or One Girl in the Mix, which is what my Instagram followers voted for. I never thought I’ve ever say that sentence. I have followers; I have a tribe. Yay!

I’ve managed to get a quick redesign of the logo, so you can now see a little icon that now bridges the two brand names. Yes, it is a picture of me in a Thermoix. Smiling back at you.

This domain will remain unchanged, as will my contact details and other accounts – does anyone even know that I have a YouTube channel? Probably a good thing. But given what’s happening in the world right now (read Coronavirus) I do have plans to revive my YouTube and go live (argh…) to get us through things.

Despite really liking my new social name, it is a huge blow to my business as the name ‘One Girl and her Thermie‘ has been around for longer than most of the staff who make these decisions have worked at Vorwerk UK. It will mean I have to build up the hashtags (#onegirlinthemix) and the audience to get the rankings for the business, which leads many of you to this page.

I’ve been demonstrating Thermomix for more than 10 years now, so in those times have seen the business change from a family run company and Thermomix as a distributor owned by John & Janie Turner to having 3 different Sales Directors under Vorwerk UK as a fully-owned subsidiary of Vorwerk International. With these transitions, we’ve also had countless Marketing hats. But I am a fan of change, given my marketing expertise (I am Chartered Institute of Marketing qualified), I welcome to see what the new marketing guy has up his sleeve. He certainly has the experience having worked for Tupperware before so hopefully has a grasp of dealing with distributors and business partners with a sales force of over 40,000. Let’s hope with having worked with a much larger remote workforce, he’ll have the energy and the patience to grow our Thermomix in the UK, raising consumer brand awareness through recruitment.

I go back to my marketing training. Bruce Tuckman, an educational psychologist, identified a five-stage development process that most teams follow to become high performing. He called the stages: forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning. Team progress through the stages is shown in the following diagram.

Let’s hope the storming stage which this hiccup in the social media strategy has had will be on the upward curve soon, so we can get back to the performing stage.

So whichever social you follow, please do leave a comment. Or when you are cooking and posting yourself, hashtag me so I can see what you’ve been making. All of this will help the algorithms do their thing.

Stay well and keep cooking up a storm, Ankita

Sintra and Friendships

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Another organised outing during our Lisbon Vorwerk Incentive Trips weekend was a visit to Sintra and Pena Palace.

With its rippling mountains, dewy forests thick with ferns and lichen, exotic gardens and glittering palaces, Sintra is like a page torn from a fairy tale. Its Unesco World Heritage-listed centre, Sintra-Vila, is dotted with pastel-hued manors folded into luxuriant hills that roll down to the blue Atlantic.

We visited the Palacio Nacional da Pena is one of the finest tourist attractions in Portugal. It exemplifies the 19th century Romanticism style of architecture. The palace is a hedonistic mix of vividly painted terraces, decorative battlements and mythological statues, all of which stand at stark contrast to the lush greens of the Parque de Pena forest.

The interior of the Pena Palace is equally as fascinating, being restored to reflect the decor in 1910, when the Portuguese nobility fled to Brazil to escape the revolution. Surrounding the Palacio da Pena are forested grounds, which continue the design ideals of Romanticism, with hidden pathways, mystical ornaments and stunning vistas.

One of the things I love about these trips is that I get to experience things I wouldn’t usually do. I love to travel but my heart lays in the long-haul. If anyone asks me where I want to go next the answer would be Bali or Malaysia. So by having the opportunity to go on Vorwerk Incentive trips means I get to experience places I wouldn’t dream or generally want to go to. Lisbon has been one of those pleasant surprises. It’s never been on my to-do list and quite frankly I’m not a big fan of heritage sites but being brought here forces me to do and see things I wouldn’t do on family travels.

Lisbon is only a short flight from London as Mary Luciana describes it perfectly in her recent article. Lisbon is having a moment. It is the place on everyone’s lips and its breezy sea views, glossy tiled facades, and red roofs feature on many an Instagram feed. The food surprises, with a depth far beyond the famous pastéis de nata (custard tarts) that are so known and loved. There is history; from the 12th-century Moorish castle that dominates the skyline to the magnificent 16th-century Manueline monastery of Jerónimos, and the bombastic 18th-century heart of Lisbon, built after so much of the city was destroyed in the 1755 earthquake. There is authentic, genuine and welcoming hospitality; and a wave of new and affordable hotels along cobbled streets and flanking bougainvillea-clad squares, all of which brim with a sense of place. For Lisbon, unlike so much of the world, has not gone global: it remains resolutely Portuguese, looking out to sea, with its back to the rest of Europe and its identity intact.

As for me, these incentive trips also force me to spend time with people I wouldn’t normally which pleasantly surprises me too.

My time in Portugal was spent room sharing with Corrine Rowe. Corrine is an Advisor and Team Leader in South East London. Whilst I meet her often at Branch Meetings and Kick Offs, Team Leader planning days and events, it’s only now, can I actually say I now know her. She’s is one of the most incredible, kind, kindred people I have met in my time at Thermomix. Until Lisbon, I never knew what makes her tick, her personal stores or how much we actually have in common even though we are so different. She’s chef trained, having run catering businesses for many years, but has experience in lots of other things. She’s well-traveled and We’d never really talked like this before. Even if Lisbon has been a total flop, the one thing I would have got out of my experience is a new found friendship with Corrine. That has to be worth it alone.

Not only have I come away seeing a beautiful part of the country, but I’ve come away with a friendship that goes beyond the business.

Highlights of BBC Good Food Show with Thermomix

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As an Advisor, we sometimes get to help Thermomix UK at national events. Luckily in London, there’s quite a few and here are some of my highlights of the Good Food Show at Excel, in June.

Always packed with seasonal produce, ideas for al-fresco dining and hundreds of exciting producers and brands to shop from, get all the summer inspiration you need. Soak up expert masterclasses, live demos from the seasonal stages and much more. There Mary Berry, Tom Kerridge, Michel Roux Jr, Nadiya Hussain and James Martin (a Thermomix fan favorite) as they cooked up summer feasts in The Big Kitchen.

Attending events like this is a great way to practice our ‘elevator pitches’ but also a great opportunity to meet other Advisors from other teams, hang out with head office staff and celebrity chefs and actually treat it like a team bonding exercise. As a self-employed individual, we often work alone so exhibitions like this allow us all to be together and hang. The one thing I truly like about this role is what a great bunch of people we are. There are so many reasons people are drawn to the role – either their love for food or their family circumstances, extra income or a step towards a career if they don’t have one. But the reason, they stay in the business is the people. We are a really great bunch of supportive men and women, who genuinely care about well-being, healthy eating and each other.

Here are some of the highlights over the years: