‘Here on the clay my story is complete’

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‘I worked in restaurants as a cook for years. I worked one year here, then another two years there, both on the cold and the hot side. I learned the trade in Italy and cooked there full-time for four years. My ambition was never to cook at star level with a lot of fuss, rather honest and pure as I learned this in Italy.

“Yet there was always something I was missing, it didn’t feel like I would like to fill my ideal job. Then I started writing my business plan, I wanted to set up a cooking studio. I set aside six months for that and five years ago I started my own business. In the meantime I moved from Utrecht to the countryside. Because I have my nose on the clay here, where the products grow and the farmers are busy, my story is complete. In my cooking studio I give cooking courses and I can tell my guests the whole story, about where your food comes from until it’s on your plate.

“Hospitality wages are usually quite low and you work hard, so when I started for myself, I wanted to earn a little more. Outside of corona, that worked out well. I usually look at what I have left over at the end of the year, which I put aside for my retirement. I think this year – although I have been closed for three months – will be quite a good year.”

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‘Last year my boyfriend and I were able to buy a house that has been released for permanent residence at a holiday park. My accountant also advised me to buy a house, because my business was going pretty badly at the time because of corona. If we hadn’t bought then, now, as an entrepreneur, I would have had to wait three to five years to get a mortgage again.

“We didn’t have to do much to the house, but it was a holiday home and therefore not equipped for extensive cooking. That is why we have installed a new kitchen and renovated a few things.

“We have two dogs, Mikkel and Aksel. Mikkel never has anything, but with Aksel we have to go to the vet almost every month. Sometimes she stumbles or runs into a branch, other times she has to take diarrhea inhibitors because she has eaten something wrong. That is why we have insured both dogs. That costs 53 euros per month, but at least you won’t be faced with surprises.

“I also have a sailing boat, which requires quite a bit of maintenance. You have to rub it in once every two years; if you do that yourself, it already costs 250 euros. I have solar panels on it and this year I have already lost 400 euros on engine problems. We did sail a lot with it last summer, that was also our holiday.”