18 December, 2015
Summary of Past Couple of Months
Dear All,
“And now, the end is near; and so I face the final curtain. My friend, I’ll say it clear, I’ll state my case, of which I’m certain. I’ve lived a featherweight’s full..
I’ve travelled each and every highway; and more, much more than this,
I did it my way…”
Those are the opening lyrics to the infamous “My Way” by Old Blue Eyes…no not Paul Hollywood, but indeed the legendary Frank Sinatra. As 2015 draws to an end I look back with a bit of Nostalgia and can relate to those lyrics… what a great year it was full of triumphs (and… not without a pothole here and there along the way). Having been part of GBBO6 has been one of the biggest triumphs in my lifetime and the opportunities it brought beyond its conclusion are nothing but amazing in itself – I will forever be humbled and thankful for this towards all that made it possible for me.
I thought last night…gosh, I don’t blog frequent enough but all in all this is because apart from being a full time mum, still working a 9-5, training 6 days a week; I have been very manic post bake-off with related matters. I have a feeling now this blog is going to be a bit all over the place/random but so be it as there is so much going on (so much on my mind), or that has happened so please bear with me if this blog turns into “cluttered mush” – at least I will get my point across as to what was, what is, what is going to be in 2016.
My observation has it that a fair amount of people will bang their drum and rattle the cages as to what they are up to; yet I prefer to do my thing quietly behind the scenes, I believe that if you have talent / charisma and you work, bluntly stated, your ass off that you don’t have to make constant noise or push yourself into people’s face to make that point – it will indeed show through your conduct …after all integrity is everything in this life, true? See…now…I already derailed myself on the purpose of this blog…
So just what has Ugne been up to of late…*deep breath* …where do I start; as you may be aware I have now been assigned as an Ambassador with both Meridian Foods and also most recently by a fitness outfit called Core 150. 
I will be working alongside these going forwards. Very much excited what both companies are about and they fit my ethos like a glove! Very thankful for these opportunities.
November saw me having the honour of opening one of Meridian Foods new offices 
and it was a great event with the wonderful people there. During December I headed down to Birmingham where I did an interactive baking session with Children on behalf of Rokiel Entrainment – all in all a very successful event (I absolutely adore working with the young bakers of tomorrow) and I think I shall be returning sometime in 2016 to host something similar but this time for the Mums & Dad’s.
Last Sunday saw me hosting Holland and Barrett Big Xmas Free-From bake-off event.
The event was very well planned and executed at Cactus Studios in London (the same venue where James Martin’s infamous “Saturday Kitchen” is filmed). The participants were some of the most influential, up-n-coming food bloggers out there at the moment. It was an all girly affair on the day (woohoo Girl Power I hear you say!!!) and for me next to being part of GBBO a highlight of 2015. I was humbled being approached to host this event; I yet see myself as “Ugne the home-baker” whom “got lucky” and was on the Bake-off. I do not class myself as a food-hero or as anything special, that is not in my make-up to do so (remember what I said about beating your own drum!!). However, it is surprising when you read on blogs and forums about the expectations; that you are being tipped as the next big thing in ‘free-from’…I then sometimes whisper to myself…’No Pressure Ugne, no pressure’…*eek*
That leads me onto the subject…free-from…so just what is this free-from?…why do we approach it as something ‘special’ or ‘alien’? My approach is why shouldn’t it be mainstream, why should we have it sectionalised and why is it not part of a different lifestyle choice. For me free-from, and in my way I ‘hate’ the term, as I purely see it as using alternative ingredients same as cane sugar which I most of time choose not to use! I don’t even go thinking oh I am not using cane sugar or ah ok I will omit wheat flour and use Sukrin’s flour’s instead…to me it comes naturally! I will challenge most that tell me ‘free-from’ cannot satisfy the sweet tooth or even savoury tooth in all of us. It is therefore my self-proclaimed mission to change that view in the UK and spread the word further afield. I feel’ tat we have only seen the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the mentality behind free-from. Sadly so, I see many cooks and chefs jumping on the ‘gravy train’ but being a purist I say it’s a tough life if you sell your soul to make money! I do what I am passionate about not what always going to give me a healthy bank account or bring fame! I have said on several occasions “no” to opportunities that I was not passionate about. I have been taught from a young age that when you do what you are passionate about you will do it well and the rest will look after itself,..
Going into 2016, I have a very exciting project(s) to finalise which be my first book to be released late in 2016 (these things take time if you do them properly), interesting enough it will be a pan-European release – in brief and without giving too much away and spoiling it for you all it is based around the hot-topic of free-from but not as you know it, it also has a few other surprises in there.
You may have noted that I have moved a bit away from the usual celebration cakes and all those lovely bakes we find in the day to day patisseries around town. The only reason for this is that I am focussing on developing recipes for this book – I still very much enjoy making those traditional butter cream heavy showstoppers; but for the time being I have to focus where focus is required. Errrr, rumour has it that a second book may be on its way too …is that true??…oooh that will be telling. Wink wink…more on that another day I promise…
Like boys with their toys, every baker has to have a toy (no we need TOYS) too – I am currently having a custom baking-oven built for me in Italy by the lovely people at Bertazzoni Professional. I found that even though I have a half decent oven already, the ‘bakes’ can be inconsistent and you cannot forge quality as is that a Bertazzoni oven will bring.
On the fitness front I am looking to compete in 2016, it will be a tricky affair to realistically achieve with potentially two books to finish off, ad in the other engagements – but one can achieve much with a bit of good old fashioned time management. So…watch this space…
2016 will be a busy year with my diary already looking a bit manic, but I look forward to what 2016 will bring.
I want to take this opportunity to thank you all for your love, support and kind words throughout and going forward!
A special word of thanks to my Family, my Literacy agents, Meridian Foods, Core 150, Sage by Heston Blumenthal, Range Cookers, Sukrin and everyone else I may have forgotten to mention by name for their support – you are only as good as those you surround yourself with.
May I wish you all a very merry Xmas and all the best for 2016.
Xx Ugne
