Cutter - The Healthy Chef Purely Delicious

I started learning how to cook with my Polish aunt (Ciocia) when I was about three or four. Ciocia and my uncle (Wujek) were my inspiration through them, I began to find out about food in all its glory. They came to Australia from Poland, to set up a new life in Western Australia. Ciocia worked long hours at the local hospital but still managed to cook every day. Her food was quick, simple and nourishing and that no-fuss style of cooking has stayed with me ever since.

Wujek built a massive kitchen garden at the back of their property. The garden had a constant supply of fresh fruit and vegetables that would nourish them all year round. They also had a chook pen and the chickens provided fresh free-range eggs and meat for their chicken soups as well as fertiliser for their fruit and vegetable garden.

As well as being a great cook, Ciocia was an incredible baker. She would be mixing cakes by hand with a wooden spoon and churning out babka and sernik to feed our family and friends on a weekly basis. I can still remember watching with excitement and helping out in the kitchen. She would get me to sift flour, prepare all the ingredients and shape piroshki with my little fingers. In Ciocias kitchen, I truly fell in love with cooking and there began my passion for delicious wholefoods made with love and care.

On my website www.thehealthychef.com I always talk about making food yourself and knowing whats in the food you eat. Still, to this day, cooking to me is about the essence of the ingredients that will nourish your body and be lovingly prepared by you, or someone who loves you.

I remember Ciocia used to make the best raw sauerkraut in town. The Polish community would flock from everywhere just to get a jar of this fermented miracle. She used to feed it to me regularly, to help build up my immune system and to make me stronger.

Wujek worked as a station-master on the railways and I often woke up super early to catch him making his breakfast before he started work. He would tear up a European style of rye bread into his enamel bowl, pour over freshly made espresso and steaming hot milk, then sweeten with a little honey. It was sort of like a hot porridge and I remember it tasted really good, especially on cold, frosty mornings.

Ciocia and Wujek bought me my first bike and taught me how to ride. They encouraged me to go riding with them after school it was the best exercise. They had never owned a car and used to ride their bikes or walk everywhere. Both of them were still riding around in their late eighties. Their example inspired my love of bicycles and all things cycling.

Mum had come from Poland to live in Australia when she was 21 and was brought out by Ciocia and Wujek. Three months later she married my dad who is also Polish but came to Australia from Persia when he was eight years old. My mum was an artist back in Poland and she taught me how to paint and use colour, but in Australia she used to work at a nearby hotel and would always bring back recipes and cooking tips from the chefs who worked there. Mum would often test out the new recipes on our family, to see if we enjoyed them, and she gave me many cooking tips as she was cooking our dinner.

My dad was a MAD-keen fisherman. He taught me how to use a handline and fish for tailor and catch whiting with a rod off the beach, I knew how to scale and gut a fish and peel blue mannas before I was 10, and most weeknights I helped dad catch king prawns from the estuary with the drag net.

At 14, my first after-school and weekend part-time job was at a hot bread shop and it was awesome! I served customers and got to do the fun things like spreading the icing on the fresh-baked cinnamon buns, filling the doughnuts with jam and whipped cream and help make pumpkin scones and sausage rolls. The bakers would give me all kinds of tips so I could go home and experiment. Baking came naturally to me. I was hooked and I loved it!

After finishing Year 12 at high school, I started my hospitality career working as a waiter at a newly built hotel. I had thoughts of being an artist like my mum but soon realised my career was in the kitchen cooking purely delicious food. And so, my hobby and my passion became my career.

I was quick and eager to learn as much as I could when I started my apprenticeship working in the fine-dining section of the five-star hotel. My job consisted of cooking all the hot and cold entrees, as well as designing the palate teaser for the night and assisting the sous chef with the plating of mains during service. I was also in charge of making some of the French-style sauces like hollandaise, barnaise and beurre blanc.

The first six months were tough actually the whole profession was tough! Most of the chefs were French and the (swear) word "Merde!" was commonly bounced off the walls, but I adored my job. Service was exciting and I would start my shifts super early just to get ahead and so I could watch the other chefs in action and learn as much as I could.

My passion for patisserie goods, baking and desserts was soon recognised and I was given the opportunity to run the fine-dining dessert kitchen where I would make all my own icecreams, truffles and desserts. I still remember my favourite strawberry shortcake. It was made of fine wafers of pt sable, layered with fresh strawberries and Chantilly cream and served with delicious coulis made from strawberries and a hint of raspberry, for that ruby-red finish.

The hard work paid off and I ended up winning Apprentice of the Year several times as well as a gold medal in the prestigious cooking competition, Salon Culinaire. I was very fortunate to have trained with some great chefs who were equally great teachers. Everything was made from scratch nothing pre-prepared or brought in the true essence of cooking in all its glory.

I have fond memories of the time I was working as a pastry chef at a newly built beachfront hotel in Perth. It was the best pastry kitchen you could ever imagine.

We had a bakery department, a chocolate room and an icecream room it was pure luxury! The team in the kitchen was immensely talented and very competitive. We would always have competitions to see who could make the finest cakes or design and decorate the most eye-catching dessert buffets for the numerous weddings that were held at the hotel. Croquembouche with chocolate wafers or spun sugar was a regular attraction!

After many years at the hotel, I started my own catering company. I mainly catered for film and TV production in Perth. I focused on healthy recipes made from fresh ingredients that would nourish the crew without making them fall asleep: lots of lean meats, garden fresh vegetables, raw salads and wholesome muffins filled with organic oats and fruit. I love seeing people eat my food it gives me pleasure when they enjoy it.

My husband Paul and I moved to Sydney some years later and in July 2006, I opened my first caf called The Healthy Chef in Sydneys stunning northern beaches of Avalon. I wanted it to be a place where people could be nourished and enjoy themselves sort of like my experience of going to Ciocia and Wujeks house and enjoying their fresh, simple healthy food. I played French music on the iPod when I baked my homemade granola, cookies and banana breads as it made them look and taste better. It was important for me to put positive energy into the food I gave my customers so they felt great eating it. My caf was also a local hangout for celebrities and athletes such as Elle McPherson, Megan Gale and Kelly Slater.