Love This Food Thing

Caroline Drummond Smith battled with Anorexia for thirty-five years, which literally became her identity.  During this time she brought up three children and stayed married.  Now fully recovered, her familial relationships have not only survived, but thrived. “It’s never too late and it’s never too long. I am proof of that. If there is a part of you that truly wants to recover you can do...

Gracie Carpenter has a story to share. One day she’ll write her memoir but until then you can hear some of it on Love This Food Thing’s second double episode. This is an excerpt from Gracie’s initial email: “I grew up with alcoholic parents, eventually moving to the care of my grandparents. Shortly after my mother’s death by suicide, I fell rapidly and violently into the clutches of anorexia… the...

Gracie Carpenter has a story to share. One day she’ll write her memoir but until then you can hear some of it on Love This Food Thing’s first double episode. This is an excerpt from Gracie’s initial email:  “I grew up with alcoholic parents, eventually moving to the care of my grandparents. Shortly after my mother’s death by suicide, I fell rapidly and violently into the clutches of anorexia…...

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Dr Tasha is a consultant breast cancer surgeon - who wishes we were breast aware every month - and is dedicated to informing and educating people about this particular cancer that affects so many people over the world. The two highest risk factors for breast cancer are being female and ageing. Men can also develop breast cancer but few do - they have their...

Psychotherapist Emmy Brunner is a personal empowerment and transformation coach, CEO of the Recover Clinic and creator of an awakening and healing programme, From Lost to the River. The core tenet of Emmy’s practice is that our mental health conditions are a response to trauma. She says: “Everything from mild anxiety to more significant depressive episodes, everything that we talk about as mental...

Growing up Becca enjoyed eating but feared gaining weight, which caused complications. In an attempt to control her environment and over-stimulated brain she ate less. Becca lost a lot of weight especially during her teenage years when her family relocated and she changed schools; fixating on food helped her focus. Her eating disorder’s shape shifted from anorexia to binge eating. At nineteen, Bec...

“It was the perfect storm, an internal conflict and an external conflict. I was being driven by the need to be perfect, the need to fit into an aesthetic world where I was being judged not just on my talent and ability” but on how I looked. Joelle trained in ballet and was dancing professionally at sixteen. She describes herself as, “short, curvy and mouthy,” the antitheses of a ballerina Joelle w...

After my initial approach to the Felix Project they suggested Head Chef, Leon Aarts. Rich, our sound engineer left a note on my final audio saying, “we need more people like Leon”. He’s right. We do! Leon comes from a food-loving family; he remembers feasts around his Grandparents’ dining table, his mother’s love of cooking and lying in bed dreaming of eating and never feeling full. Leon was an ov...

Stella was born into a Greek Cypriot family – a culture that loves and celebrates food - and as a child she ate freely without issue. Stella’s real joy came from performing, grabbing every opportunity to perform both at home, and school. Despite her burgeoning talent Stella experienced an acute awareness of any ways in which she might be different. As she grew older these feelings left her feeling...

Oli was born via Caesarean (C-section). At nine months he developed a severe egg allergy and was given antibiotics for an ear infection. His Mum, heeding medical advice excluded nuts from Oli’s diet from then on in a bid to ease his symptoms - current thinking encourages the inclusion of potential allergens   Oli is aligned with growing evidence that delivery by C-section increases the r...

Christian says, “ten years ago no one knew what a stoma was, especially if they were in their twenties” and it’s one reason why he didn’t share his stoma or condition with anyone other than family and close friends. Young Christian was a picky eater but as a teenager he enjoyed a more varied diet even showing an interest in nutrition. When Christian developed uncomfortable physical symptoms he wen...

Carolina had an unstable childhood with an alcoholic father and emotionally distant mother who could be physically abusive. When Carolina was nine her mother put her on a diet. Bullying at school, compounded by disparaging remarks from her brothers made Carolina feel worthless, like “the fat kid” and as if she were somehow inherently wrong. However, it was her mother’s revelation during a rare con...

Carolyn Steel is a leading thinker on food and cities; she was hailed by The Ecologist Magazine as a, ‘21st Century Visionary.” Carolyn was brought up in a family who celebrated food at every opportunity. Her grandparents ran a country house hotel and Carolyn spent endless weekends in the kitchen behind the scenes fascinated with everything, food. She says, “Food is pure love. A love affair! I alw...

Dan was always the “skinny kid,” who played sports at Academy level. He had a small appetite and scant regard for food but was happy to eat whatever was put in front of him at home. Dan’s interest in food grew at University where he hit the gym to build muscle and attain the stereotypical male physique portrayed in videos, and the social media platforms at that time. Then food became functional, a...

Niki Rein was born in Seattle where the climate, similar to Northern Europe, dictates a carbohydrate heavy diet. An avid soccer player and very active, Niki’s hormonal problems began when she was twelve. Years of debilitating symptoms, trips to the doctor and pharmaceutical prescriptions followed as Niki fought her body and her “unknown” condition. During her late teens Niki read “Women’s Bodies,...

Compared to his younger brothers and school friends, Jamie was a ‘chubby kid’ who always wanted larger portions. At home, his parents made healthy, wholesome food, which meant Jamie ate well and freely. Today, he enjoys a well-nuanced relationship with food and his body. Jamie liked sport but when he went to University he fell in love with the gym and lifting weights. Initially pursuing a career i...

Sean was an overweight child, maybe because of his parents' divorce. One of Sean’s fondest food memories growing up is the Burger King, and Pizza Hut treats given him by his Mum who was a single parent. Sean’s life took off when he started his career in media production. Overnight all focus on food lessened, although being in the public eye brought certain pressures, which were reflected in his fl...

Growing up in a small, parochial town Lizzie felt like an outsider, as if she didn’t belong. At school she viewed her body in a functional way – good for sports - not how it might appear to others and when critical comments were made she became bulimic.  When Lizzie went to University and found her “tribe” the bulimia stopped.  Lizzie spent time working as a model, despite the scrutiny,...

“Food is joyful, sensual, fulfilling and stimulating. I think it is one of life’s primary and biggest pleasures.” Courtney hails, originally, from Texas but spent her formative years in Los Angeles training as a dancer and modelling. Not surprisingly body issues dominated, and within her family, great emphasis was placed on physicality. Basing her value as a person on her outward appearance affect...

WELCOME TO SEASON 4! Joining us for the first episode is body activist, Serena Nangia. Serena is a disruptor. Her mission is to challenge prejudicial beliefs about body issues and stereotypes. She raises the voices of those who are ignored or living in marginalised communities.   Serena grew up in a busy household. Both her parents worked long hours as medical practitioners, despite her...

Lydia led an expat lifestyle, forever on the move due to her father’s job. By seventeen, Lydia had been to eleven schools. No time to make friends or put down roots. Consequently she suffered from depression and craved parental attention. Lydia enjoyed food, despite some critical comments from family members, and went along with her parents as they embraced healthy eating and exercise. But life be...

Ian was a sensitive child who suffered debilitating migraines and digestive issues from a young age. Desperate to be free of these symptoms, Ian eliminated certain foods that severely restricted his diet. His parents, both professional chefs, did their utmost to feed him healthy and varied food, especially his Mum. But, what they couldn’t prevent was the extreme anxiety Ian felt and the physical b...

Sally Dixon aka The Fertility Chef has had an interesting relationship with food. As a young child, she regularly enjoyed restaurants with her parents. At fifteen Sally stopped eating. Months later and to the relief of her worried parents Sally saved them further upset when she declared herself “too thin” in some holiday snaps. And she began to eat again. As a student Sally eschewed making food in...

Eve is the deputy health editor at The Mail on Sunday - a writer and a journalist.  Eve has happy childhood memories around food. At school she felt different, shy and “uncomfortable in her own skin.” Four days before Eve’s thirteenth birthday her father died. Two years later she experienced her first serious bout of anxiety. Eve’s anxiety remained constant, at University, and beyond as she s...

Tallulah Rendall is a singer/songstress and sound therapist. She was only seven when sent to boarding school and attributes her career to not only “healing the experiences” she had then, but also helping her navigate through life’s challenges. Significantly, during her teens, Tallulah caught glandular fever, which made her instantly allergic to a long list of foods coupled with multiple physical s...