When she was a child, TBC lived down the road from a big white mansion with an expanse of lawn and vintage-style furniture. She swore that she would buy that 5million dollar house, along with all it's contents, and turn it into some amazing restaurant that catered for people with diabetes and allergies. Since then she has realised that this may be a little far-fetched for the modest income of a uni student/apprentice. She can strive though, right?
TBC loves food - especially the whole, fresh, colourful variety. She also loves experimenting and pleasing people. All these combined? = a logical career as a chef.

So that is the chef bit explained, but why 'backwards'?
TBC's greatest childhood influences never followed recipes. She was brought up to believe recipes were for ideas and inspiration, not restriction and uncreativeness. She thought measuring cups were for scooping dog biscuits out of the bag and kitchen scales were decorative.

The fact is recipes are never perfect. What do you do if you want to make bread, but have a partner who is coeliac? What do you do if you are bringing a dessert to your friend's dinner party who has type 1 diabetes? You could google search "Type 1 diabetes dessert recipes" which would probably come up with hits like 'steamed apple' and 'unsweetened blancmange' which, although sound just fine to some, get a bit dreary and unsatisfying when all you want is cake!

So TBC learnt to cook while never strictly following a recipe. From an early age she learnt how to adapt and modify recipes to suit an individuals preferences or dietary restrictions. She established that food is a significant, if not the most significant, influence upon health.
This realisation then led her down the path of nutrition and dietetics. And after four years of University she realised that dietetics was not really for her.  She did not want to work in a hospital and lecture people on their health when they are recovering from illness and nutrition is the last of their worries. She did not want to recommend diet shakes or gastric banding or artificial sweeteners. She did not believe that she could help someone to live a healthy, balanced life by being a dietitian.

So she went back to basics, and pursued a career in her (22-year) life-long passion; food. After all this is what it's all about - that good stuff we put into our bodies. She thought this way she would be able to help people in a more nonrestrictive way that actually aligned with her beliefs.

So here she is, undertaking a chef's apprenticeship to get her to where she wants to be.
She realises she is going to be challenged. She realises she is going to have to use the 'proper' ingredients that she normally substitutes for, and that she is going to have to follow recipes down to a tee. But she also realises that this will be good for her. From this opportunity she will learn how to cook 'properly', and acquire a toolbox of experience that one day she can include her own ideas and creativity into.