Comeback post

3 weeks ago 12

It’s been 2 months – and I’m back. Much has happened!

Two months ago, I confessed I was burnt retired and needed to instrumentality a interruption from publishing caller recipes truthful I had clip to recalibrate and find a amended work-life balance.

I emotion what I bash and ne'er privation to stop. So I had to marque changes to debar burning retired again.

Though I didn’t get overmuch clip off, stepping distant from creating and filming recipes freed up clip truthful I could instrumentality immoderate affirmative changes. Things person been engaged but manageable, I’ve cleared my to-do database and regained my spark. Here’s what’s happened!

Better Homes & Gardens TV show

SO EXCITING!!! We had Johanna Griggs from the beloved TV amusement Better Homes & Gardens walk a time with america to movie “a time successful the beingness of”. We started astatine the operation tract that is my home-to be:

We past moved onto RecipeTin Meals (“RTM”, our foodbank) wherever we showed Joh our room and she got to spot archetypal manus the squad making and packing hundreds of meals!

We adjacent got Joh to lend a manus with the packing. I thought she was a spot stingy with the garnishes. JB thought she was a spot slow. Maybe they’ll velocity her up successful the edits. 😂

And the last halt was my mother’s house, wherever we wrapped gyoza unneurotic past sat down to bask a Japanese feast:

It was a immense and agelong day, with a batch of moving parts, good implicit 40 radical progressive successful the day, from the tradies connected the operation site, to my squad astatine RTM, RTE unit moving down the scenes, arsenic good arsenic of people the fantastic BHG crew.

But SO MUCH FUN! We each deliberation Joh Griggs should tally for PM. Smart arsenic a whip. Everybody loves her.🥰

Speaking of my home

It started retired arsenic a small room renovation.

It’s evolved into a head-to-toe practice location restoration. 😩 Every chromatic upturned revealed different acceptable of problems, from termite harm requiring the implicit removal of each the flooring and joists passim the full house, to installing a implicit caller stormwater strategy passim the full spot to regenerate the non-existent one, and rewiring the full house.

Right astatine this moment, I’m successful a spot of denial, conscionable dealing with 1 occupation astatine a time, putting connected a poised calm facade (OK, that’s a blatant lie, determination person been dismal wails aplenty). And feeling fortunate that I person a squad I tin spot truthful we tin enactment done these challenges together, and that we person a large enactment of connection with the section council.

I besides cognize that it was not a omniscient decision, choosing a tally down practice location arsenic my caller home. Truth is, I fell successful emotion with the thought of a location filled with quality and I was hopeless to determination retired of the bureau (after 9 years of it, I was done!). So I didn’t bash capable research. I was prepared to bash a just magnitude of works to hole it. I didn’t expect each inch of the location – each leaf of grass, each slate tile connected the roof, each gutter – to request implicit repair oregon replacement.😭

Onwards. No much complaining! I brought this connected myself.

My motley unit – Team RecipeTin

Exciting quality connected the squad front!

Chef JB is backmost astatine HQ!

JB, our RecipeTin radical caput chef, was seconded to RecipeTin Meals for the past twelvemonth to assistance optimize the caller kitchen, expanding repast accumulation from 500 to 600 each day, and tripling the repast assortment we offer.

Though often pulled into peculiar RTE projects, he’s present backmost full-time! His instrumentality lightens my workload and brings top-tier “chef standard” to everything – from speedy meals to much challenging dishes that keeps things absorbing astir present (Singapore Chilli Crab, anyone? 😊).

It besides opens up the opportunities for america to bash amusive things similar popular ups and unrecorded cooking shows. So gladsome he’s backmost – and excited for the twelvemonth ahead!

New room manus astatine RTM!

And successful related breathtaking news, we person a caller subordinate astatine squad RTM – conscionable Harry!

Harry conscionable started with america yesterday, replacing JB astatine RTM. I americium not definite that Harry expected his archetypal time successful his caller occupation to extremity with a elephantine photograph of his look connected my website!

He was besides alternatively amazed that we welcomed him with barroom and a balloon connected his archetypal day. Apparently that doesn’t hap successful mean room jobs. 😂

MEET DENELLE, MY NEW ASSISTANT!

Yaaaay!! I person a close manus woman!

The hunt for Denelle was surely an experience. Expecting lone possibly a 100 applicants owed to determination limits, I planned to bash the recruiting myself – until implicit 2,000 applications flooded in. Everybody wants to enactment with Dozer! 🦮

Overwhelmed, I rapidly realised I’m not built for recruitment (I would’ve hired 48 retired of the archetypal 50 who applied 😅).

Enter Est 10, a specializer recruitment steadfast that made the process seamless with their unthinkable efficiency, professionalism, and idiosyncratic touch. Their expertise turned a daunting task into a pleasure, and I met immoderate genuinely exceptional candidates on the way. Which brings maine to my adjacent point:

A large convey you to everyone who applied!

To everyone who took the clip to apply, convey you truthful precise much. The effect was genuinely overwhelming, and I was blown distant by the unthinkable talent, passion, and enthusiasm that was evident successful truthful galore applications.

I cognize however overmuch effort goes into putting yourself guardant for a role, and I privation you to cognize that each exertion was reviewed by a recruitment specializer and not a machine. If I could person hired much of you, I perfectly would have!

Wishing you each the champion successful your careers, and who knows – our paths whitethorn transverse again successful the future!

RecipeTin Meals News

There is ever happenings astatine RTM!

torrential rainfall damage

We had a ceiling illness and h2o pouring into the room astir 6 weeks agone during abrupt torrential rains. It happened successful the mediate of the time erstwhile the squad was close successful the mediate of the cook.

Thanks to the speedy reasoning of the team, we mislaid precise small banal to h2o damage. This is Stephen, the caput cook astatine RTM, saturated from caput to toed aft diving nether the waterfall to prevention what helium could:

Amazingly, we lone had 1 time we couldn’t cook. And we inactive managed to supply 600 meals connected that time arsenic we support a stash of frozen meals for specified emergencies.

We accrued our meals to 600!

And connected the taxable of the meals we marque – we accrued our meals to 600 per day, up from 500! This equates to 156,000 meals per twelvemonth – that’s a batch of bare tummies filled!

We’ve progressively accrued meals since moving into our existent kitchen, from 400 regular erstwhile we archetypal moved to 600. Partially owed to caller instrumentality which enables america to navigator astatine standard much efficiently, and partially owed to continued betterment successful workflow.

I’m truthful arrogant of my team, those moving astatine RTM who marque the meals hap each day, and those moving connected the RTE broadside of the concern that makes RTM imaginable (because the income we gain connected the RTE broadside is what funds RTM).

We haven’t deed the ceiling yet. There is much to come, much nutrient enactment we tin offer!

My publication released successful the Netherlands!

The archetypal non-English variation of my book, Vanavond (Dutch for this evening), launched successful the Netherlands past week – truthful exciting! Any Dutch readers around? Get it here!

But I had a small mix-up erstwhile announcing it – “I’m successful the Netherlands!” I posted connected Facebook, lone to person radical eagerly inquire wherever I’d beryllium signing books. 😂 Had to rapidly clarify – it’s my publication that’s there, not me!

Launch of “Earning Power”

I was honoured to beryllium featured arsenic a lawsuit survey in Earning Power by Roxanne Calder, laminitis of Est 10 recruitment. The publication explores closing the sex wage spread and is simply a invaluable assets astir maximising net potential. The discussions covered my firm vocation arsenic good arsenic the travel of gathering RecipeTin.

I was truthful blessed to see Earning Power so good received astatine motorboat and respect Roxanne’s dedication to empowering women – without diminishing men. Honestly, my mentors successful the firm satellite and the concern radical I admired the astir were each men.

PS: I couldn’t acceptable a azygous cupcake successful that itty-bitty bag. Hence my emotion for elephantine bags!

You’re caught up!

And that. my friends, (mostly) catches you up connected the happenings of the past 2 months.

For me, the 2 biggest things that volition alteration the mode guardant is having an adjunct again – conscionable having an other brace of hands astir has been an instant assistance – and JB coming backmost to HQ. I’ve caught up connected sleep, beingness admin, I’ve been capable to walk much clip astatine RTM (which I truly bask doing, I conscionable similar being there), and conscionable mostly getting a amended work-life balance.

I’m adjacent going to effort to driblet down to 4 days a week for the adjacent small portion (I know, gasp, shock, horror!!).

That mightiness beryllium a small ambitious, but 1 indispensable person goals!

Importantly though, I’m recharged, backmost to my chirpy self, and inspired to get backmost successful the room again. Here’s to a large remainder of 2025 filled with delicious caller recipes! – Nagi x