It Started With Lemon Curd

At an age when many of us are thinking about retirement, Claire Ladkin (60) was launching her dream career

- ALISON JAMES

It was a jar of home-made lemon curd that did it, that gave Claire Ladkin from Bristol the inspiration to start up "All About The Cooks" - an online platform where people can order a delicious home-cooked dinner or dessert from a local cook rather than opting for the usual generic take-away.

"In 2019, I bought a jar of home-made lemon curd at a charity fete," she says. "It was delicious, and every time I saw the jar, it gave me a good feeling - a very different feeling to dipping into a jar of shop-bought fruit conserve.

"I'd always been a big believer and supporter of real food made in kitchens, rather than products made in factories. I knew then that I wanted to recreate that special feeling you get when someone cooks for you. I started to think... What if it was possible to buy or order in all kinds of home-cooked food and dishes made by talented local people?"

Claire had long had an interest in food - and, in particular, her local food scene in Bristol.

At the time she had her lemon-curd lightbulb moment, she was Chair for Bristol Food Connections, a festival shining a light on the city's restaurants, projects and communities. It wasn't just her passion for home-cooking that drove her to set up a business, though. She felt it would also be beneficial for the community while helping talented cooks sell their wares.

"I saw there was a great need for people who wanted to work in the food industry but didn't want to work nights and weekends or in those kinds of hierarchical environments in restaurants - mums with young children, for instance," she explains.

"I knew I would have been interested in this as a cook when my three children were little."

Claire was in her late 50s when she set up the business. To date it has completed close to a thousand orders and paid out over £30k to cooks.