Lockdown CHANGED OUR LIVES

Three years on from the first national lockdown, three women tell us how it helped them achieve something wonderful

- ASHLEIGH PAGE

‘CHOCOLATE-MAKING BECAME A CREATIVE OUTLET’

Paula Bui, 50, runs luxury artisan chocolatier Fusion Chocolate and lives in Ilkley with her husband Loc, 48, and their two children, aged eight and six. Sitting on the sofa, I felt anxious as I saw that COVID had made it to the UK. It was March 2020 and I ran my own physiotherapy business, supporting the elderly at home. I knew my clients were vulnerable and I had no idea what it would mean for them or my business. Two weeks later, lockdown was announced.

I tried to help my clients over the phone but it was almost impossible, especially trying to juggle it with homeschooling. Thankfully, by June 2020, I was able to work again. But I worried about putting clients at risk – I tested daily and wore PPE but it was no guarantee. As the months passed, the stress of my work and the battle to keep clients safe started to take its toll. I was finding it exhausting.

Then in September 2021, my husband, who’d gone back to work as a private chef, was preparing for a dinner when he mentioned he didn’t have time to make the chocolates he usually did. I’d seen him make them many times so offered to do it for him. I had a great time and found it really cathartic.

From then on, I began making all the batches for his private meals, and fell in love with chocolate making. So much so, I signed up to a chocolatier course in Manchester, as well as an online course with a Swedish chocolatier. By Christmas I was making chocolates in my kitchen for the village fair, as well as friends and neighbours.