It Started With Lemon Curd
My Weekly|July 25, 2023
At an age when many of us are thinking about retirement, Claire Ladkin (60) was launching her dream career
ALISON JAMES
It Started With Lemon Curd

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.

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Denne historien er fra July 25, 2023-utgaven av My Weekly.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.