WRITTEN BY LOUISE SANSOM
Photo credit: Nick Carman
Welcome back to 30 Seconds With… Where we go through our little black book of the top names in television, broadcasting, podcasting, restaurant-running, book-writing, interior-designing, and cake-making, and ask our stars for their best bite-size bits of advice, all designed to be digested in the time it takes to blowtorch a crème brûlée.
In this edition, we caught up with Juliet Sear: TV personality, author, stylist, and baker extraordinaire. 30 seconds, start the clock.
Why did you decide to choose a career in baking?
Well, I didn’t actually choose it at all, it happened by happy accident, really! I’ve always had a huge passion for food, and wanted to have my own bars and restaurants. I LOVE gatherings and parties and hosting friends and family, so I got into the baking side of things through throwing big parties and needing something sweet to bring the celebration food I made together. I first made a cake for a huge party for my son’s first birthday, 25 years ago. We had 150 guests… the rest is history. I got the bug for cake decorating and began baking all the time for fun. Cake decorating is where craft and art meet food. If I didn’t do that, I would have gotten into some sort of creative arts and craft hobby or career instead. I’d really love to do ceramics or sculpture one day!
What’s a normal day like for you and what do you love the most about your job?
I don’t really have a normal day. I do crave a normal day, but I’ve gotten used to not really knowing what I’m doing until the week of. Being freelance, I could be doing consultancy, food styling, PR events, PR installations, TV, on a movie set, or creating content – or doing nothing for a week straight. I’ve learned to go with the flow. It can be hard, and I do crave routine, but being in the food industry and doing the work I do, it can be really last-minute.
What are you working on at the moment?
I’ve been working with savoury food for a fun campaign all around mushrooms at the moment, playing with different recipes and sharing them to my Instagram page. I’m also doing a lot with This Morning, and some top-secret behind-the-scenes jobs as usual…
Try Juliet’s sizzling ‘BBQ’ED Mushroom Kebabs’, find the recipe here.