afternoon or have a meeting with my publishers. In the evening I try to catch up with my children and go out for a meal or watch a film, but I tend to work quite late, as this is the only time I can catch up on my emails. If you could meet anyone in the world dead or alive who would it be and what would you say to them? Owen Wilson, I absolutely love him in all his films, he looks like he would be fun to hang out with. If you were stranded on a desert island, what three items would you take with you? My three gorgeous dogs to keep my company, they are also pretty greedy, so I am sure they could find food for me. What did you learn about parenting from your own parents? The importance of working hard. My mother worked when we were young and instilled in us a very strong work ethic. My mum is still working, and looks incredible, so I hope I am still going as strong as her when I am her age! What is your earliest childhood memory? We had pet tortoises in the garden..I remember my brother and I trying to organize tortoise races but they never went in a straight line ! Describe a favourite family day out when you were a child? I used to love to go to Brighton Pier. Walk on the beach and eat Fish and Chips. Is this still a favourite family day out with your own young family? Yes I remember taking my daughter and some friends to Brighton for a Birthday Party treat and I got a car to pick us up at the station filled with pink balloons. You have achieved so much and continue to do so, How do you relax? I find it quite hard to switch off from work. I like to go out for meals in the evening or go to the cinema as I love films. I also love spending time with my 3 dogs and taking them for walks. Do your children show the same passion towards food as you do? They love eating it, but they haven’t really picked up the same love of cooking, but they certainly like the sociable side of food! Which of your many achievements in business and your personal life are you proudest of? Receiving the MBE from the Queen was very special. If you could give one piece of advice to a new parent, what would it be? Take the huge amount of advice that is out there, with a pinch of salt. It can be incredibly overwhelming hearing about all the different ways you should do something. Go to reliable sources and rely on your instincts. Every child is different and you will probably know better than anyone else what is right for your child. www.annabelkarmel.com Photo© Ruth Crafer What was your first choice for your career? I trained from a young age to be a professional harpist, which I was until my children were born. As a musician you have to spend a huge amount of your time on practicing, it is a massive commitment. Having said that I got to play in some amazing places and with incredible musicians. What made you decide a different path? The death of my first daughter Natasha was such a shattering loss to me that I just didn’t want to play anymore. When I had my son Nicholas, he was an incredibly fussy eater, and I was so aware of the importance of him being healthy, so I was trying all sorts of recipes to try and make him eat. I would share these recipes with the other mums in the playgroup I ran, and they all persuaded me that I should write a recipe book. It was really without realizing it that I came into the career I am in today. You are a professional parenting author and a busy mum of 3 grown up children; which of your ‘jobs’ Mum or business woman is the hardest both physically and mentally? I think it is the combination of the two that can make it so hard. Running your own business can be incredibly stressful as the buck stops with you. Because of who I am I am not very good at delegating and like to know exactly what is going on in my business. However I am also constantly feeling guilty, even now, that I don’t spend enough time with my children and that does add a huge amount of pressure. The fact that my children are now grown up means there is less running around after them, but you don’t stop looking after them or worrying about their happiness and what they are up to. Has becoming a mum changed your attitude to life? Having been a professional harpist meant a lot of travelling and only having to fend for myself, the biggest shock was have someone else relying on you and not being able to go and do things at the drop of a hat. Describe a typical day from waking up to last thing at night. I am definitely a night rather than a morning person, so I tend to work at home in the morning, normally recipe testing. We have just had the kitchen re-done so it is a great place to work. Late morning I tend to go into the office where I normally have a couple of meetings with the team, at the moment we are planning our launches this year and signing off the packaging of our new BBQ Smokey chicken chilled toddler’s meal. I either have meetings at lunch at some of the fantastic restaurants in central London, or bring in a salad or sandwich to eat at my desk. I might go out to see a food buyer in the Annabel Karmel
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDA0NjA=