In her own words, Sophie a.k.a. scrumptioussoph, has always had a strange and sophisticated palette. She has vivid memories of herself at age four smothering her face with the thick black sauce that comes with a plate of spaghetti con nero di sepia and admits that not much has changed since then.
This passion for food seems to be an intergenerational phenomenon, and Sophie smiles as she recollects all the days where her mother would prepare a banquet for dinner (pretty much every night). Sundays at her grandmother’s were carried out in a similar fashion and the matriarch would prepare “the most comforting Sunday roast.” On both occasions, licking the plate clean was an unavoidable requirement.
It is these memories that motivates and inspires Sophie to pursue her dream. “It is not about what but rather, who,” Sophie explains, adding that “seeing these two incredible women create such delicious dishes from such a young age has definitely fuelled my passion for cooking.”
The realisation that cooking is what makes her the happiest came as a late awakening for Sophie. She graduated with a BSc in Economics and Finance but now finds herself back as a student, following a course in Italian Culinary arts and Oenology at ICIF in Italy, powered by the ambition of being half the chef her grandma was.
A regular day at culinary school unavoidably revolves around food, as Sophie can attest. Starting the day with a full Italian breakfast, it is followed by an Italian language lesson, a 3-hour cooking demonstration by various Michelin star chefs and famous Italian head chefs and a 3-course lunch. Afternoons take a more practical angle with students completing approximately 5 recipes and submitting them for evaluation.
After tasting and, most of the time, finishing each dish prepared, they are put into groups to complete the plan and prepare their stations for the following day. Dinner ensues, and, while most are frightened by the sight of more food, there are rarely any leftovers. Sophie consoles herself: “we all convince ourselves that tomorrow we’ll only eat salad!”