INTERVIEW By the Dart INTERVIEW
ELAINE DAY
FOOD IN THE FAST LANE
high-pressure situations: she used to cook for racing drivers. Elaine Day is a confident, bubbly
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person who promotes a feeling of confidence – and, in catering, confidence goes a long way. Born in Berkshire, she graduated from college in Bournemouth in the early 1980s with a qualification in Catering and Hotel Management. She said she had wanted to work in hospitality & the food industry from an early age. “I’ve always loved food,” she said. “The process of creating a great meal: finding ingredients, blending them together, presenting them in an attractive way – it gives me a buzz! And also knowing others have enjoyed the food I prepared, I love that feeling.” After college, Elaine chose to travel
the world, and her adventures were supported by he ability to cook. “I travelled in South East-Asia and
Australia/New Zealand for two years after i finished college and got jobs in kitchens to support myself,” she said. “This was the most amazing experience for me – I worked in New Zealand, Australia, Malaysia and Thailand, and learnt so much about their food cultures. After that I spent two years working on the ski
artmouth Academy’s new catering manager is used to
circuit in Europe. Those four years were hugely influential for me in my development as a chef.” She then took on the challenge of being a caterer in the fast-moving world of Formula 1. “When I was working in F1, it was
very different from today,” she said. “Now teams have huge catering trucks and their full menu is flown in.
“you would land and then head into town to source what you needed to feed the team and their guests.
When I was in charge of catering, you would land and then head into town to source what you needed to feed the team and their guests. I had to source food in Japan, Brazil, Italy, and Europe . “You never knew what you were going to find and had to be flexible about your menus – because if you planned something you can bet that you wouldn’t be able to find the right ingredients!
“Those experiences helped me in so many ways: I’m now familiar with alot of international cuisine - because I had to learn about a new food culture virtually every week –
and I’m a great believer in sourcing ingredients locally and finding out how to work with them. If I hadn’t been ready to think - and learn – on my feet I would have been lost.” Working for the likes for Ferrari
and McLaren, Elaine travelled the world creating top-quality meals for the A-list stars and fans of Formula 1. But after nearly a decade in that
world she decided it was time to step away from the full-on, full-time role. “I wanted to settle down a bit and
start a family,” she said. “It is a very exciting life, but is very hard work and involved a lot of travelling.” After a few years bringing up her
two daughters, she decided she might like to step back towards catering and set up Entertaining Food in Surrey, where she was based at the time. She found old connections coming out of the woodwork. “I was contacted by quite a few
people I had known through F1,” she said. “It was fun to catch up and work with them again to produce some great events! The business started to grow and I found I still had a passion for creating great food - I got the same buzz all over again!” After relocating to Devon in
2008, Elaine continued to develop Entertaining Food, balancing it with her responsibilities as a mother. With her children growing up
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