Cooking Free Meals For My Community Is Helping Others – And My Own Recovery
In my early 20s, life on the surface looked pretty good. I was on the road, catering for major events including the Olympics, Asian Games, Brit Awards and even getting to cater on tours with The Rolling Stones, Cher and Pink.
I was living the life I’d always dreamed of. But I was also slowly destroying my life at the same time.
Everyone I worked with was going out and partying hard. It was the done thing. It felt glamorous to a budding young chef, but the culture, combined with my love of drink and drugs, took me to hell and back on many occasions.
But I realised I wasn’t doing it like everyone else. I was doing it to excess. Looking back, I think it was probably obvious to everyone, but I never really discussed it. And in fact, although I admitted that I was an alcoholic on several occasions, I often talked myself out of it and went back into denial. It was easier that way. Or that’s how it seemed at the time, anyway.
I ended up losing several good jobs because of my lifestyle. In fact, when I was working in China in 2011, my behaviour not only cost me my job, but it very nearly cost the entire company its contract.
When I got back to the UK, my drinking and using was completely out of control. I was managing to get the jobs, but unable to keep them and having to move back in with my mum, who continued to support me through thick and thin. Addiction never exclusively affects the person directly experiencing it – there’s always a knock-on effect to friends, family and colleagues.
In 2016, I finally admitted to myself that I was completely dependent on drugs and alcohol. By that time, my drinking and drug taking resulted in over 40 hospital admissions and many suicide attempts and finally, in December 2017, I’d had enough. I ended up in hospital but this time, when I was discharged, I knew that drinking was not an option.
Just a few days after I was discharged, I found myself in George Street Social, a recovery café in Newcastle that hosts 12-step...
