In conversation with @maximmortal

This week we had the opportunity to speak to one of our wonderful ambassadors Maxine. She works as a Forensic Scientist, but still finds the time to run her beautifully vibrant Instagram page where she posts recipes, snacks, and inspirational images as a WW UK ambassador. Read on for more about this fascinating Skinny Bakery ambassador.

• Thank you for taking the time to answer some questions for us.  Here at Skinny Bakery we absolutely love the look and positive feel of your instagram feed. You talk about your journey as a WW ambassador, so we would like to firstly ask you what inspired you to undertake this journey?

I chose WW because I followed it years ago and knew it had worked for me back then. There were some new tweaks to the programme this time round, which I liked the sound of, and felt that it would fit in with my lifestyle. The main thing that prompted me was a family holiday; my parents are 30 years my senior, regularly work out, and eat fairly well. Most of our holidays involve a lot of walking and exploring and I was really struggling to keep up with them. I would fatigue easily and found that I couldn’t explore as much as them. It was this and other things, such as living at the top of a hill and struggling to walk up this hill that I found frustrating. I was young and should have been full of energy, but I wasn’t.

• Outside of being a WW ambassador your career path has been as a Forensic Scientist. What made you choose this fascinating profession, and what is the most challenging part of your job?

I’ve always been interested in science from a young age, particularly Biology and how the body works. As cheesy as it sounds, I wanted to use this in a positive way and help society, so using it to assist a court of law massively appealed to me, and I am lucky enough to have landed a job that I’ve always wanted to do. The most challenging part of the job is managing my own stress levels and mental health, due to the constant pressures the criminal justice system faces.

• Forensic Science and food creation could be seen to be quite far apart, do you see any connections between your interests in the two or is the difference between them what appeals to you?

In Forensic Science we follow standard operating procedures – documents that outline how we must undertake each element of our job. For me, following a recipe whilst cooking or baking is exactly the same thing, and you will find me measuring out ingredients to the gram. However, the most creative I can get in my job is choosing which colour highlighter to use, so I do enjoy the fact that I can get creative whilst plating up food, or decorating a cake. I’ve always loved photography, so taking photos of my food is just another creative outlet for me.

• What do you like to get up to in your spare time when you are not testing tasty recipes or taking on your exciting job?

In my spare time I enjoy gaming, listening to music, going to gigs… but the main thing I love is to travel (not that I’ve managed to do as much over the past couple of years).

• We all have that go to chill-out dish, so we would love to know what is your favourite comfort food?

My favourite comfort food is something called ‘juk’ or ‘congee’, but I haven’t had it for ages; my mum used to make it when I was younger. It’s a Chinese rice porridge. The one my mum makes is basically rice and chicken boiled in water to make a supremely tasty chicken broth, with spring onions, shiitake mushrooms and sometimes ginkgo nuts. Delicious! I could eat bowls and bowls of the stuff! For something more conventional, it would probably be something easy like a bowl of pasta with balsamic vinegar, bacon, broad beans or peas and maybe some feta cheese. Or a burger!

• And which Skinny Bakery treat is your favourite?

I honestly can’t pick a favourite product, because I find them all delicious. However, I am a chocolate lover, so if I was forced to pick just one, it would be the double chocolate pearls.

• Finally, if you had to come up with a flavour for a Pearl that best describes you and your personality what flavour would you create?

A pearl to describe me and my personality… that’s a tricky one. Well, I’d obviously have to represent my Asian roots… and I like to go against the grain, so it would have to be something a bit unconventional and unusual… maybe a dark chocolate pearl (because like I said, I love chocolate), with a miso caramel filling, topped with either a sprinkling of kinako (a sweet roasted soy bean powder – almost peanut buttery), or a sprinkling of toasted white sesame seeds. Or both! I actually really want to try that now! Haha!

For more information about Maxine and all the cool things she gets up to, head over to her Instagram @maximmortal