HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE RECOGNISED AS VOLUNTEER OF THE WEEK
It's quite an honour to be recognised by the organisation that I have been a member of since my student days. Of course it's because I've been part of an excellent team on the Western Branch who always enjoy getting together at our meetings to think of fun and interesting events.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO BE A MEMBER OF A BODY LIKE IFST?
I've found that your working life with whatever company it has been good to be part of a profession. It reminds you that you are not just an individual in the food business but that you are qualified as a professional and have certain standards that you need to maintain. It's the standards that you need to maintain when you are representing your profession.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE SOMEONE THINKING ABOUT A CAREER IN FOOD SCIENCE
The reasons for a career in food science have remained the same since I decided to do my degree. I knew that there would always be people wanting food and that someone would need to be producing it in the UK. There have been lots of industries that were around when I was young that I would never have thought would disappear almost from this country so I at least got that one right. The difference is that the variety of food producers is so varied compared with when I went into industry in the 70's. It's also an international industry and opportunities to work outside the UK as you progress are there. For me it's been fantastic
YOU ARE AN ACTIVE MEMBER OF THE WESTERN BRANCH, TELL US MORE
I've been lucky to become involved in the Western Branch when we have had some great ideas being generated by the team. We've had a string of successful conferences with my particular highlight being the 3 successive years of Auditing Conferences.
TELL US SOMETHING THAT NOT MANY PEOPLE KNOW
If you want to judge how good an restaurant is in Italy then order the simple spaghetti alle vongole. When made right this is the best thing on the menu. This may not be scientifically provable but after all in the end its also about eating as well as science.
