As a chef the working hours can be very long and there is a lot to manage, it can be hard to make time to remember the passion one needs to be the best chef one can be. Sometimes when things get too busy it can be very easy to forget your purpose and mission

When I need a little reminder of why I love what I do and dedicate my life to it, I tap into a very special memory of a cooking class in Italy. We were a group of mixed nationalities, American, Turkish, Thai, Taiwanese and Russian, amongst others, and classes took place in a castle- very memorable location.

In the castle we had a big kitchen where we all cooked our dishes everyday, and despite how tiring it was- we cooked four to five dishes a day- we all enjoyed it.

It was the happiest time and when I think about why I like cooking or what drives me to go further, I remember this scene, a group of us cooking in that kitchen, laughing and having a great time. We were cooking, but we were playing.

Despite all the merriment, it was also a tense period because we were close to the examination time, so a mixture of nerves and excitement hung in the air.

We all loved music and one of the Turkish students was also a DJ in Istanbul, so using spoons, pots and pans he and some of the other students started beat boxing, much to the delight of the rest of us.

The room was full of energy, all our pans were on fire, people were singing and feeling passionate, it was like a scene from a cartoon.

It is one that I always carry in my mind.