Name: Helena Busiakiewicz
Age: 24
Job title: Food content creator
Company & location: BBC Good Food and Olive (Immediate Media)
Education: University of Leeds, BA English Literature and Leiths School of Food and Wine, three-term diploma in food and wine
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? I wanted to be an actor! I quickly realised that I wasn’t a very good actor, and a much better cook.
Why did you decide to go for a career in food & drink? Simply put, I loved to eat. I loved trying new things, experimenting with new ingredients, and reading cookbooks – especially Nigella Lawson’s. There was no one more glamorous than Nigella and I especially loved her Christmas book. My dad was also hugely influential on my love for food. He inspired my love for Italian food through his excellent carbonara. After Leiths I did work experience in restaurants and then worked full time at Stanley’s in Chelsea.
Explain your job to us in a sentence (or two): My job is managing the BBC Good Food and Olive test kitchen. I test, develop and write recipes and make content such as videos for bbcgoodfood.com and olivemagazine.com, TikToks and do cookery demos at the BBC Good Food Show twice a year.
What does a typical day look like for you? I usually start by unpacking the ingredients that have been delivered. Then I take a peek at my to-do list and start recipe testing, tweaking, making notes and writing changes down as I go. We test each recipe as many times as needed until they are perfect – it’s the hallmark of our brands that recipes are thoroughly tested, ingredients are detailed and accurate and instructions are easily followed with our pro tips and tweaks for different diets. Then I clean down from that recipe and start another! Other days I might be filming recipe videos or TikToks, some days I head to shoots to assist the food stylists. I am lucky to do lots of different things in my role.
Tell us about how you went about applying for your job: I applied through LinkedIn. There were three stages, of which one was to test a recipe – very nerve-wracking as I couldn’t get initially get the hob to work. I was totally convinced that I wouldn’t get the job at every stage, so I jumped for joy when I did get the call.
What’s the best part about working for a food & drink company? I love the collaboration – we all get together to discuss a recipe or dish, tweaking it until it is at its absolute best. I learn from my colleagues every single day. They are generous with their time and so knowledgeable. I am passionate about furthering my food knowledge and believe you are always a student of the thing you love. Immediate offers lots of learning opportunities to support that.
And what’s the biggest misconception people have about working in food & drink? That it is glamorous! For every perfectly placed photo of a dish, there’s been the chopping, the head down over the stove, and the going home smelling like onions.
What advice would you give to other young people looking to get into the food & drink industry? Being well-read in cuisines, trends and skills will always help you impress. Reach out to people you admire, most people are happy to help. Also, restaurant work is hard but you should try and do it, as it teaches you so much.
What’s your ultimate career dream? I would love to write a series of cookbooks and demo the recipes in some form, be that TV, social media, YouTube etc. A combo of words and visuals are especially helpful for cooking and I’d love to do more of that.
Interested in finding out more about food & drink careers? Check out GrocerJobs for the latest vacancies
No comments yet