I was born and raised in a small town near Sheffield in England. After leaving school, I worked for a couple of years at a steel processing company near my hometown. At that time, I was actually lucky to find a job at all, but I thought to myself: Is this really what I want to do for the rest of my life or is there more out there somewhere?

At the age of 19, after checking out various magazines and agencies offering jobs abroad and after sending off several applications, I was offered the opportunity to work at a hotel at Lake Constance (German: Bodensee). Why not? I thought. It's just a season away to see and experience something new, something different. It was in fact a life changing experience. I couldn't speak German at the beginning. Still, I got along, basically learning by doing. I met lots of interesting people and made many new friends with whom I spent my free time, which consisted of relaxing by the banks of the lake, swimming, taking regular excursions to explore the region (e.g. Swiss mountain summits, the breathtaking Rhine Falls, or even Italy, which is only a 3 hour journey away) or visiting some of the great bars, cafes and festivals.

My duties at the hotel consisted of general kitchen work, such as peeling vegetables, washing dishes, preparing salads, stocking up the buffet, cleaning, painting and maintenance. A bit of everything.

After returning home to England at the end of the season in October, I slowly but surely realised that I was actually homesick for Germany . I missed the people, the culture, the cuisine and the lifestyle. Hence, I returned the following summer to work another season, and then another. In the third year, I was offered an apprenticeship to train as a chef. After successfully completing the apprenticeship, I moved on to work in several hotel restaurants in the Bavarian mountains and at Lake Constance, finally working as head chef at a traditional family-run restaurant by the lake.

I grew up near Lake Constance (Bodensee) and currently live in Lindau, a popular tourist destination at the north-east of the lake.

After leaving school, I completed an apprenticeship in electrical engineering and later acquired further qualifications in computer science and automation technology.

When I was a young adult in the early eighties, I used to visit some of the bars and cafes on the island of Lindau with my friends. One of our favourite places was the Irish Pub, where we met lots of young English-speaking season workers from around the world. Lots of friendships and relationships were struck up and some of the parties back then were legendary. They certainly knew how to party, but they were also hard-working and reliable. I often helped out some of those season workers when they needed assistance in bureaucratic matters. Some of those season workers moved on, some stayed, some went home but several friendships have lasted to this day.