Cooking for a living.
Reading a comment re earning rather than saving (to me this can be the same thing - one time I used to keep deliberate savings I had made for my personal pocket money), there is often an opening for someone who enjoys cooking and is keen on presentation. Many years ago, (long before I did any media work, I wasn't that good a cook, but could at least make it look delicious) there was an ad. in the local paper for someone to present food to be photographed. This was for a mail order catalogue where the object was to sell the pans and dishes which would look more enticing if they had food in them. Not a difficult thing to do as it doesn't take much to put peas in a pan, I was suprised they couldn't do it themselves, but there you go - I got the job. Difficult only in that all I was given was the, one table, amd bucket of cold water to wash up. Luckily, I had taken my favourite knives, hand beaters and scissors with me.
A milk bottle was used as a rolling pin and the distance between my workspace and the studio must have been 100 yards, so over the days I worked there, I must have walked miles. Once, they needed a picture of just a hand holding a saucepan handle, so I offered one of my own. Declined as not beautiful enough, they booked a model to come and do it. (So if you have beautiful hands, - never mind about your face - there's another way to make money).
It all went well and the photographer, who later moved to the other side of the country, rang me more than once to work for him again - usually dealing with preparing enticing edibles for food hamper brochures.
That was a lot more fun although this meant me getting up at six in the morning to catch a train so that I would be in the studio for 8.30am. We worked as long as the photographer was satisfied with what he had done - this usually meant me leaving the studio no earlier than 8.00pm each day, arriving home shortly before 11.00pm. Several days of this on the trot meant I ended up exhausted, but it did pay very well indeed.
Another earner is to seek families who are looking for a cook to take with them on holiday - this may even be abroad. This is more a change of scene than a change of life, but with the great advantage of having some time off in an region or country not normally affordable, at the same time earling money.
It's always worth learning to cook. The way things are going, home-cooks could be the most sought after people around. So start young and stick with it.
A milk bottle was used as a rolling pin and the distance between my workspace and the studio must have been 100 yards, so over the days I worked there, I must have walked miles. Once, they needed a picture of just a hand holding a saucepan handle, so I offered one of my own. Declined as not beautiful enough, they booked a model to come and do it. (So if you have beautiful hands, - never mind about your face - there's another way to make money).
It all went well and the photographer, who later moved to the other side of the country, rang me more than once to work for him again - usually dealing with preparing enticing edibles for food hamper brochures.
That was a lot more fun although this meant me getting up at six in the morning to catch a train so that I would be in the studio for 8.30am. We worked as long as the photographer was satisfied with what he had done - this usually meant me leaving the studio no earlier than 8.00pm each day, arriving home shortly before 11.00pm. Several days of this on the trot meant I ended up exhausted, but it did pay very well indeed.
Another earner is to seek families who are looking for a cook to take with them on holiday - this may even be abroad. This is more a change of scene than a change of life, but with the great advantage of having some time off in an region or country not normally affordable, at the same time earling money.
It's always worth learning to cook. The way things are going, home-cooks could be the most sought after people around. So start young and stick with it.
posted by Shirley at 8:03 am
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