Westin Gourmet

Velda Christine Lewis (Age 48) - Gourmet Food Tester
Profession: Voluntary Worker

I enjoy cooking and aim to make tasty, varied and value for money meals. I tend to cook and freezer as I get easiy bored. I like to see what is in season and try and find a creative way to prepare, cook and eat.

I originally did a Home Economics course but ended up working in an office before hard work and stress got the better of me. I now do a lot of voluntary work and through this have met and made quite a few good friend. I enjoy getting friends over and they usually leave with a container of "left overs". I enjoy baking and the end results are usually gifts or used as "payment" for favours rendeded. Whatever I eat must be healthy, tasty and above good enough to share with family and friends.

Olga Whitehouse (Age 44) - Gourmet Food Tester
Profession: linguist
Location: Huddersfield

Hi. I live in Huddersfield with my husband and three children, aged 7, 4 and 19 months. I spend a lot of time with my children. By profession, I’m a linguist. I teach various courses in Linguistics and do linguistic research, such as computer analysis of texts.

I also teach English and Russian. I have some knowledge of other languages, such as German, Spanish and Thai. I’ve travelled a lot, especially in South-East Asia. I enjoy good food and love cooking. I like a variety of foods, including European foods (German sausages, Polish meats, Russian borsch, French breads, Italian pasta and pizza, Spanish paella, etc.) and Oriental cuisines, such as Thai, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese and Korean. I love foods that taste great, that are full of flavour and look appetising – good quality food.

Simon Narracott (Age 46) - Gourmet Food Tester

Single Dad, work form home, living with my cat and 13 year old Daughter. I enjoy food, love eating out, and have the pressures of matching good restaurant food with what I can cook at home myself. I have worked in technology and web based businesses all my life and have worked for big companies, spending much time in Italy and in Europe, but now I work for myself from home.

I love all food, and there is nothing I won’t eat, but I do appreciate quality food, that has been lovingly cooked. As my daughter is very much into rowing I am usually tasked with towing boat trailors to events and coaching when needed.

Jackie Peck (Age 49) - Gourmet Food Tester
Profession: Housewife

Housewife, mother of 2 grown up children still at home. enjoy trying new things adventurous with food as well as traditional. Believe in praising when its due but not afraid to say if i don't like something.

Looking to save time and money just getting into internet shopping, find its so much easier from home than having to battle my way round the shops. I try to make my comments friendly and informative but never cruel and deliberately hurtful. Will share infomation with friends and family wether good or bad. Like meeting and getting to know new people and thats how you find out about goods and things by word of mouth.

Marie Poynter (Age 41) - Gourmet Food Tester

Im 41 yrs old and live with my husband. My son is all grown up and left home now. Ive always enjoyed cooking, and right from a very early age was always eagerly helping my mum in the kitchen. I also encouraged my son to love cooking when he was growing up. I enjoy cooking everything from sweet to savouries, but my when I cook sweet food it is mainly for my husband, as my favourite food is savoury.

I love to try something different taste wise, and have a habit of going into the kitchen cupboard and before I know it I see an ingredient and my mind starts to create a recipe from my head. Im the kind of person that even when I am following a recipe in a cook book I find myself standing there and thinking, I will just also add a dash of this and a dash of that. My biggest mistake is that I never bother to write down any recipes that I create, so when I cook it again it will never taste exactly the same!

Jane Elizabeth Durham (Age 63) - Gourmet Food Tester
Profession: Retired

I have been involved with "food" for most of my life. I trained as a Home Economics teacher back in the 60's. I started my career on Portland, home of the famous dough cake and I soon learnt not to use the word "rabbits." My pupils quickly taught me how to prepare bunnies for the pot - and my were they good!

After getting married I moved on to an all girls school in Bournemouth, had a baby and worked with the ROSLA pupils - teaching them about food and babies as by then I had a free sample to work with! During this time I also managed to fit in catering for weddings, working with another colleague. My final post - as a Design and Technology / Food teacher was also in Bournemouth, but in a bilateral school. It was here that I was promoted to Head of Curriculum Area, with six staff and total responsibility for practical and theory GCSE exams - and of course all the mountains of paperwork that goes with it. I took early retirement ten years ago so I could do "a little of what I fancied" and it has done me good.

Jan Ward (Age 26) - Gourmet Food Tester
Location: Dunfermline, Fife

Hi, I'm Jan, I'm 26 years old and live in Dunfermline, Fife. I work for a major financial organisation and live with my girlfriend and 3 cats!

I find nothing better than at the end of a stressful day to come home, raid the cupboards and whip up something tasty. I absolutely love making things up as I go along - I mean who needs a recipe!! I am a keen amateur cook and only last year featured in the Cook Scotland challenge!

Carole Ann Bayliss (Age 58) - Gourmet Food Tester
Profession: Book Keeper
Location: Cotswolds

My life resembles a colourful patchwork quilt - I've had many adventures and everything links up but doesn't make a whole picture - just like a patchwork quilt.

I lived in France for 10 years but husbandman had health problems and wanted to come back to UK, so we've settled in the beautiful countryside of the Cotswolds and I've had to start my life all over again - do you see what I mean about that patchwork quilt?

I'm an experienced book-keeper and currently studying for my accountancy qualifications. I work with small businesses who only need me for a couple of hours each month. I work remotely and have clients as far away as Cornwall, London and Manchester.

When I'm not working my life revolves around my home and garden - the birds and wildlife are a constant distraction to me and my vegetable patch has produced a variety of triumphs and disasters, but I'm pleased to boast that most ended up in the kitchen and eventually in our tummies.

Margaret Russell (Age 56) - Gourmet Food Tester
Profession: Retired

I am a retired teacher having taken early retirement for medical reasons. I have a small dog Heidi who keeps me active as she enjoys walks but especially playing ball in the park which is a noisy activity.

When not doing this she enjoys sleeping on the back of the sofa. I am involved in a Human Rights Charity, I keep an eye on an elderly neighbour and I enjoy socialising with my friends. Living on my own I try to cook each day but enjoy good quality food as I feel that it is necessary to have the best possible for health purposes.

Lee Fallows (Age 36) - Gourmet Food Tester

I am a single person; I am autistic and have High Functioning Aspergers Syndrome, which means in my case that I have a heightened sense of taste a good tool for someone who is going to taste the food that you will eventually have roasting in your home. I have loads of hobbies. I like to write short stories. I also have a blog on YouTube and engage in amateur dramatics. I work for a charity helping other people who have autism both high and low functioning. I also work for a charity helping people who have terminal illness around my area. I do not drive or smoke. I do like trains though and travel the country on them whenever I get the opportunity as well as travelling the sky on various different airlines.