Well firstly, I love to cook, I love feeding people and I love eating. I also love talking about food, sharing new restaurants and dishes I’ve tried, new ideas and recipes I’ve discovered. I find joy in researching foods and ways of eating from around the world. I want to inspire you to try new things and I want to hear your recommendations and experiences too! I'm aiming to post once a week and see how it goes from that.
Secondly, I believe that the world needs to hear more Asian voices, their experiences and lives. Female voices in particular. Representation of the Asian community in media is very low and tends to conform to old worn stereotypes. The Asian community itself does not help, women are often taught to be meek and quiet and subservient. I want to do my bit to raise awareness of Asian voices and experiences. The recent surge in racism around the world and in racially motivated attacks on Asian people can only be combatted with education, understanding and empathy.
I have debated about the wisdom of including these topics on a blog on my business page but I don’t want to hide who I am. Your Baker is Chinese and Irish! Shock! Horror! Jokes aside, I’m woman of Chinese origin, born and bred in small town Ireland. I have now lived in the UK for more than 12 years and married a very lovely, very British man. I have, thus far, a lived a life of varied and contrasting beliefs, cultures and values. I am proud of all the cultures that mingle in my being. I have never felt like I wanted to choose between them because they all part of me and make me the person I am. I hope that in sharing the things that make me who I am, my experiences, stories and inspirations, that people will be able to draw more parallels between themselves and those they see as other. I believe that there are more similarities between people than there are differences. I am a hopeful optimist.
Thirdly and perhaps most selfishly, I find writing cathartic. I have no training or experience, but I was encouraged to write as part of the counselling and therapy I went through last year following a mental health crisis and I do find that writing down my thoughts helps me to order them and express myself more clearly. I would ask you to bear in mind that my thoughts, opinions and experiences are exactly that, mine. In no way do they reflect those of all Chinese or Irish women and it is not definitive, I am open to changing my opinions. I’m just putting my voice out there. After all every human being wants to be heard, seen and understood. Maybe I’m hoping too much for one little blog but hey, you have to aim for something right?! Thank you for sticking with me so far! I promise it will get better from here!