Lydia Guerrini

As a child, Lydia would be in the kitchen with her Mum - kneading pasta and bread, shaping biscuits and often helping with the evening meal. The first dish she remembers making was a pasta ragu. Dinnertime was un-interrupted family time in their home.

“My life was centred around the kitchen table - homework, eating, chatting - I had a great upbringing, always plenty of food in the house. My friends used to think we were having birthday dinners, when it was just a normal night of the week!”

Lydia was born and raised in the same house until she got married. Lydia now lives with her second husband and her two children from her previous marriage.

Lydia studied fashion after leaving school and won a prestigious Western Australian Fashion Award which enabled her to travel to the London and Paris fashion and trade shows but eventually she realised that wasn’t the career path she wanted to take. Instead, Lydia went back to university and studied psychology. She has taken a year off from her PhD studies to pursue her love of food.

“I’m ‘cursed’ with being equally creative and academic, this is why I love cooking - I can turn it into a learning tool.”

Lydia used to have a fear of baking, “my sister teased me when I was 10 years old in front of a large gathering of family after the cake I baked flopped. I didn’t bake for decades after that incident!”

Even now she cites baking and desserts as her weaknesses. Lydia believes that food really evokes happiness and a positive energy around a table. She hopes to be able to reach people through her cooking - and educate others about food - by setting up a food promotional company.