3 Times a Day

How food saved a pop singer

After working for more than 13 years in the music industry, I realized that I would never achieve the sense of fulfillment I was seeking from that world, but refused to quit because I wasn’t ready to give up my singing career. Over time, people had convinced me that I was born to make music, so I shut myself off from other opportunities because I put too much emphasis on other people’s opinions.

But on a life-altering night in spring 2013, I finally stopped listening to other people and decided to follow a different path. I always felt that cooking was my true calling, even though I had no formal training in the profession. What I did have was a genuine passion for entertaining and table settings, for cooking, for healthy living and a knack for coming up with original recipes. For years I’d spent countless evenings leafing through cookbooks and food magazines from all over the world, which inspired and encouraged me to dream.

But my dream was rooted in a deeper place than a simple love of food. When I was younger, I struggled with anorexia and had an unhealthy relationship with food that lasted for many years.

I had always loved to eat and still did — but I was afraid of food and I worried that my eating disorder would have a hold on me for the rest of my life.

With hard work and humility, I managed to get better. It was the greatest victory of my life, made all the better because I didn’t need anybody’s approval to feel proud of my achievement and that resonated louder than the cheering of any crowd ever could. Today, I can say without a doubt that the lowest lows of my life, as painful as they were, were blessings in disguise, and I wouldn’t be where I am today without them. I named this book Three Times a Day in honour of my recovery and to pay tribute to the three meals a day that I’m finally able to enjoy in health and happiness.