Pursuing her passion has come at a high cost for Rhiannon Baldock and she has the scars to prove it. But all the pain and work is worth it now she’s fulfilled her lifelong dream by publishing her first cookbook.
“I’m not a super-emotional person, but when I saw the finished copies, I couldn’t stop crying because it’s been the hardest thing I’ve done in my whole career,” says the Auckland social media star, 31, who boasts more than 50,000 followers.
Rhiannon grew up in a foodie family – back in the ’90s, her parents even appeared on the TV show Ready Steady Cook. As a child, she was always in the kitchen, so a career as a chef seemed to be her destiny. Then an accident while she was training almost put an end to her dreams.
During her final year of study, Rhiannon was at home practising baking a tarte tatin, the classic caramel-covered French apple pie, when things went wrong.
The moment everything went wrong
“I’ve blanked it out and don’t remember exactly what happened,” she admits.
“But I think I poured the hot caramel out of the pan and into a bowl that was too cold, so it exploded. I remember screaming and passing out.”
Her parents weren’t home, so her sister Bethan called their father to say he needed to come back immediately because Rhiannon had burned her hand.
“Dad was in the supermarket at the time and, not realising how bad it was, he picked up some Savlon,” Rhiannon tells.
“Then he got home to find me drifting in and out of consciousness.”
With her injured hand encased in cling film, she was rushed to Waitakere Hospital, then transferred to the burns unit at Middlemore.
Three weeks that changed everything
“I was in hospital for three weeks, it was so bad,” she recalls.
“I had surgeries to clean the wound, then they decided to do a skin graft. It felt like my whole world had crashed around me.”
Determined to finish her Diploma of Culinary Arts, with the support of her tutors, Rhiannon made it through. Nevertheless, the accident changed the course of her career. She realised that being a restaurant chef wasn’t for her, so she needed to find another way to make a living from food.
Finding a new path online
Social media was the game-changer. In 2014, Rhiannon started sharing pictures of her food on her Instagram page @inrhispantry and a meringue wreath she posted at one point went viral. Honing her photography and food-styling skills led to an agency job, and she’s now a freelancer, developing recipes and producing food content for a range of clients.
But what Rhiannon had always wanted was to write a cookbook. Her plan was inspired by a blog post she once wrote, titled “More Than Toast”, which was about all the things you should be able to cook by the age of 25. She approached some publishers with her concept and was thrilled to be signed up by Bateman Books.
A cookbook for real-life cooking
More Than Toast is aimed at anyone who wants to get more confident with their culinary repertoire. As well as favourite recipes, there is a “freestyling” section to help readers put together a meal from ingredients they already have. There were times when Rhiannon, who has been diagnosed with ADHD, felt overwhelmed by the challenge of creating her cookbook.
“My ADHD was the worst it’s ever been. Fortunately, I’ve got an amazing community of friends. Without them, I’d never have been able to do it.”
From cookbook to community
As well as producing More Than Toast, Rhiannon has also recently devised a way to inspire other people to open and use the recipe books they already have on their shelves. Along with her friends Michelle Morfett of Mint Cakery and Darren Jarrett of Ashby Pies, she started a Cookbook Club that meets once a month and is open to everyone.
“We set a theme and people cook a dish, then bring it with them, along with the book the recipe came out of. Then we serve it up, pot-luck style. The biggest crowd we’ve had is 50 people and some of them have become good friends.”
Rhiannon’s scars are silvering now, and the debut author has full movement in fingers that were once so burnt and swollen, they looked like a pack of sausages. In the coming weeks, those hands are going to be busy signing copies of her beautiful new book.
She smiles, “It’s a dream come true.”
More Than Toast ($45, Bateman Books) is on shelves now and available at morethantoast.co.nz.
