From banking to cooking: Kim Bagley's journey to culinary success

FROM chopping onions, peeling vegetables and cutting meat, Kim Bagley, a food content creator, owes much of her grounding in the kitchen to her mom, Beryl Bagley.

- CANDICE SOOBRAMONEY

She was 11 years old when her mother used to call home from work and ask her to do the chopping, peeling and cutting.

"My mom used to say 'have it ready, so I can come home and cook'. As time went by, she used to say 'please braise the onions and meat and I'll finish off the pot when I get home'.

"Later, I ended up cooking the entire dinner and food was ready when my parents got home from work. I can still remember her saying, 'Kim, I took out the chicken. Make what you want with it'. She gave me free range to explore and cook what I wanted."

Today, her social media page Cooking with Kim Bagley where she shares recipes and cooking or baking videos - is rising in numbers. And this month, she released her first cookbook, Cooking with Kim Bagley: A South African Fusion of Flavours.

Bagley was born and raised in Cape Town and moved to Johannesburg at 17, where she later met her husband, Suneshan Adjina. They reside in Joburg with their three children, Talia, 20, Amelia, 16, and Kihanna, 11.

She initially worked in the banking industry for more than six years, and later moved into telecommunications.