Food, glorious FOOD

Three ladies reveal how their creativity in the kitchen opened up a brand-new career path

- KIM WILLIS

‘I felt better physically and mentally’

Jacqueline Barleycorn, 59, from Worthing, is the founder of The Great British Porridge Co. Ten years ago, I was struggling with indigestion and hoped tweaks to my diet might help. Bread left me sleepy, so I switched my morning toast for porridge but found it took ages and stuck to the bottom of the pan. Instant porridge was loaded with refined sugar, so I decided to make my own. I had three guiding principles. It had to have 100% natural ingredients, it had to taste amazing, sweet, and creamy, and it had to be genuinely instant. I wanted to add hot water, stir and it be ready in one minute. My husband, Peter, and our kids, Oliver, 29, and Emily, 27, loved my recipes, and the tweaks I’d made to my diet had a profound effect on me. I felt better physically and mentally.