THE VITAL ingredient of any successful and stress-free dinner party is a former chartered accountant.
Grace Drummond from Pollokshields packed in her accountancy career in 2002, to pursue her ambition of turning her cookery hobby into a full-time occupation.
After graduating from a cordon bleu course, she now runs her own business.
The entrepreneur — who has even catered for the stars — cooks up something special for her clients in their own home and even does the washing up!
Grace told The Extra: "I was a chartered accountant and for the last six years was a business analyst, but then I sat back one day and realised I had been dealing with numbers for almost 20 years and had 20 more years to go! "
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Food is always something I have been interested in, so I went on a six- month course and here I am." She added: "It was a big financial commitment to give up work, but it had to be all or nothing. I have no regrets."
Grace's finest moment was performing a live cookery master class on stage at the Ideal Homes Exhibition last October, not long after launching her company.
She enthused: "I did five, half-hour slots on stage with Justin Ryan and Colin McAllister from Million Pound Property Experiment, which was nerve-wracking! I gave the audience tips on how to host a stress-free dinner party. It was a great start to my catering career." Since then Grace has attracted big names to her client list including hairstylists Ann and Taylor Ferguson and interior designer John Amabile. She explains the appeal of letting in the professionals: "Everyone enjoys entertaining at home, but are put off by the hassle after working all week. Once I agree the menu with my clients, that's all they have to do. I do the shopping, set the table, cook the meal, wash up and leave. They sit back, relax and enjoy the experience.
I enjoy my job and don't know what the next phone call will bring."
Grace 'n' Flavour, tel: 07866 459 791 or e-mail: grace@grace-n-flavour.co.uk