Neil has been kind enough to share his story, following the insights Henry and Bruce offered earlier this week. I asked him to pin down the exact moment he realized he could never go back to "grocery store" standards. Here is what he had to say: Neil’s Story "Crossing the line for me was when I started working at the Dorchester under Anton Mosimann, way back when Moby dick was a sardine. I had been working in a few undesirable places and got the opportunity at the above mentioned Hotel. It was here where I learned so much. The produce was top notch and it was a joy to work with such amazing ingredients from all over the UK and Europe. But what struck me the most was the way Mosimann conducted himself, he was/is a perfect gentleman. He always wore a bow tie and everyday he would come and shake everyone's hand and ask how they were? how was their family and he knew everyone's name. He taught me respect, from the Farm to beyond the plate and more. He never raised his voice or threw his toys out of the cot. He built confidence in the team and we all benefitted from that. He taught me what quality produce was and how important it was to have good communication with the people who produced the ingredients. I was lucky to be invited to a local farm and see how much work went into one of the products we were using and how the purchase of that product benefitted a whole community of people's livelihoods. In a world full of process foods, GMO's, foods that have ingredients you can't even pronounce. My personal view is we need to get back to basics, grow our own food, trade with others if we have too much of one product and make life simple again and where better to do it than right here in NZ." Thank you for sharing that, Neil. Having worked alongside him as fellow tutors in Auckland - Neil in cuisine and myself in patisserie - I can personally attest to the incredible depth of knowledge he brings to the table. Neil is a fantastic character, blending expertise with a great sense of humour. I am honoured to have him leading within our community and look forward to the wisdom he’ll continue to share.

I've been baking through some of the classics and this one came out of the oven this morning. More are coming throughout the week, different traditions, different techniques, different flavors. Drop yours in the comments if you've been baking for the holiday. Would love to see what's in your kitchen right now.

So happy to be here! Ready to join in on the fun and continue learning the road to being a good sourdough bread baker