Join columnist Vicky Ellison every month as she meets with inspiring women from the worlds of wellness, business, fashion and art to bring you a snapshot of their story and advice to take into your day.
Perhaps best known as a model, celebrity chef and author, Lorraine Pascale has had numerous careers including hypnotherapy and car mechanics, in addition to a host of charity work. However, this year will see her move into a new area – wellness.
I was curious to hear what has sparked Lorraine’s various career changes; ‘I’ve always gone with my gut’ she explains, ‘so if I’m doing something and it doesn’t feel right, I always look to change it. It’s important for me to do things that I’m passionate about and that have a purpose. Modelling was good when I was younger, and then I really wanted to be in London more so I found a course I liked and that happened to be baking. Now I’m getting into wellness and writing my 8th book which is not a cookery book so that’s quite exciting.’
Undoubtedly there have been naysayers, but Lorraine has risen above any negativity to forge ahead along her path. ‘People have told me along the way – be it well-meaning friends or other people, to manage my expectations, but normally when people do that it’s a reflection of what’s going on inside them, their limitations coming out. It can knock your confidence, but you just have to have positive people around you that keep you up and keep you going, so you’ve just got to ignore them.’
Often easier said than done, we discussed how Lorraine deals with negativity from others, especially in such a social media focused world, ‘I think there’s a sort of arch from being immature to hopefully being mature, although that doesn’t always go with age’ Lorraine muses, ‘from blaming [others] and thinking everything else is at fault, to being accountable for yourself. When you’re younger maybe you need to be fixed and you look outside for answers, and then there comes a time for some people that you realise it’s all up to you. So I do a lot of positive self-talk, I do therapy, the gym is a big type of therapy for me as well, [as is] cooking, and really only having a small circle of friends around me that I can 100% trust and feel safe and encouraged by.'
Sharing a sneak peek into the focus of her new book, Lorraine shares ‘it’s all about mental health being a good word, a word we should all use, being open and honest about how we’re feeling because I don’t think there’s a single person on the planet who hasn’t had a bad day, or bad half day at least… the problem is when [mental health is] mentioned people think of being sectioned… and that does happen with some people but there’s a whole spectrum under mental health. There are so many days lost to depression and most people probably don’t say that when they’re ringing in because it’s frowned upon. You can say that your arm hurts but you can’t say that you’re in pain in your head, so I find it a bit strange, but hopefully I can start to make a difference with that.’
Refreshingly down to earth in her approach, Lorraine admits that on her bad days she’s more likely to order Deliveroo than cook or go for a walk along the water to recharge.
I’m inspired by her drive to use her position to help others. ‘I think it’s rude not to, if you’re given a platform and you can influence a lot of people then it’s part of the duty to do that.’ I’ve no doubt her new book will be another bestseller.
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Discover more about Lorraine through her recipes, workouts and motivational quotes @lorrainepascale.
