My name is Veronika Watkins. I am originally from the Czech Republic, where as a girl I was taught to cook by my mum and grandmothers who always cooked and baked traditional dishes from scratch often with freshly picked produce from the garden. I now live in Woodstock with my husband, two children and two guinea pigs, Toffee and Coco.
On arrival in the UK I first worked for a country hotel before finding employment at a marketing company. I then moved in to publishing, where I have spent the majority of my career specialised on medical textbooks. In March 2021 I made the decision to switch career and start up The Little Puddings. Cooking and food have always been a huge part of my life and I have decided to share this passion.
In my twenties I travelled round the world exploring the world’s cultures and cuisines. During my travels I attended lots of cookery courses where I learnt interesting cooking skills and also sampled an exciting array of exotic fruit and vegetables. I still love keeping up with food trends and have recently been experimenting with fermenting and sprouting as well as introducing my children to kimchi.
Since returning from my travels I have always surrounded myself with cookery books and food magazines. When on holiday I still love to visit local markets and food stores and sample any local delicacies I can find. I now have the pleasure of cooking for my two children who are very adventurous in their tastes. They also often improvise with ingredients and teach me something new every day. The latest food related project I have been involved with is a recipe book called Woodstock in the Kitchen which was published in July 2021 by the Woodstock Primary School PTA. I have also recently attended a course on Patisserie at the world renowned Bread Ahead Bakery in London.
I strongly believe that children should be given an opportunity to cook from an early age and develop an interest in food, flavours and healthy eating habits. In my view, the best recipe is to let them have hands-on fun and let them develop their confidence and independence in the kitchen.
I have completed Level 2 Food Hygiene and Safety, First Aid training as well as Safeguarding, Allergy Awareness course and I have been fully DBS checked. I have also recently received a 5 star Food Hygiene rating from the Food Standards Agency.