Chocolate & Zucchini

Yesterday I went to a book signing for Clotilde's cookbook "Chocolate & Zucchini" at the Ferry Building. I browsed the Farmer's Market a bit which was busy and crowded. Then headed into Book Passage which was also crowded, being a fairly small store. Clotilde spoke about how she got interested in food and cooking in her 20's (and she's only 27 now I think). She was a software engineer and moved to the Bay Area for two years for an internship during the Dot Com boom. She discovered her interest in food - shopping, meal planning, cooking ... here. Then she moved back to Paris and pursued her interest. She started a food blog - writing about food, sharing stories, recipes & photos. chocolateandzucchini.com/

Approximately three years later, lo and behold, she has her first published cookbook which she wrote and took all the photos. When they ran out of copies of her book she signed a bookplate. I congratulated her on her successful career change. She was very kind and appreciative. She mentioned her next project, writing a guide book for Paris about food markets and restaurants due out at this time next year.

Stories like these always encourage me. When you find your passions you can absolutely head in that direction even if you don't know what you are doing at that early stage. My impression is the you are happier with your life because you are doing something you care about, enjoy, and most likely have a talent for. I imagine you have different challenges but are more likely to press through, overcome, and succeed.