24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
TV chef Lorraine Pascale 'hasn't cooked for a long time' after stepping away from showbiz
Former TV chef Lorraine Pascale - who starred in her own BBC projects and other shows - has announced that she's now pursuing a different career as she no longer cooks as much
Former TV chef Lorraine Pascale has announced that she's studying for a doctorate in a different industry. She shared the news with fans after revealing on social media recently that she hasn't "cooked for a very, very long time".
Lorraine, now 52, appeared in her own BBC shows, such as Home Cooking Made Easy in 2011, more than a decade ago. She's also shared recipes in cookbooks over the years and was a judge on Sky Living 's My Kitchen Rules in 2014. More recently, she was a judge on Food Network 's Holiday Baking Championship, having been on it for six years until 2019.
The former chef, however, revealed this week on TikTok that she doesn't "really cook at all" anymore. Lorraine said in the video, which was uploaded yesterday, that it was "freeing" to speak about her relationship with cooking.
She said: "I don't know if you remember me or not, but I used to be on TV cooking. A chef. Do you remember that? I used to do cakes and bakes and all sorts of whatnot. And now, do you know what, I don't really cook. I don't really cook at all anymore."
Lorraine, who teased that she was preparing rice cakes, cheese and grapes for lunch, said: "It's like so freeing to say, do you know what, I'm not cooking anymore. I'm not." She went on to share: "I'm studying. I'm doing other things."
She concluded the message to her followers on the platform by saying: "I don't know I just thought I'd just say that on here. I haven't cooked for a very, very long time and you know what? That's okay."
Lorraine has since shared an update in which she suggested that her new relationship with cooking was "evolution". She also revealed in the second video that she's now studing for a doctorate in psychology and psychotherapy, with her sharing that she's already in her third year.
Addressing reaction to her previous video, she said: "You guys have been giving me the nicest, kindest, loveliest comments. I mentioned that I don't really cook anymore and that I'm doing different things now. And the support has been amazing.
"I just want you to know that even though I don't cook anymore, I really loved doing it. When I was doing it, I loved it. It was something that gave me ... it was like a creative outlet. It was lovely hearing from other people about how much they enjoyed the recipes and it really meant a lot to me."
She continued by saying that "things change". Lorraine shared with viewers that she still "loves" fans having her cookbooks and using her recipes.
Lorraine said: "I guess it's just like evolution. Like relationships. We're not with the same person ... some of us are not with the same person that we were when we were younger. Things change, right? Things change. We change. And I think that's what happened with me. So I love the fact that you've got my books and you've got my recipes."
Discussing her life as a student, she said: "I'm actually studying a doctorate at the moment. A doctorate in psychology and psychotherapy. I'm in my third year. So that's what I'm doing a lot with my time at the moment."
Lorraine - who is the mother of actor Ella Balinska - then shared that she has "remarried" and is a step-parent. She concluded: "Remarried. I'm a step-mum. I've got my daughter Ella and then I've got two stepchildren as well, so that's what I've been busy at the moment with. That's what I've been busy doing."
