After a near-death car accident last December, blind cook Penny Melville-Brown has emerged after weeks in a coma, months in intensive care and more time in specialist rehabilitation to walk, talk and think clearly enough to complete the video series of her Baking Blind world tour.
She said, “It has been a long hard struggle but I am now able to work on over 50 videos showing how outstanding professional chefs and amazing home cooks across six continents broke down any barriers about disability – just with our passion for cooking.”
In 2017 Penny won the international Holman prize run by San Francisco’s Lighthouse organisation enabling blind people to showcase their ambition. She, with two others, was chosen from over 200 contestants from 27 countries. She had completed most of her travels in America, Costa Rica, China, Australia and Malawi at the time of the accident in December but had to overcome the life-threatening injuries before pulling together all the elements of her adventure.
A belated Xmas!
Penny explained, “Everywhere I’ve been, whether people were showing me Michelin-style dishes or the simplest home recipe, the facts that I can’t see at all was forgotten in minutes. We just became enthusiasts sharing our knowledge and skills.”
“The videos follow me every step of the way: from fine dining in San Francisco and a chaotic jungle kitchen to the cuisine of prestigious hotels contrasted with the simple authenticity of African village cooking. And there were plenty of other dramas along the way: a high risk drive through a tropical storm, being marooned in China, an air-sea rescue in Australia and more. What started as a simple cook’s journey became an emotional trip from tears and terror to the fun and joy of wonderful food and people.”