9 December 2020

East Sussex College lecturer becomes a published author

East Sussex College lecturer becomes a published author

We’re very lucky to have such talented teaching staff at the college. Experts and professionals work across the entire group from Level 1 courses right up to degree-level.

Serious weight is added to this claim when our tutors and lecturers become published authors!

Kirsten Chick is a nutritional expert. She has been working in the industry for 17 years and has been a nutritional lecturer on our Complementary Therapy foundation degree course since 2012.

Just over five years ago, she set out on a journey to write her first book. A practical guide to help others become healthier, understand nutrition, and cook delicious food.

By 19th August 2020, Kirsten had reached her end goal. She had produced a 309-page book, crammed with advice, the science behind food, and 50 tried and tested recipes - straight from her own kitchen.

We had the opportunity to catch up with Kirsten at the end of November to find out more about her book - Nutrition Brought to Life.

“Since I was seven years old, I’ve dreamed of writing a book. I didn’t know my first book would take me five years to complete, but I feel a wonderful combination of relief, satisfaction, gratitude and pride now that it’s published.

The book is a practical and personal guide to nutrition. I’m a nutritional therapist and have been qualified for just over 17 years. I wanted to write a book that cuts through the confusion and brings the science behind food to life. Whether you’re a nutritional expert, a student learning your profession, or a complete novice, you’ll be able to pick up this book and explore new ways of eating and thinking about food and enjoy a whole load of my favourite recipes too.

It covers the fundamentals of nutrition, mindful eating, and our relationship with food. Nutrition is not just about what food to put on your plate, but how well you digest, absorb and use it. It’s about how food makes you feel, physically, mentally and emotionally. Any nutritional approach should actually feel nourishing. If it feels stressful or punishing, then it's counterproductive.

I started writing the book in 2015, alongside running my nutritional therapy business and teaching the nutrition modules on the Complementary Healthcare course. It was quite a heavy workload, but I chipped away at pulling together all of my research, then created a plan and submitted it to my publisher, Alchimia Publishing.

I was aiming for somewhere between 250 - 300 pages, but a few things tipped it just over the 300 mark. Fact-checking and more recipes! As you can imagine, science is constantly evolving, so I had to check that things were up to date and accurate - that took me almost a year to make sure it was all still relevant. Then, as I approached my launch date of May 2020 - the global pandemic hit the UK. My publisher and I had discussed pushing the launch back until 2021, but we decided to go ahead for this year, once the printing company could re-open. The extra time gave me an opportunity to include a few more recipes. These were dishes that I had created at home and had been inspired by other people over the years, including a lovely lady called Hayley North.

All of the recipes in the book have been tried and tested. They’re all really tasty and can be made in about 20 to 30 minutes.

After a three-month delay, my release date arrived on 19th August. I celebrated with an online book launch and invited people to join me for a virtual read along, with mugs of tea and glasses of bubbly in hand! In the first few months of it going on sale, it is doing really well and has received some incredibly positive reviews. It even has a glowing review from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall!

Just after the first lockdown was lifted, I spent a couple of days at River Cottage in Devon, and although I didn’t meet Hugh, I left him a copy of my book. I had no idea if the book would ever make its way to him, but a few days later, I received this review:

“I was really delighted to come across Nutrition Brought to Life by Kirsten Chick, which is clearly tuned in to the latest scientific evidence on diet, and also feels inspiring, compassionate and achievable for the reader. It’s a book that I’m sure would be really helpful for a lot of people.”

Lots of people have asked if I’ll write another book. At this stage, there aren’t any plans for another book, but I’ll look to update this one, so it stays relevant. I also see an opportunity to create offshoots from the book. For instance, selecting a few topics and then exploring them in even more detail - so watch this space!”

Nutrition Brought to Life has an RRP of £20 and is available to buy at Amazon and Waterstones, and if you would like a signed copy, you can buy directly from Alchimia Publishing.

Kirsten has been teaching on the Complementary Healthcare degree since 2012, specialising in the nutrition aspect of the course. You can find out more about her work on her website connectwithnutrition.co.uk and learn more about nutrition on our Complementary Healthcare degree course, which starts in September 2021. You can apply through UCAS or to us directly.