I want to apply for a job that I know I would be good at but have no formal training for. Am I mad?

[MarmaladeTwatkins]

It's a catering job at a residential home, just cooking proper home-cooked meals for 22 residents and baking cakes/pastries.

Not blowing my own trumpet, but I am a good cook and can make naice cakes. I would love to work in a job with food and this one would be perfect for me... at the bottom of my street, nice hours that fit in with school runs... but I have no formal experience. The job description says previous experience preferred and baking experience essential. Well, I have baked all sorts of cakes but not in a professional capacity.

I haven't applied for a job in over ten years and feel a bit out of my depth, pathetic as it sounds. Do you think it's even worth me applying?!

Well done, it sounds like you're in life Flynn!

Good luck Helena

congrats

Well done twatkins. So pleased for you....be rightly proud!

Congratulations! Really pleased for you! (Needs cake to celebrate...)

Well done OP! :)

That's fantastic news :)

Hope all goes well tomorrow, OP. You sound so positive, so enthusiastic; it's lovely.

Wishing you lots of good luck for today

Hope all goes well today.

have been lurking and this sounds fantastic!

OP don't regret the jobs you didn't go for because then you might not have been free for this one How did today's trial go?

Am delurking to say please come back OP and tell us how you got on. Good news or bad, we want to know. Everyone was rooting for you and we need to know how it went!

Does anyone know how OP got on?

I'm hoping for an update too.

Hopefully you are far too busy working in your new job to be on here

marmalade 's DM is in hospital, so I don't think she'll be back with an update soon

Oh no..sorry to hear that. I hope she gets well soon.

Hello everyone!

Really sorry for forgetting to update, been a bit frantic this last week.

I did a trial run... I had to make a chicken and mushroom pie, lemon meringue and a Victoria Sponge. Did it all OK apart from the lemon meringue. The filling went a bit runny because I had to use a bloomin' packet one because that's the one that the current chef uses, but I will suggest making my own in future. Everything else went well and my Vicki sponge rose so well that I had to trim some off

Anyway... the manager from the care home called me yesterday and formally offered me the job! I am going in on Saturday to fill in my CRB forms etc and then I am away the week following so will begin in earnest on my return. I will be handing in my notice at my current job tomorrow and I CANNOT wait. I feel so much happier knowing that I won't be doing another Christmas in retail! Well, I will be working Christmas in the new job but I will enjoy doing it and not be finishing at midnight! The only thing I need to master is making pastry with soft margarine because it is HARD. And timings. But I should fall into some kind of pattern after a few days, I should think.

Hurrah!

I am really happy. Thank you so much everyone for encouraging me and offering tips. I said it earlier, but I honestly wouldn't have gone for it if not for you lot.

Hurray hurrah! Well done!

Hope it proves hugely rewarding. And best wishes for your DM.

Brilliant news

Mother Twatkins is on the mend, thankfully! Thank you :)

Congratulations.

FWIW I like runny lemon meringue, cos it''s how my mum always used to make it. And runny trifle. She used to get really annoyed cos she didn't mean for it to be runny, but we LOVED it!

I was despairing over the runny filling and one of the carers said "Don't worry, it'll be easier for them. They've only got four teeth between them."

That's excellent news, OP. Well done!