Mary Lynch – Freelance Nutritionist

“I started part-time while still at university, helping Jamie’s food team improve the recipes in his books, magazines, publications and TV shows. I then went on to primarily monitor the nutrition of the Jamie Oliver restaurant group and the Better Food Foundation (Jamie’s food education charity). I also became a Registered Associate Nutritionist, a title which really helped at the beginning of my career.

It is great to work for someone who is very open to new and exciting ideas, and who can reach so many people. I loved how varied my job was and the opportunities we got: one day I was on the set of a new TV show, the next I was in Liverpool testing food at a Jamie’s Italian. My role involved a number of different things. I helped Jamie and the restaurant chefs by analysing their recipes theoretically, feeding the results back and suggesting improvements, and carrying out regular testing at the restaurants to ensure they were sticking to recipe specifications. I also analysed any recipes that are used for the Better Food Foundation, created teaching materials, and taught the relevant people involved in the school and adult food education programmes about nutrition so they could pass that knowledge on.

Another part of my role was to be a point of contact for Jamie’s food team. I helped keep Jamie’s food team up to date and knowledgeable about nutrition, holding regular forums and distributing health articles.

Lastly, I assisted in writing the nutrition standards and nutrition targets for the company. With all the health campaigns that Jamie was associated with, it is vital that we were up to date with any legislation and regulation, and were constantly forming processes that allowed us to lead the way in terms of nutrition and health in the industry.

I am now a Registered Nutritionist and have found having this title, and a Registered Associate Nutritionist before this, very valuable – it makes you proud about your title and encourages you to be constantly learning, something that is essential in the job we do.”

Mary Lynch is a Registered Nutritionist who previously worked in the nutrition team at Jamie Oliver Ltd’s for almost five years. She is now carrying out a masters in Food policy and trying to start her own sustainable healthy food brand whilst working as a freelance nutritionist.