On my desk : Anne Marie Carter

Planning a chocolate filled day ..

My working day tends to be different from day to day. One day I might be talking to a farmer who is passionate about their produce and the next day, having meetings with a team of food scientists who are passionate about their work.

There is a great deal of commitment from people involved in the Australian Native food industry to get our amazing produce out into the world. We have a “treasure chest” of fruits and vegetables in this land that show great promise as they contain sky-high levels of nutrients and have unique flavours, but are largely “undiscovered” as far as potential use is concerned.

I really have 3 things I can’t do without:

1. I can’t get by without my sense of imagination take over and be willing to adapt existing ideas to new foods. I find I have to try to separate my thinking from the everyday and try to be objective in order to think of new uses for novel foods.
2. I also find my computer vital as I get a lot of inspiration from internet sites where people are producing new products and thinking “outside of the square”.
3. My notepad beside the bed. Each night before I go to sleep I jot down the important tasks to do the next day and my mind seems to process the tasks overnight. The next day, even difficult or tedious tasks seem to get done easily and efficiently, leaving me more time for the objective thinking time I need to deal with the current project.

The best thing about it is everyone can take a minute to think about the next day and write down a simple plan before they go to bed, when their mind is relaxing. It costs nothing, but brings great returns.

Anne Marie Carter is Founder of Beaux Desserts in Brisbane, Australia. Anne Marie has been producing gourmet Christmas Puddings and Fruit Cakes and now with an interest in the Australian native food industry. Her creations explore various uses of these highly nutritious foods that Indigenous Australians have known about for thousands of years. Currently, Anne Marie is working with food scientists to develop a fantastic new all natural ingredient for bakery and foodservice use. Her aim is to get Australian native foods recognised across the globe for the sophisticated products that they are. Follow her @rainforestpearl