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Raise Your Game: How did you start off in this business?

Amanda Ursell: I had a brilliant home economics teacher. I was in her class when I was 11, and she made us make a cup of cocoa. We were all tutting at the fact that we had to make a simple cup of cocoa. She then made us let the cocoa go cool, so it formed a skin. We were even more distressed at this point, saying 'It's got skin on it, we're not drinking it.' Then she said 'Girls, do you know why I made you do that?' We all went 'No Miss,' and she said, 'I made you do it because I wanted to show you that the protein in the milk has coagulated with the heat from the pan, and formed a skin, do you know what protein is good for?' 'No Miss', and then she told us protein was good for building muscles.

Then she said 'There's something else in milk, did you know it's got calcium in it?' I was completely amazed that there was all this stuff in a cup of cocoa. She said that cocoa was good for teeth and nails, and she completely captivated me. I was absolutely fascinated by nutrition from that moment forward.

RYG: Where did you train?

AU: I did a degree at Kings College, London, and a post graduate qualification in dietetics. It went on from there and I really I love it.

RYG: What advice would you give to someone wanting to become a nutritionist?

AU: There are lots of different ways of becoming a nutritionist, but if you are serious about being in the world of nutrition and dietetics, then you do need a degree. You can do other courses as well. Always keep in mind that you need to be sensible most of the time, and you'll be fine.

RYG: What have been the highlights of your career?

AU: One of the most terrifying things I've ever done was to talk at the Women's Institute Annual General Meeting at the Royal Albert Hall. I was giving a talk about children's school lunches. There were 7,000 women in various shades of purple sitting in the audience. It was utterly terrifying because the year before they had slow hand-clapped Tony Blair, the Prime Minister at the time, because they didn't like what he said. I can remember my legs shaking as I stood up to talk, but at the end they all clapped. I thought 'It's a good job I'm not a rock star, because I could get quite addicted to this.'