After 7 years as a professional body piercer in Camden, Gizzi Erskine decided to pursue her life-long dream of being a chef. In 2003, aged 23, Gizzi started training at the prestigious Leith's School of Food and Wine. She graduated the top of her year and went on to win a placement at BBC Good Food magazine, where she started to establish herself as an award-winning food writer and stylist. A career in TV started with the popular C4 primetime show, Cook Yourself Thin, and she has since appeared on Iron Chef, Cookery School with Richard Corrigan and Drop Down Menu for C4, on Sky Living alongside Gu founder James Averdick, and on Sky 1's Ones to Watch, mentoring the next generation of hot new creative talent alongside Rankin, Idris Elba and Paloma Faith. She has recently joined Jamie Oliver's Food Tube network on YouTube (see her debut video here: http://goo.gl/vJAzEv). Always at the forefront of any trend, Gizzi was one of the first to back the pop-up restaurant scene. Her food events - including K-Town in London's Shoreditch and Gizzi's Barnyard Party in Dalston - are legendary for those in the know. In 2013 she had the honour of hosting the Observer Food Monthly awards alongside Jay Rayner, and in 2014 she programmed her own tent at Latitude Festival, headlined at On Blackheath and appeared at both Meatopia and the Big Feastival. This year Gizzi is once again one of The Evening Standard's 1000 Most Influential People. As a food writer, Gizzi is the new Sunday Times Cook, writing the weekly food pages in the Sunday Times Magazine. She is also a Contributing Editor for InStyle and has written for a wide variety of other magazines and newspapers such as Marie Claire, Elle, Elle USA, Vogue USA, GQ, The Times and The Evening Standard. Her books include the bestselling Cook Yourself Thin, Gizzi's Kitchen Magic and Skinny Weeks & Weekend Feasts. Find out more about Gizzi at instagram.com/gizzierskine and on Twitter at @GizziErskine.