Maria Goretti on World students' day: My children attended my graduation

Actor and author Maria Goretti began her culinary journey at 40, balancing family and education. She highlights the importance of lifelong learning.

Actor, author and former VJ, Maria Goretti is now also popular for her cooking related content on social media. She admits that while she was always fond of eating, it was only when she turned mother that her interest in cooking developed. On world students' day, she recalls enrolling in culinary school at age 40 and not letting the symptoms of perimenopouse deter her from turning student again.

Maria Goretti in culinary college

Maria (53) recalls, "My 40s were quite adventure filled. The year I turned 40, I went to culinary school, Tante Marie in the UK. The kids were small and I had to coordinate with Arshad (Warsi, actor-husband) and he had to sort his dates so one of us could be with them. My parents came to live with us, friends and family pitched in, because I was away for three months."

Her passion for learning didn't end there the second time she returned to college, the kids were older but still in school. "I enrolled for an 18 weeks course spread across the year, where we would be in the kitchen Monday to Saturday from 8am to 10pm. I also had to change campuses from Paris to London and back, to complete three levels before earning my chef's degree. The first time around I found the exams to be easy. The second time around I was going through perimenopouse because of which I would study hard but couldn't remember a thing due to brain fog. I would cry worrying I would fail but you just have to trust yourself you can get through it," says Maria.

She proudly shares, "My children attended my graduation in Paris and Arshad joined in a bit later, post his shoot, for the celebrations." She says it's never too late to learn and age shouldn’t be a detterant. She advises, “The best time to try something new is now. If you are passionare about something immerse yourself in it, its never too late to study.”