Gwyneth Paltrow Inspired This Photo at 50.

—Can You Guess Which Is Mine?

Image Gwyneth Paltrow/Instagram. Image Mel Norman

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I find it uncanny how similar these pictures are: one of Gwyneth Paltrow in a pose she struck for her 50th birthday, and the other of me. Can you guess which is which? Thankfully, I’m the one with enough sense not to do mid-air leg splits in a bikini!

A few years ago, I travelled to Fuerteventura to celebrate my own ‘significant round’ birthday. I wanted to mark the milestone in a way that felt authentic—capturing the energy I hoped to bring into this new phase of life. Starting a new business and stepping into what felt like the second act of my life was momentous, so I asked my partner to take a picture that reflected this.

Reaching 50 and launching a business comes with its challenges. Alongside your hopes and dreams, there’s always that flicker of doubt, a glitch in the corner — a reminder of past adventures that didn’t go as planned.

But this time, I chose to focus on what could go right.

Cottage for birthday weekend away - Picture by Mel

It was my friends who set me on this path. After a weekend away where I prepared all the food — veggie and intolerance-friendly, of course — they insisted I turn this into a career. At first, I resisted. But when they pointed out how much I could help others with my recipes and methods (just as these approaches had helped me), I couldn’t ignore the idea.

It wasn’t easy at first. I had to teach myself how to write recipes and take decent photos (still working on that!). I recovered my writing voice at Gilly’s Cooking the Books Retreat but there came a moment when I decided to dive in fully. I learned how to film and edit videos for my own YouTube channel and even how to present on camera.

There were highs, like being offered a TV Correspondent role with a small food-focused German station. And there were lows, like realising—thanks to advice from others—that the terms of that opportunity wouldn’t work for me at that time. Letting it go was tough, but it was the right choice.

Most of the time, it’s been a gradual journey. Sometimes, I could only see one or two steps ahead, and when it felt like nothing was happening, I kept going anyway.

It’s also been a steep learning curve: mastering new software, discovering my voice in this space, and working hard not to compare myself with others (still a work in progress!). I also had to get comfortable talking about my own intolerances—something that wasn’t easy to begin with.

This past year, as well as making videos, I’ve returned to my first love: writing. Through this Substack newsletter, Yes! You Can Eat This, I’ve shared my journey, stories, and recipes since launching it in November. It’s been growing steadily reaching new subscribers each week and I have been blown away by the interest and comments from all of you.

The focus of the newsletter:

• For busy home cooks: easy, delicious recipes that work for you, your household and guests. Whether you have food intolerances or not, everyone can enjoy the same meal.

• Tips to reclaim your food joy if you have intolerances(yes, it’s a thing!) and bring ease to everyday food life.

• Shortcuts and meal prep ideas to reduce veggie waste and make cooking from scratch quicker.

I’m incredibly grateful for the responses I’ve received so far. People have told me they’re no longer bored with their meals, are spending less time in the kitchen and even those with many food intolerances have found new recipes they love.

This year, I’m excited to help even more people recover their food joy—through one-to-one’s, more writing/recipes, and additional exciting projects in the works.

Now, heading into my 52nd year, I feel younger and healthier than ever. (still no bikini wearing mid-air splits for me, though!) Slowly but surely, the pieces of what I’m building are coming into focus, and it’s bringing me joy and to others too.

If you fancy a laugh, this is an outtake video of the jumping shenanigans. (It was easier to take a screenshot of the video after lots of blurry photos.)

(Mialy, mentioned in the video is a friend who wasn’t totally sure that I would go through with it. Yep she thought I was bonkers too.)

What have you done to mark a significant milestone, either reaching a certain age or a new start/business? Leave a comment and let me know.