Monday's Australian Story profiles pastry chef Kate Reid.
Kate Reid's croissants have been called the world's best. But how did a young woman battling a near-fatal eating disorder end up perfecting pastry?
Kate's perfectionism helped her realise her dreams, but Australian Story reveals the interior struggle of a woman who has faced down the darker side of control.
In a raw account, Kate and her family unpack Kate's astonishing journey from Formula One aerospace engineer to world renowned pastry chef – and the five-year battle with anorexia that nearly claimed her life.
"I wasn't just going to keep losing weight and keep existing. I was going to keep losing weight and die," Kate tells Australian Story.
As Kate restricted her eating, she began to develop an obsession with baking and found a new focus: creating the perfect pastry.
In her fastidious process of "reverse-engineering" the croissant and opening her business Lune, Kate found the satisfying intersection of science and baking – and, most importantly, a lifeline.
"The requirements of the anorexic voice inside Kate's head just didn't get any airtime," says her brother Cameron, who believes the creation of Lune contributed to Kate's health improving.
While Kate is grateful she was able to survive her anorexia, which has the highest fatality rate of any mental illness, she acknowledges that her battle with control is ongoing.
"There are many examples in my life of me reaching for things, healthy or unhealthy, to gain an aspect of control," Kate tells Australian Story. "And I think that'll probably be my entire life's biggest challenge."
Producer: Sarah Grant
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