14/09/2026
❗️No need for alarm - I’m absolutely fine.❗️
These pictures were taken 4 years ago. The orange dye that has turned green on my eyeball shows where I had damage to my cornea.
In 2022 I was shallow frying celeriac at one of my supper clubs. Root veg is obviously pretty dense and as I lowered it into the pan, a piece slipped off the spoon and sent ripping hot oil flying straight into my eye. It’s one of those freak things that I couldn’t do again even if I tried. I’ve splashed my skin with hot oil loads of times over the years. It’s a quick flinch and that’s it, you barely notice. But into the eye - different story. The pain was unbelievable and it wouldn’t stop. Like a red hot skewer into my pupil. If I opened my eye it got even worse. So I kept it closed and battled through. I somehow finished the service and went straight to hospital. I don’t think the guests even realised I’d hurt myself. Only that I’d left immediately instead of chatting to each table like usual.
In hospital they flushed my eye with saline. Pints of the stuff. I had swelling, blurred vision and terrible anxiety because I thought I was basically going to lose an eye. The optician couldn’t see how far back the damage had gone until the cornea had healed. So I just had to wait and hope. I was so frustrated with myself for making such a stupid mistake. But it was done.
Eventually I got the all clear that the damage was only surface deep. My cornea was wrecked but it recovered pretty quickly and the lens underneath was perfectly fine. These days I have a faint black line which lurks in my field of vision. And that’s it. Most of the time I don’t even notice it. I was very lucky.
This little incident served to remind me that we are all our own biggest asset and no one is infallible. I was pushing myself so hard at the time and making great headway. But not everything can always go to plan and that’s OK. Most of the time we get to reset and bounce back. So I guess that’s the message I’m sending today, to individuals and other business owners. Whatever you’re striving for; be kind to yourself, accept that setbacks will happen, and most importantly - keep going. Always keep going. 💪🏼
