Monica Galetti Took a Risk and Made It in London

New Zealand chef Monica Galetti, 47, speaks to The Guardian about her childhood in Samoa, controlling her temper, meeting the Queen and forgetting to curtsey.

“Mum worked in New Zealand to provide for our family. While I was young, it was my aunties who raised me in Samoa. It was a childhood full of excitement and adventure. I’d play with the chickens, get lost in the plantations, and clamber around picking mangoes and cocoa pods,” Galetti says.

“Buying a one-way ticket to London was the biggest risk I’ve ever taken. Coming here alone at 23 from New Zealand, I was petrified, so far from my network and parents. I took a punt, hoping to experience something different for a year – 24 years later I’m still here.

Galetti is chef owner of Mere in London.

Original article by Michael Segalov, The Guardian, December 10, 2022.

Photo by Neale Haynes.