Meet Alfie
​
I grew up in Belgium from the age of 2 to 14, attending a local Belgian school and then an International school - giving me a wide appreciation of different cultures and allowing me to become bilingual in French. We moved back to the UK just before my GCSE year, which was a major challenge but really allowed me to develop my DT skills and prepare me for life at Loughborough University, where I now study Industrial Design. During my 3rd year, I studied at the Universite de Montreal where I played for the university's rugby team and was completely immersed in the Quebecois language.
​
I have a passion for sport, cooking, healthy eating and design. I even like to combine these where possible. Although lockdown had a big negative personal impact for me, as with many others, I used the time as an opportunity to earn money to fund my university degree, by designing & selling garden furniture and other bespoke designs (see 'Design & Build' tab).
​
I was lucky enough to appear on TV with Jimmy Doherty where I was able to combine my passion for food and design in a fun environment... I got the opportunity to help design an apple press, so that the windfall apples from my local orchard wouldn't go to waste. It was first aired on 4th January 2018.
Smoking
Combining two of my biggest passions, I started to build my own smoker...the first one one out of an old metal bin and some left over barbeque pieces. Although this was functional, and produced some great smokes, I realised there were a lot of improvements to be made. I spent time researching and re-designed a new smoker from wood that can be used for hot or cold smoking. These have given me the opportunity to try out lots of different cooking styles and flavours from home!