Three words: dyspraxia, messy and eating. Nothing could go wrong, right? Wrong. Adults living with dyspraxia have issues with fine motor skills. A common dyspraxia symptom is messy eating.

A sure fire way of spotting a dyspraxic chef is to look for food. Food on the floor, food on the kitchen counter, food on the furniture, food on the wall.

OK, so you get the point, but it is a serious point. I have on countless times dropped a knife or fork when seemingly in control of it. Sometimes it is not a disaster and I am at home. Other times in public, a fork will slip from my hand and in slow motion bounce and spring off every dish and plate on the table.

When I manage to keep hold of the cutlery, you can bet something will fall from my plate or fly from a fork and stain me or my surroundings. It is often the very last bit of a very messy meal that does the damage.

Adults living with dyspraxia can struggle with fine motor skills. Making preparing a food tricky task. A good tip to see if your plate is being filled by a dyspraxic adult is by checking their hands for cuts. A good chef will have them covered with plasters and a better yet, a dyspraxic chef would have taken extra care and time so they might not have any.

I have to say, I am on a good run and am still counting all my digits. Extra care and vigilance are needed though, or your next dish might have more meat in than intended.

This one is a first-hand account of the dyspraxic chef spending 5 -10 minutes trying to put on a pair of women’s trousers, before realising they were not mine. This is a common occurrence for adults living with dyspraxia symptoms. Not that adults with dyspraxia like to dress up in the opposite sexes clothes (although some might).

This can have implications in the kitchen.  Adults with dyspraxia can struggle with switching tasks and managing time. So it could take a dyspraxic chef some time before realising they are doing something wrong and that they didn’t plan enough time to do it. So, I hope you are not too hungry because switching tasks and starting again is going to take some time.

Cooking with dyspraxia has all sorts of obstacles. There are  nothing that can’t be overcome with some grit and determination, but none the less, things lay in wait; ready to trip up an adult with dyspraxia in the kitchen.

Recently, I decided to have a night off from chefing, the result was a frozen pizza. Now, I don’t know if it is fair to attribute this to dyspraxia, but I managed to set fire to the baking paper the pizza was on (the oven was on too high of a heat). A quick tip, don’t fan the flames, as they say. Flaming oven tray in one hand, blowing the flames, I was left with no choice but to put it in the sink. I put the fire out and more importantly, I saved the pizza, although it was a bit soggy.

That’s right, a good sign that you are being catered for by a dyspraxic chef is that they have just placed a tasty plate of food before you. Adults with dyspraxia might have issues with the texture of foods, but I think that enables them to satisfy the most sensitive pallet. Without a doubt, a lot of hard work and passion will have gone into the tasty treat before you, so enjoy and ALWAYS send your compliments to the dyspraxic chef.