“There has to be an underlying passion, drive, and energy towards your goals”, says ION alumna, Jenny Tschiesche, above. Interview with Natalie Li.
“No one has a crystal ball; my path has sort of revealed itself,” Jenny Tschiesche says, as she fondly recounts 22 years as a nutritional therapist.
“Every time I’ve come to a crossroads, I’ve taken the more instinctive path, rather than the one that might look better on paper or make more money.
“It seems to have worked out. My advice to any student or anyone thinking of studying nutritional therapy? I’d say what I say to my kids: follow your passion.”
Jenny is jovial and upbeat when we chat on a grey and dismal January afternoon. Her warmth and energy are infectious and it’s no surprise the ambitious 50-year-old mum-of-two is on a high.
It’s a few days after the first hour-long episode of her two-part series The Airfryer Diet: Lose Weight, Cook Fast, aired on Channel 5 (January 2025).
Co-hosting alongside presenter Cherry Healey and chef Dean Edwards, Jenny showed viewers how to use their air fryers to create tasty, affordable, and healthy alternatives to breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
This comes ahead of Jenny’s new cookbook release: The Unprocessed Air Fryer: 101 Healthy, Family Recipes Free from Ultra-Processed Foods – the ultimate guide to using the air fryer for home cooking, which showcases everything from fakeaways to fries, Sunday roasts to sweet treats – all without any ultra processed foods.
“It’s all about removing ultra-processed ingredients from your home kitchen,” she explains, her voice filled with passion. “The air fryer is a facilitator, making it a lot easier to cook from scratch.”
It’s fair to say that Jenny’s remarkable career journey has been a whirlwind of success and diversity. But where did it all begin?
Field to fork
A sports fanatic, she first discovered a passion for nutrition when she was 14 years old. At a national camp for future England field hockey players, she was given a diet sheet outlining pre-game and post-game nutrition plans. This sparked her interest in food and nutrition but after studying for her first degree in Geography, it took her until her mid-twenties while in a senior marketing role at an IT company – “not my passion” – and playing hockey at national league level to reignite the sparks.
“My interest in nutrition comes from sport,” she explains, recalling her days playing hockey at a high level. “It was all about what you put in and the performance you get out. But a sports injury unexpectedly rerouted my path.
“I remember picking up Patrick Holford’s book in Sainsbury’s one day. I almost read it in the queue! It was a very long queue,” she chuckles as she recalls that impulse purchase that proved to be a pivotal moment. “I saw an advert for a nutrition course, and I thought, well, that sounds about right!”
“It was the breadth and holistic nature of the Institute for Optimum Nutrition (ION) course to which I was drawn after attending an open day.”
Babies and books
Signing up for the course, Jenny admits balancing motherhood with rigorous study wasn’t easy. “It was literally around their schedule,” Jenny recalls of fitting her studies around her young children. “If they were having a sleep, I’d pick up a book or write an essay.”
The journey wasn’t without its stressful moments – yet Jenny’s passion for the subject propelled her forward. “This is probably the first thing I’ve ever done where I find myself reading around the subject all the time,” she confesses. “That’s been the case for over 22 years.
Graduating in 2009, Jenny’s children became her inspiration for setting up a business in nutrition education. She became known as the ‘Lunchbox Doctor’ focusing on child nutrition, setting up a private clinic in a health club in her local town of Marlow.
“I realised my strength was the education part and I began running corporate and family workshops,” continues Jenny.
Opportunities in local radio led to national appearances and even a stint with a high-profile talent agency opening doors to content creation and media work. “It gave me the opportunity to see what I wanted,” she reflects.
“My passion for making healthy eating accessible led me to start sharing my knowledge on social media. I began by posting simple, nutritious recipes that could be whipped up quickly and easily. This quickly gained traction, and I soon found myself writing cookbooks.”
Air Fryer Cookbook, released in 2022, tapped into the zeitgeist and rocketed to the top of the Sunday Times bestseller list. Her Budget Air Fryer cookbook followed in 2023, meeting the rise in demand for easy meals that don’t break the bank.
“One of my first books, focused on sheet pan cooking, was a game-changer. It showed people how to create delicious, nutritious meals with minimal effort. Since then, I’ve explored one-pot cooking and air frying, always with a focus on simplicity and flavour.
“It led me to TV appearances shows including Steph’s Packed Lunch, GMTV, GB News, and BBC World News.”
Never a dull day
“Today, I’ll be creating content for health food and appliance brands,” she reveals, “this could be blogs, media interviews, or videos on healthy menus.
“I recently received a new kettle that allows precise temperature control for proper green tea brewing,” she adds, “and I also received a small instant pot and will create Valentine’s Day recipes for young couples or small households.
“This evening, I’m running a workshop on balanced healthy eating at Cliveden, a beautiful hotel country house. I’m also writing the introduction for a new cookbook on ultra-processed-free recipes and tweaking existing recipes. Freelance work is incredibly varied, but it’s great that new projects keep coming.”
Diving in
It’s been quite the journey for the self-proclaimed lover of apple puree and soup, who does not shy away from diving into the deep end. Literally. Outside work, the cold-water swimmer shares and advocates the joys of this popular pastime with her social media following to support a healthy diet – “it enhances circulation, reduces inflammation, supports mental health and builds resilience,” she tells her audience in a recent LinkedIn post.
Owning the freedom to pursue her passions is one of the highlights of Jenny’s job. “The beauty of this career is the variety and flexibility.”
Sage advice
Reflecting on her journey, Jenny, an ION Fellow, a champion for the profession, offers shrewd words for aspiring nutritional therapists: “Keep your mind open to the possibilities. The studying is just the start.
“There’s definitely got to be an underlying passion, drive, tenacity, and energy towards your goals,” she says.
Looking ahead, Jenny remains an enthusiastic advocate for healthy eating. She dreams of producing an ultra-processed-free themed TV programme and creating food products for cold-water swimmers.
“I hope to inspire people to make healthier choices,” she concludes, “by sharing my passion for real food and sustainable living, I aim to help others succeed in this field.”
