For many people, food is about far more than simply eating. It is connection, celebration, family, friendship and community.
But when food intolerances, allergies or different dietary choices enter the picture, something that should be enjoyable can quickly become complicated.
Suddenly, one family meal can mean multiple dishes, hours in the kitchen and the feeling that someone is always missing out.
For Mel Norman, founder of Yes You Can Eat This, that is exactly the problem she is trying to solve.
Mel joined us on the latest episode of Made in Ely to talk about her own journey with food intolerances, her unusual route into food and recipe creation, and why her ultimate goal is to help people reclaim their food joy.
From film and television to food
Mel’s career hasn’t followed a conventional path.
In fact, she says she has never really had a “proper job”. Since graduating from university, she has worked predominantly on projects and contracts, building a varied career across film, television, innovation, business strategy and consultancy.
One of the more unusual chapters came when she was just 19, travelling to America to sell books door-to-door. She returned for a second and third year, eventually bringing a team of other young people with her.
It was difficult work, with plenty of rejection, but it taught Mel some valuable lessons about resilience, management, communication and dealing with the unknown.
Those skills followed her into the film and television industry, where she worked as a production manager, line producer and producer.
As technology began transforming the industry, Mel found herself increasingly involved in innovation and change. She worked on one of the UK’s early digital feature films, worked internationally, including in India for the BBC, and eventually began running workshops around business strategy, creativity and innovation.
The common thread throughout her career?
Change, collaboration and people.
And, perhaps more importantly, food.
Food has always been about bringing people together
Although food eventually became the focus of her business, Mel wasn’t someone who grew up particularly passionate about cooking.
She describes herself as being “absolutely rubbish” at cooking as a teenager.
That changed over time.
Mel became vegetarian at 15, after working in a fast-food restaurant and watching a documentary about processed food. Later, after experiencing meningitis in her twenties, she found that she could no longer eat gluten.
At the time, gluten-free options were considerably more limited than they are today.
Mel remembers the bread being particularly memorable — and not necessarily for the right reasons.
With few alternatives available, she was forced to learn how to cook differently and work out for herself how to create food that she could actually enjoy.
Years later, she also found herself unable to eat dairy.
And that was particularly difficult because, as Mel admits, she loves cheese.
Rather than accepting that her food would simply become less enjoyable, she decided to approach the problem differently.
She wrote down what she could eat and started getting creative.
That attitude became hugely important to the way she now approaches food.
Reclaiming your food joy
One phrase from our conversation really stood out:
“Reclaiming your food joy.”
For Mel, dietary restrictions aren’t simply about finding a substitute for an ingredient.
They can affect how connected you feel to other people.
She remembers attending events where she would explain what she could and couldn’t eat, only to be presented with a separate plate of food — sometimes little more than lettuce and tomato.
On one occasion, she found herself having to leave an event to find a baked potato because there simply wasn’t enough suitable food for her.
It wasn’t just about being hungry.
It was about not feeling included.
That experience has shaped the philosophy behind Yes You Can Eat This.
Mel doesn’t want to create food that makes people feel like they are eating a compromise. She wants to create food where everyone sitting around the table can enjoy the same meal.
As she explains, an “inclusive meal” doesn’t mean something that everyone in the world can eat. It means that everyone at your table can sit down, share and enjoy the same food together.
And that applies to the person with the intolerance just as much as it applies to the person doing the cooking.
The person doing the cooking matters too
This is one of the things that makes Yes You Can Eat This different.
Mel isn’t just creating recipes for the person who can’t eat gluten or dairy.
She’s thinking about the person who has to cook dinner for the entire household.
Perhaps one person is vegetarian.
Another can’t eat dairy.
Someone else can’t have nuts.
A child doesn’t like certain vegetables.
And suddenly the person responsible for dinner is trying to solve an enormous culinary puzzle.
The result can be cooking two or three different meals every night — something Mel believes shouldn’t be necessary in most circumstances.
Her recipes are designed to make that process easier.
They are plant-based by default, but flexible enough that people can adapt them depending on what everyone at the table needs. She deliberately builds flavour into the recipes so that removing or swapping an ingredient doesn’t mean ending up with something bland.
And importantly, she tests her recipes.
Every recipe is taste-tested by at least two other people, with honest feedback used to refine it.
The test isn’t simply, “Does Mel like it?”
It’s:
Will someone who loves meat enjoy it? Will someone who isn’t keen on vegetables enjoy it? Will the kids eat it?
That’s the real test.
A birthday celebration that changed everything
The business itself started almost by accident.
Around three years ago, Mel had finished a project and wasn’t quite sure what she wanted to do next.
She had some time off, so she started spending more time in the kitchen and experimenting with recipes.
Then came a significant birthday.
Mel wanted to spend the weekend away with friends, but everyone had different dietary requirements. Some were vegetarian, some ate meat and there were various ingredients that different people couldn’t eat.
So Mel decided to cook for everyone.
She created the menu herself, adapted recipes and, crucially, made the weekend about celebration rather than missing out.
There was even a kitchen disco.
Her friends clearly thought she was onto something.
Three of them effectively staged an intervention and told her that she needed to turn this into something more.
Mel wasn’t convinced.
She wasn’t classically trained as a chef and had plenty of imposter syndrome.
But her friends persisted.
Within three months, she had launched a YouTube channel and started sharing her recipes and ideas.
And Yes You Can Eat This began to take shape.
Making food easier, not more complicated
Today, Mel works with people at different stages.
Some are just beginning to navigate dietary restrictions. Others have been “winging it” for years but have found themselves spending far too much time in the kitchen.
Her approach is about making food easier and more enjoyable rather than creating another rigid meal plan.
She offers free recipes and guidance, alongside a paid membership focused more on the “how” of making food work in everyday life.
That includes things like flexible recipes where one base can become several different meals.
One sauce, for example, can be transformed into four or five different meals and frozen for later.
There are also practical menus designed around occasions — such as an easy barbecue where everyone can eat the sides without the host spending the entire day in the kitchen.
It’s about reducing the mental load as much as the cooking time.
The power of cooking together
One of the most exciting things Mel is developing is a series of local cooking experiences around Ely.
The idea is simple.
A small group of people get together, cook a meal using Mel’s recipes, ask questions, learn together and then sit down and eat the food they’ve created.
It’s about learning, but it’s also about connection.
That idea comes directly from Mel’s own experiences of cooking for groups and hosting retreats.
One story particularly captures what this means to her.
At one retreat, a guest initially said she would bring her own food because she didn’t want to create extra work for Mel.
Mel asked her to explain what she could and couldn’t eat.
Despite the list being fairly extensive, Mel worked out a meal that everyone could share.
At the end, the woman cried and hugged her.
Why?
Because she felt like she belonged.
She wouldn’t have felt the same way sitting there with her own packed lunch.
For Mel, that’s the point.
Food creates belonging.
Sometimes the best opportunities aren’t on the to-do list
Mel’s approach to business is just as interesting as her approach to food.
She talks openly about imposter syndrome, the challenge of managing multiple parts of a modern business and the difficulty of knowing which traditional business models still work.
Rather than trying to follow a prescribed route, she has learned to focus on what she enjoys, what people need and what feels aligned with her values.
One of her biggest mindset shifts has been moving away from presenting herself as an “expert” and instead talking about her lived experience.
That distinction has made a huge difference.
Rather than saying, “This is how you should do it,” Mel can say, “This is how I do it.”
And that feels much more authentic.
It’s also helped her embrace a more flexible approach to running her business.
She gave a great example of this during our conversation.
One day, she decided to put her carefully constructed to-do list aside and simply focus on the next thing in front of her.
She ended up filming six videos, working on recipes, taking photographs and coming up with new ideas — all before 9am.
One of those ideas eventually led to a recipe collaboration with Prospera, the vegan café in Ely.
A recipe that had previously been sitting unfinished suddenly came together. Mel sent it to her taste testers, who loved it so much that they put it on the café’s menu within three days.
It was a perfect example of something Mel has learned throughout her career:
You never really know where an opportunity is going to come from.
So, what does the future look like?
The next chapter for Yes You Can Eat This looks particularly exciting.
Mel is planning to pilot her local cooking experiences in October, alongside private sessions for families and groups of friends.
She’s also developing more one-to-one support for people who are struggling with the practical realities of cooking around multiple dietary requirements.
Because sometimes what people really need isn’t another recipe.
It’s someone to help them work out what on earth they’re going to cook for dinner tonight.
And perhaps that’s the real strength of Mel’s approach.
It’s not about making food complicated.
It’s about making it possible.
It’s about flavour.
It’s about flexibility.
It’s about taking away some of the stress.
But most importantly, it’s about making sure that nobody has to sit at the table feeling like they’re missing out.
As Mel puts it, her goal is ultimately to help people reclaim their love of food.
And after spending an hour talking to her, it’s pretty clear that she means it.
Follow Mel
Mel Norman runs Yes You Can Eat This, helping busy home cooks navigate food intolerances and different dietary requirements without sacrificing flavour, enjoyment or connection.
Here is the link for the local cooking experience, details and a sign-up for the priority waitlist:
https://yesyoucaneatthis.substack.com/p/an-intimate-cooking-experience-from
And for all things “Yes You Can Eat This” – follow the link below!
https://yesyoucaneatthis.substack.com/
You can find Mel on Instagram at @yes_youcaneat_this, where she shares recipes, ideas and practical tips for making food easier and more enjoyable.
Listen to Episode 21 of Made in Ely to hear the full conversation with Mel, including her journey from film and television to food, the story behind Yes You Can Eat This, and why she believes food should bring people together rather than keep people apart.
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