Gang Life Prepared Me for the Kitchen

Available for over a year

Tim Raue is one of the world's top chefs; he's cooked for prime ministers and presidents. As a child he grew up in a poor area of Berlin with his mum and often used to go hungry. He also spent a few turbulent years in southern Germany where he suffered abuse at the hands of his father. As a teenager he returned to Berlin and joined a notorious gang called 36 Boys and would have vicious street fights with other gangs in the city. Food became his salvation and, after focusing on a career in the kitchen, he rose quickly through the ranks to become a head chef by the age of 23. Priya Adhikari is a helicopter pilot, in fact, she says she's the first woman in Nepal to captain a helicopter at high altitude. And the view she most often sees from her window is that of the Himalayas and the world's tallest mountain, Everest. Priya hadn't planned to be a pilot, she'd been studying to be a doctor when she had to give it up and return home to help with the family finances. If you've ever been to a roller skating rink, you are most likely to have experienced pop music or disco blasting out of loud speakers while you race around the track on your little wheels. In California, there's a rink with more of an old-fashioned vibe - the music is played live by organist Dominic Cangelosi. Outlook's Regan Morris went to meet him. Image: Chef Tim Raue outside his restaurant Credit: Kieron Humphrey