From cooking his first meals at just seven years old to becoming a chef and now a published author, Nick Jaye has travelled an extraordinary path. Growing up with undiagnosed dyslexia, he left school at 15 without qualifications and built a 40-year career in estate agency before finally returning to his first love: food. Today, as “Baldchefnick,” Nick has carved out a place in Brighton’s food scene with his bold cooking, creative spirit, and a passion for making food and storytelling accessible to everyone. Fresh from publishing his debut cookbook Deliciously Dyslexic and preparing for a special Dyslexia Week event alongside MasterChef winner Steven Edwards, Nick shares his story, inspirations, and love for the Brighton & Hove hospitality community.
You’ve been passionate about cooking since you were seven. Can you tell us a bit about your journey from leaving school at 15 with no qualifications to becoming a chef?
I had a dream as a dyslexic child to become a chef which was scuppered by teachers who said I would never amount to anything without good exam results. I left school at 15 with no qualifications but was lucky to get a job in estate agency, which I developed into a 40-year-long career, putting my dream of becoming a chef into my distant thoughts and concentrating on providing for my young family.
In my late 50s I had the opportunity to go back to school and study to become a chef.
I loved every minute and in so doing I decided to set up a business, Baldchefnick Limited. It was during this time of study that I decided to write a cookbook designed for dyslexics and to be enjoyed by all.
Tell us about your recently published cookbook — what can readers expect, and what inspired you to write it?
Deliciously Dyslexic, a cookbook by Baldchefnick — easier to read for dyslexics, those that have difficulty reading, and all those who love to cook. Deliciously Dyslexic is the first book I have written and, through my writing, the first book I have ever read. Designed to be enjoyed your way, it has:
- A large clear, friendly font
- Tinted backgrounds
- Spaced punctuation
- Colour-coded recipes
- Lots of creative photos and doodles
- One-sentence and short paragraphs
- It is artistic, original, positive, uplifting, humorous and fun.
I was inspired to write it by my own reading ability and needs, and the desire to make a cookbook available to all that was as enjoyable to look at as it was to read and cook from.
You’re also involved in Dyslexia Week this October. Can you tell us more about the event and what it means to you?
Dyslexia Week is almost upon us — 6th October to 10th October 2025 — and this year, after being officially diagnosed at the age of 61 with the dyslexia I thought I had and the ADHD everyone else thought I had, by Bourne Dyslexia, I wanted to celebrate this special week.
In fact, it was Clare Green, founder of Bourne Dyslexia, who told me about the dates for Dyslexia Week and got me thinking about what I could do. When I suggested to Maria Canning, Chair of the Dyslexic Police Association, that we should cook together, she suggested finding a Michelin star restaurant to do it in.
Yes, I get inspired by a few little gems from my dyslexic friends.
So this year I will be:
- Going down early to Bournemouth to do an assembly presentation for junior school children
- Taking part in a conference for entrepreneurs and business owners, invited by Maria Canning
- Joining a radio interview with Clare Green
- I have organised a Dyslexic VIP lunch event with Steven Edwards at Etch, where we will each be cooking three dishes. The confirmed eight guests are the Chair of the Police Dyslexic Association, the Founder of Bourne Dyslexia, the Head of Education for the Helen Arkell Dyslexia Charity, the Headmaster of Frewen College, the CEO from Talamo, the Headmaster of William Ford Junior School, a representative from the National Association of Teachers, and the MD of the Watercress Company.
- I will also be doing assembly presentations at William Ford Junior School and Moon Hall School in Reigate to finish the week off.
It’s going to be epic!
What message do you hope people will take away from your involvement in Dyslexia Week?
It will, at some point, be a wonderful thing to radically change the education system to make it inclusive to all types of learners. That will take time and money, and I wish everyone working so hard with these challenges the very best, and I fully support it.
To complement this and promote the dyslexic and neurodiverse community, we need to come out and let people know we are proud to be different.
It took me 60 years to be proud of being dyslexic because, like many others even to this day, I was not exactly made to feel welcome or wanted in the education system, so I hid my dyslexia in shame.
Through my books and doing presentations I have been able to visit all types of schools and colleges, even prisons, to tell my story, talk about my books, and listen to the many life stories and experiences of others.
I hope by doing so it will encourage more and more of us to be proud of being dyslexic and neurodiverse.
We must believe in our gifts and our great worth in society, and show the world who we are and what we can do.
Together we will effect a great change in schools, colleges, universities and all workplaces.
Together we will succeed.
Nick Book Launch 2025
Brighton & Hove has such a rich food culture. Where are some of your favourite places to eat locally?
We are so lucky with the incredible choice of food in Brighton and Hove. Best Chinese in Brighton has to be The China Garden with their superb dim sum and authentic flavours. Best ramen I’ve ever had is from Goemon in the North Laine — superb flavours. For authentic French food it has to be Petit Pois, even though the acoustics of the restaurant sometimes make it impossible to talk.
For seafood, I’d like to say English’s — it’s expensive but it’s quality produce cooked well.
My favourite Indian food comes from a takeaway-only eatery and it’s the superb Bhindi’s. Of course, if I am going for fine dining then Steven Edwards’ Etch is my top choice every time — the menu changes seasonally, beautifully served in a fabulous restaurant.
For relaxed small-dish cooking over fire, Burnt Orange is fun and delicious. And finally, authentic Italian at Cin Cin in Hove, where I had the best-cooked and tastiest bavette steak I have ever had.
Looking ahead, what’s next for you — more events, more writing, or perhaps another exciting project on the horizon?
In the next few months I will be publishing new books — a series of seven featuring a dyslexic chef called Bald Chef Nick, with a fabulous short rhyming story, humorous artwork by Paul Cemmick, and each one with a different easy-to-follow recipe for young children. I will be catering at events, speaking with more dyslexic schools and expats in prison, and I will be hosting a Meet and Cook with Nick, author of Deliciously Dyslexic, Dyslexic Chef, at the amazing Community Kitchen on Queen’s Road, Brighton, on 1st December 2025.
I hope to be on television by Christmas and will have done more radio interviews by then.