Ex-City lawyer who quit after finishing TC amasses 1 million+ followers as a food influencer – Legal Cheek

Hasn’t looked back

A former City lawyer who quit the profession to pursue a career as a food-focused content creator has amassed more than one million social media followers.

Emma Petersen studied history at the Leeds Uni before completing a law conversion course, with her sights set on securing a training contract at a top City firm. She achieved that goal in summer 2021, when she joined Watson Farley & Williams as a trainee solicitor in the firm’s London office.

But Petersen’s legal career took an unexpected turn at the end of her training contract, when she decided to walk away from the profession altogether to pursue a very different path — life as a food content creator.

And it’s fair to say the gamble has paid off. Posting online as ‘thefitlondoner’, Petersen has since built a following of more than one million across TikTok and Instagram where she regular shares her “healthy(ish)” recipes.

@thefitlondoner One of my all time favourites. Roasted red pepper, harissa and tomato soup with crispy chickpeas and the ooziest, gooeyest cheese toastie 2 red peppers 250g large vine tomatoes 1 red onion 1 large bulb of garlic 400ml stock 1 tbsp harissa paste Salt & pepper Roast the peppers, tomatoes, onion and garlic in olive oil for 45 minutes at 200 C. Squeeze out the garlic, then transfer everything into a blender with the harissa and stock. Finish with crispy chickpeas (I oven roasted these while the veg had its final 20 minutes) and a little cream. #foodie #foodtok #soupseason #grilledcheese #healthyrecipes ♬ Solas x Interstellar – Gabriel Albuquerqüe

In an Instagram post shared around the time she quit law, Petersen said her decision to leave City law was driven largely by unhappiness and the impact the job had on her mental health.

While acknowledging that “corporate law is a bloody intense profession”, she said that midway through her training contract it became clear that “my heart was elsewhere”, with her priorities shifting towards creativity, cooking and having the time and energy to properly look after herself.

Although she said she had enjoyed aspects of legal life, Petersen revealed that she had told her firm she would be “stepping away from law as a career”. She described the decision as both “the scariest” and “most empowering” she had made, despite walking away from a six-figure salary and what many still see as one of the most successful careers around.

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A post shared by Emma Petersen (thefitlondoner) (@emmapetersen)

Petersen has also gone on to become a published author, with her debut recipe book making the Sunday Times bestseller list and a second title due for release in May next year.