A FORMER arm-wrestling champion has dropped competitions for cooking, after a heart attack ‘inspired’ her to follow her passion.

Marie Halkier, of Slough, has been running the Slough Slammers Arm Wrestling Club with her son, Tom Holland, for nine years.

But this year, she decided to pass the baton to Mr Holland and trade the sport to pursue her home-cooked food business, Marie’s Takeout Kitchen.

After opening in May this year, Mrs Halkier has seen orders flurry in, and she received her five-star rating from Slough Borough Council in October.

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She explained it is “life changing” being her own boss.

She said: “I did a lot of travelling with Tom for competitions and making that big change made me feel quite nervous at first but my husband, family and friends have all been so supportive.”

Mrs Halkier added she was overwhelmed when she got her five-star rating from the council.

She said: “After waiting six months for it to come through, it was such a good feeling to know I could actually get going with the business properly.”

Over Christmas, she is hoping to support charities around Slough by donating hot meals to them during the cold winter months.

Mrs Halkier is planning to cook a buffet for Slough Homeless Our Concern (SHOC), a charity which creates opportunities for those who are homeless in Slough, on December 29.

“I was hoping to make some homecooked meals on Christmas Day to help those in need,” she said.

“I’ve already delivered to some elderly residents and I really hope I can do a few more cooking days in the coming weeks to support other organisations in the area.”

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Mrs Halkier explained her heart attack three years ago on Christmas Eve showed her life is too short.

After she was told my doctors she was lucky to be alive, Mrs Halkier was determined to follow her passion for cooking and start up her own business.

She said: “It feels amazing to be here today and to see how far I’ve come.

“It’s an amazing achievement to get back on my feet again and I’ve been overwhelmed by the support I’ve had since opening Marie's Takeout Kitchen.”

And now Mr Holland is taking the reign at the arm-wrestling club, Mrs Halkier shares her thoughts on his achievements.

“We both toured around taking part in championships and he’s been doing this since he was 15-years-old," she said.

“I’m very excited for him and his plans for the Slough Slammers Arm Wrestling Club, he’s going to go very far.”

Mrs Halkier hopes to have her own café and expand her business in the near future.

For more details, follow Marie's Takeout Kitchen on Facebook.