Empty Plates Bare Kitchen

In this episode we speak Kirk Haworth, an incredibly esteemed chef, mental health activist and a leading voice in plant based food, and most recently as the first plant-based chef to ever compete on the Great British Menu. 

If you know of plant based food, in London, or pretty much anywhere, you will know of him. He makes vegetables look phenomenal - showing them as the primary on the plate! He has made many of us question whether meat has a place on the menu at all.  Kirk has worked with incredible restaurants such as The French Laundry, Restaurant Sat Bains and the Quay
It was in 2016 , when Kirk was diagnosed with Lyme disease - that he began to dig deep into the medical impact and benefits of food  - which he now creatively explores through Plates - a boundary pushing Plant based restaurant and creative food studio. Kirk is also  passionate mental health activist and runs training and education through Hospitality wellness
https://plates-london.com

In this episode we are speaking to Lucy Vincent, Founder of the Food Behind Bars
Food Behind bars is the UK’s only charity dedicated to transforming prison food. Improving the lives of the people eating it, supporting the people making it.  The charity is focused on positively impacting the health and wellbeing of prisoners, by delivering practical food-based education, promoting healthy eating and designing radical food initiatives across the UK’s HM prison network.
Lucy is a trained journalist and activist, her work is focused on spotlighting the connection between mental health, environment and food within prison environments, and providing inmates with not only skills,  but the basic rights of access to healthy food that promotes great inclusivity and positive well being. 
You can learn more about their work here
www.foodbehindbars.co.uk
www.instagram.com/foodbehindbars

In this episode we speak to Shilo Shiv Suleman, a multi disciplinary South Asian artist, activist, visionary and mystical general warrior.

Shilo Shiv Suleman  is an Indian contemporary artist. Her work encompasses illustration and installation art. Shilo's practice focuses on the intersection of magical realism, art for social change and technology.

She is the founder and director of the Fearless Collective,  a South Asia based public arts organisation. Fearless Collective is a South Asia based public arts organisation & charity that works to empower women, especially in marginalised communities, by reclaiming and transforming public spaces through the creation of art.  To date, they have worked in 15 countries, painted over 40 murals and are growing into a movement across South Asia
In most recent years, she's been engaging with biofeedback technology, and the interaction between the body and art. She has created large scale installations that beat with your heart, apps that react to your brainwaves and sculptures that glow with your breath. She has also designed installations for some of the world's biggest festivals and conferences including Burning Man. 
You can can follow her work here
www.Instagram.com/shiloshivsuleman
http://shiloshivsuleman.in
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In this weeks we speak to Chanda Vyas as the UK’s first Hindu female priest.  She plays multiple roles as a mother, daughter, wife, grandmother, neighbour, feminist, LGBTQ advocate.  Chanda breaks the glass ceiling of what it means to be a female community leader. 
She continues to creatively adapt and evolve ancient wisdom, making it accessible and understandable to everyone.  She enables the youth to understand their spirituality, empowers marginalised communities to use their voice and most importantly holds space for people to feel equal.  
She has worked with and supported multiple local government organisations, charities and initiatives, service in the community is at the heart of her being.  She believes community spirit is the spirituality that allows humanity to not only survive but to thrive. 

(She is also Anjli's mother)
www.kesri.co.uk
https://www.instagram.com/chanda.vyas.5

How do you know what you cannot see? A short essay about our hidden internal  experiences that subconsciously shape our everyday.  #Thoughtsonfood

In this episode  Anjli speaks to none other than Carolyn Steel. Carolyn Steel is a leading thinker on food and cities. Her first book, Hungry City, received international acclaim, establishing her as an influential voice in a wide variety of fields across academia, industry and the arts. A London-based architect, academic and writer, Carolyn has lectures across prestigious institutions  and organisations. Her most recent book Sitopa - How Food can save the world is is an excavation of how our world is shaped by food and how our search and consumption of it has defined the human journey.  https://twitter.com/carolynsteel / https://www.instagram.com/carolynsteel.sitopia / https://www.carolynsteel.com/