Welcome to Schwen Schwen: Stories & Flavors, the podcast where we explore the magic of food, culture, and reinvention with Maria Bradford, the founder of Shwen Shwen Ltd.

In this episode, Maria shares her inspiring journey from working as an accountant to becoming a celebrated chef and culinary entrepreneur. She takes us behind the name Schwen Schwen, explaining its cultural significance and how it reflects her Sierra Leonean heritage. Maria also discusses her cookbook, Sweet Salone, a stunning celebration of Sierra Leonean flavors, traditions, and culinary creativity.

Stay connected with Maria Bradford and Shwen Shwen Ltd on social media:

Join us for an inspiring conversation about passion, perseverance, and the power of food to tell stories and preserve culture!

Charles Harding was born in Freetown, Sierra Leone, but attended preparatory and public school in the UK. He obtained an economics degree from the University of Sierra Leone followed by an LLB honours degree at what is now University of West London.

In this episode Charles Harding discusses his background, his early years in the UK and his two books.

Charles contact details are [email protected]

Music by oussama arichi from Pixabay

Leslie Leigh from West African Cooks join us and talks his website (https://www.westafricacooks.com/africa/) and his inspiration for building his site, pop up restaurants, and the future of African cooking. Below are some of the links and information Leslie mentioned during this conversation. Salone Maria Bradford Shwen https://shwenshwen.com/  Nigerian Lerato Umah-Shaylor Nigerian West African Vegan Cooking With Lerato Umah-Shaylor | West Africa Cooks https://www.westafricacooks.com/africa/lerato-umah-shaylor-african-cooking-class and Cook With Lerato, Cook With Passion – Lerato Foods & Naturals   https://leratofoods.com/ Both above will have books published this year 2022  Nigerian Chishuru | West African Food | Brixton, London, UK chef Adejoké ‘Joké’ Bakare   https://www.chishuru.com/ Pitanga London https://www.pitangalondon.com/ Salone (pop-up supper club)  The Krio Kanteen Supper Club Experience With Joe Faulkner #011 - YouTube    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYFScg3hZOc  The Gambia (Now in the west end as a pop-up PAPA L’s KITCHEN) https://papalskitchen.com/ and  African Fusion Cuisine With Lawrence Gomez | Black Food Tales Podcast #001 - YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Unp17BC-CCo Nigeria https://akoko.co.uk/     STORK RESTAURANT    https://www.storkrestaurant.com/ Nigerian tapas restaurant in London - Chuku's https://www.chukuslondon.co.uk/   Others  African Restaurants In London https://www.westafricacooks.com/africa/yelp-results-london  Coming soon https://londontheinside.com/west-african-restaurant-isibani-to-open-in-knightsbridge/

*From Sierra Leone to London* featuring author Nadia Maddy Sierra Leonean author Nadia Maddy joins the podcast to discuss her early years and the differences and similarities between living in London and Sierra Leone in terms of culture, class, education, and gender roles. 

We hope you enjoy the episode.

Sierra Leonean author Nadia Maddy joins the podcast to discuss her early years and the differences and similarities between living in London and Sierra Leone in terms of culture, class, education, and gender roles.

Stay tuned for another exciting episode.

The hosts talk about their experiences growing up and living in the Sierra Leone diaspora.

Culture : Food/clothes/language 

Expectations : Education 

Friendships : The differences

We hope you enjoy this episode!

The hosts briefly talk about their backgrounds, how they met and their motivations for starting this podcast 

"Make Sierra Leone Famous" was the podcast mentioned in this episode. Check it out it’s vey good.