CulturallyOurs

In this episode Karthika chats with Bhavna Kalra, a fellow Bombay girl and an Australian Indian living in Sydney. Bhavna is also the founder of The Modern Desi Co where she aims to connect cultures through food. Bhavna chats about all things Indian food and more specifically home cooked Indian food – ghar ka khanna – as she called it. She shared her food journey and all the various Indian cuisines that have been a part of her childhood and life.

Let’s look at some tips and strategies on redefining our relationship with food and being more mindful around it to practice more healthy eating. In the world where detox cleanses, picture perfect smoothies and fast diets are the norm, pursuing a healthy lifestyle may feel intimidating and overbearing. But eating healthy is more than just eating right – it is being mindful with all our sense, mind, body and soul.

In this episode Karthika chats with Suwanee Lennon, a Thai American, a military wife, a mom, a photographer and as if that was not enough, she is also an aspiring food blogger. Her mission is to teach you how to make Thai food the real authentic way. And she does that via her narrative, her life experiences, her beautiful imagery, and her live cooking shows on her Instagram account.

Karthika talks to a fellow photographer and host of the Storied Recipe Podcast, Becky Hadeed. Becky shared her culinary beginnings of being introduced to food at an early age with her mom, her family, and their food dynamics as well as how her podcast has really opened her up to so many different cuisines, cultures, flavors, spices, and dishes. She also talked about what it means to be a foodie and how global foods have so much to teach us about our own life journeys.

In this episode Karthika talks to Sylvia Fountaine, an ex-chef turned uber successful food blogger and the creator of Feasting At Home, where she shares incredible multicultural recipes from all over the world inspired by her own multicultural household of Egyptian and Finnish backgrounds. Sylvia also shared her idea of comfort foods, how travel is a great way to expand your pallet and also shared some fascinating insight into gut health and how it can really shape the way we eat and live.

In this episode Karthika talks about indigenous foods with Chef Elena Taylor of Wisconsin’s Ho-Chunk nation. Chef Elena talks about how foods can heal, foods can nourish – not just the people who is eating but also the person who is cooking it and how food is a vessel for bringing people together. She talks about how the indigenous food movement is one of healing and helping break down barriers and connect one another despite all our collective struggles.

Karthika introduces Season 06 which is all about global cuisines and talks about this season in depth. From chefs to food bloggers and everyone in between, this season takes a look at food from around the world and how it is a great way to not only connect with people but also gives a sense of what life is like. How people eat is a great way to understand how they life. And when you are open to having a globally inspired kitchen and table you learn to connect more with the world as a whole.

Karthika explores the ethics of travel and tourism with Thuha Nyugen. Thuha shares her thoughts and her experiences around the ethics of tourism. She also talks about some of difficult aspects and trends in the tourism and travel space - namely like dark tourism and poverty tourism. Karthika and Thuha also discuss what it means to be sustainable in the travel space and how travelers can practice responsible travel as well as the need for diversity and inclusion in the tourism space.

Karthika explores the incredibly beautiful country of Morocco and the city of Marrakesh with a local Leonie Zaytoune. Leonie moved to Marrakesh to be with her husband and absolutely fell in love with the city, country and people. She shares her love for this city and country – unique experiences in and around Marrakesh. From restaurants to outdoor spaces, Leonie take us on a beautiful adventure – right from the comfort of our homes.

In this episode we take a look at how travel is changing in a post-pandemic phase. Based on conversation with so many travelers and travel industry professionals, Karthika explores the future of travel and how travelers like us can truly make the industry, the community and the places we visit more memorable and meaningful, no matter where we go. 2021 seems to be the year where travelers are demanding more – not just from the travel industry and travel providers but also from themselves.