Keep It Quirky podcast

There can be no doubt that Bronwen Percival has found her calling, and her passion for cheese is downright infectious. The reach of cheese is massive: historical, scientific, cultural, economical, agricultural. We talk about all these aspects of cheese, and more. Bronwen is the co-author of the book "Reinventing the Wheel: Milk, Microbes and the Fight for Real Cheese." She gives us her top tips for getting your hands on real cheese and how to nudge the industry in the right direction. I also talk with eco-chef Tom Hunt at the top of the episode, who presented at The Food Sustainability Media Award (presented by Thomson Reuters Foundation and Barilla Center for Food and Nutrition). He tells us about the three food paradoxes for which he created a menu around. I found these paradoxes, and the statistics around them, so fascinating I just had to share it with you all. Here's a link to the article I wrote about my experience as a cheesemonger at Neal's Yard Dairy - "9 Useful Things I Learned as a London Cheesemonger" - https://food52.com/blog/22298-tips-from-a-cheesemonger <3 @keepitquirkypodcast @qkatie

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Venetia Falconer is the host of the podcast Talking Tastebuds, where she talks with people about their relationship with food. Venetia is also a presenter and producer. In this episode, we talk about her journey with food and when the significant shifts have happened in her life; from having a disordered relationship with food to having it be something she enjoys most in life. She also talks about her decision to be vegan and how she handles the potentially awkward social elements of that, as well as the "why" behind her decision. Follow Venetia @venetiafalconer on Instagram and check out her YouTube channel, too! Thanks to Better Almond Butter for offering Keep It Quirky listeners 10% off by using the code "keepitquirky" at checkout on www.betteralmondbutter.com.

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This episode is all about audio. “The idea that you can have something completely conjured by just closing your eyes is really special," Hester Cant told me as we talked about why she chose her career path. Hester and I talk about the intersection of food, culture and audio storytelling, and how what you wanted to do when you were 12 years old says a lot about what you should be doing with your life. I also talk with my brother an incredibly talented & successful professional musician, who just happens to be my brother Brian. (He's also the composer of the theme song for this podcast!) Brian shares his experiences as a professional musician, from how he first cast his net in the industry and how he flexes his creative freedom on the bass. Brian is @funkybq on Insta -- he's also on FB Hester is @hestercant on Insta and check out some of the shows she works on: BBC's The Kitchen Cabinet, Honey & Co. podcast and some episodes on Radio Cherry Bombe. And in celebration of a dozen episodes of the pod, I made an Instagram account for it! Follow @keepitquirkypodcast for updates, new episodes, and also favorite quotes from each episode. Thanks for listening!! <3

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Niki Kopcke is the founder of Mazí Mas, a catering company and roaming restaurant in London that employs and trains migrant and refugee women. Mazí Mas is all about bringing the most unique part of a culture's cuisine to you while transforming the misperception of migrant and refugee women. Niki's work at the moment is focused on getting people to see migrant and refugee women as skilled professionals (which is exactly what they are). Niki is both a passionate creative -- she loves food and cooking more than anything -- and also a social entrepreneur. She's found a way to take her feminism and activism into the core of the business she created. We talk about all of this, how she got started on this path and how she made her business dream a reality that just continues to grow. We also talk about the real meaning behind the cliche "food made with love" and the joy of ice skating and ice cream. "Good food is a gift." Enjoy the episode!! MAZÍ MAS - www.mazimas.co.uk Thanks to Better Almond Butter for sponsoring this episode! Go to www.betteralmondbutter.com and enter the code "keepitquirky" at checkout to get 10% off your entire purchase.

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In this episode I talk with Milly Kenny-Ryder about how and why she launched the beautiful design-inspired indie travel guidebooks Weekend Journals, and the steep learning curve she and her partners faced in bringing all the various aspects together (choosing the paper stock, how to get a barcode, deciding which venues made it in the book). Where there’s a will, there a way... Milly explains why they published without any investors in order to maintain creative control (they got a bank loan). We chat about the importance of following projects through to the end and the growing interest in independent publications in her same niche, and what that means for the digital versus print spaces. This episode highlights the inspirational aspects of travel — I first talk with a young woman, Sylvia, who just took her first solo trip, to Morocco, and later in the episode I show Weekend Journals to Claire Matern of A Cheesemonger’s Daughter, and we talk about the kick in the butt we all sometimes need as creatives and entrepreneurs. Follow Weekend Journals at @weekendjournals on instagram or visit weekendjournals.co.uk and Milly can be found at @millykr. Thanks to Better Almond Butter for supporting this episode. Visit www.betteralmondbutter.com and buy some with the code “keepitquirky” for 10% off your entire purchase.

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In this episode I talk to Adam Vanni, director and co-founder of Jarr Kombucha. He gives me a tour of Jarr's production facilities in East London and we talk about how they launched this product in a market where people didn’t understand what kombucha was. We consider how much luck may have to do with beginning a company from scratch, and the importance of community to make an idea reality. We talk a bit about the science behind kombucha and we touch on the health benefits, as well as how it gets its flavor and distinctive fizz. We also hit on the fermentation "trend" that has recently gained momentum. Follow Jarr on Instagram @jarrkombucha and check out their stockists at https://jarrkombucha.com/ At the beginning of the podcast when I talk about Ayurveda, I refer to Jasmine Hemsley's cookbook "East by West." Thanks so much for listening; if you dig this podcast, please tell your friends about it and leave a review in the Apple Podcasts store, or wherever you listen. Drop me a note @qkatie on Instagram and Twitter! Thanks, too, to Better Almond Butter for sponsoring this episode. Please use the offer code "keepitquirky" to buy some at www.betteralmondbutter.com for 10% of your entire purchase.

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Ed Levine is the founder of the popular website Serious Eats, a food site that now has over 10 million unique visits a month. Prior to founding Serious Eats, he had written about food for the New York Times, had written some books, and he wanted to create "a place online that was like a clubhouse for food enthusiasts -- for people who wanted to share their passion." That's exactly what he's done with Serious Eats and the SE community. In this episode, we talk about how he founded his company (and how everyone at the time thought he was crazy), about the stage he's in right now, having sold Serious Eats with one foot in the company but the other food in new ventures: hosting his podcast, Special Sauce, and writing his memoir. We also discuss how immigrants refresh a culture's food scene in a way nothing else can, why food is the great common ground, and we cover so much else about both food and business -- including Ed's perspective on the current era of entrepreneurs, reluctant as we may be to call ourselves entrepreneurs. I hope you enjoy the episode!! I can't say enough positive things about Ed, and I loved having this conversation with him. Thanks, too, to Better Almond Butter for sponsoring this episode. Please use the offer code "keepitquirky" to buy some at www.betteralmondbutter.com for 10% of your entire purchase.

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This episode is with Henrietta Inman, pastry chef and cookbook author, talks with me about WHY she loves using untraditional baking ingredients (it's not just to be "healthy") and she also talks me through how her love of gardening and hosting people at her home has influenced her career. I learn the term "eaty-talky," she makes Zoolander references and we agree that social media somehow seems even more of a double-edged sword when you're self-employed. She talks us through her experiences writing her two cookbooks (her second, "The Natural Baker," just released). I hope you see from our conversation that although Henrietta has thrown out the rulebook of what a delicious baked treat can or should be, she uses her creativity, sharp baking skills and generous spirit to convince us all of her food philosophy. Thanks to Charlotte Hu for the extra motivation to start this podcast in the first place, and for sharing her words of wisdom with us all at the top of the episode. Follow her at @charlottehuco on Instagram. Follow Henrietta on Instagram @henriettainman to find out about her upcoming pop-ups and find "The Natural Baker" cookbook online. Big thanks to Better Almond Butter for supporting this episode. You can get Better Almond Butter in three flavors: Sweet & Salty, Toasted, and Truly Raw. Head on over to betteralmondbutter.com and buy it with offer code KEEPITQUIRKY to get 10% off your entire purchase. I hope you like the episode; thanks for listening!

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"We have a lot more in common than we think we do." This is one of my favorite quotes from this episode, and it gets at the heart of why I create this podcast and also why Graham began Bring Your Own Story (BYOS), a supper club that puts the emphasis on human connection around the table rather than the food on the table. Highlights of this episode include Graham describing how he forms community, both in his business and in his personal life, how he gets out of his own head when he hits a creative block and the importance of staying curious. We talk about the act of eating together and its role in facilitating connection. I really enjoyed this conversation with Graham, and I hope you do, too! I mention this in the preamble -- but the audio quality will improve for every episode after this one. Hang in there with me and I'm going through the fairly steep learning curve of audio v. video! :) Find out more about BYOS: www.bringyourownstory.com/

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Chef Philip Juma is a self-trained chef in London. Born to an Iraqi dad and Irish mom, he worked in finance until he had the realization that "doing what you love is more important than any paycheck." Fast-forward a little less than a decade later, Phil owns a business that does popups and catering called Juma Kitchen, he writes a regular column on Iraqi cuisine for the London Evening Standard, and he does food demos at locations like London's iconic Borough Market. Always a fan of London's food stalls, and noticing the placement of those carts being on the front line of London's energy, he knew that there was a space for his family's Iraqi cuisine, which was, at the time, not represented on a significant way before Juma Kitchen hit the scene. "I've gotta put this on the map," he thought. He took a leap of faith, and in this podcast he says, "for anyone who's on the fence in life, I'd say, categorically -- just do it. It's all about action," and that's when it all falls into place. We also talk about getting unstuck and finding strategies to get yourself out of the way, when you're your own worst enemy. I hope you enjoy this episode, and I hope you're inspired to find or make Iraqi cuisine! He describes Iraqi cuisine as like Middle east meets India. It's delicious, and Phil is definitely doing his part forging a path of contemporary Iraqi cuisine. www.jumakitchen.com/ As always, keep it quirky! And please join our conversation on Twitter with #keepitquirkypodcast, and leave me a note @qkatie on Twitter & Instagram. Email me at [email protected]

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