This week M+K sits across the table with Rhaya Jordan, Founder, London Naturopathy and Resident Nutritionist, Daylesford Organics. She talks with us about cooking, creativity and the routines that have grounded her during the pandemic.
1. My cooking inspiration…
Sheila Dillon from Radio Four’s ‘The Food Programme.’ I love her commentary on new food regions and food history… But this was a hard one. Ruth Rogers and Rose Gray of the River Café are also inspirations – their paired back style of cooking reminded me of home when I first came to London.
2. A meal that reminds me of home…
Eating watermelon on summer’s day. Not so much a meal, but definitely an archetypal Australian food memory. Nowadays, making a salad with watermelon takes me back to that memory…also, properly ripe mangoes – they are the taste of Queensland!
3. A life lesson cooking has taught me…
I was going to say patience and slowing down, but there is a bigger lesson for me, and that’s one of hope. It’s that feeling of putting ingredients together (which may look unpromising at the start), but you just know, that after it has been cooked for 2 hours, it will be transformed, into something tasty and amazing. There’s a lesson there in suspending judgment.
4. When I want to be creative I…
Have some alone time. I’ll go for a walk, clear the decks. Or create a sense of calm in my study. Quiet time is so precious.
5. The most transformational book I’ve read is…
Women Who Run with the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes. I haven’t re-read it for years, but I love the way this feminist classic explores the concepts of wildness and freedom, as they relate to women.
6. The routines that keep me grounded are…
I make sure that the first thirty minutes of the day are mine. I’ll get up early to make that time for myself. I’ll start the day with a morning coffee, and something that slows me down (liking read), but definitely no emails! I think it’s important to start the day with that quiet time.
7. I recently learnt…
How to make Jun tea. I’ve been running fermentation workshops and this is a beautiful fermented tea, made from green tea and honey.
8. Favourite random act of kindness…
Some of my daughter’s friends were recently caught overseas in Paraguay at the start of the pandemic. When they finally came home they had to spend two weeks in isolation. During that time, people were leaving little gifts on their doorstep every day, from meals to plants. I just love the care and generosity from friends and neighbours to make them feel connected during their quarantine period.
9. To make a difference in my community I…
Have been buying all my produce locally and from zero waste shops. I’m really paying attention to my footprint and the choices I make as a consumer.
10. Right now, I’m grateful for…
My garden and being a self-confessed ‘seed nerd.’ I have a veggie patch and it’s been a joy to my strawberries and heritage lettuces flourishing.
Rhaya has been in practice for 30 years. She is a qualified naturopath, nutritionist and herbalist. She was the Naturopathic Director of Blackmores UK, training practitioners and holding seminars for the public throughout the UK. She left Blackmores to join the University of Westminster where she helped write the Bachelor of Science in Nutrition Therapy. At the University, Rhaya was a Senior Lecturer in Health Sciences, teaching Anatomy, Clinical skills, Nutrition, Biochemistry and Complementary Therapies. She was involved in setting up the largest Complementary Health training clinic in Europe and holds a Post Graduate Certificate in Higher Education.
Rhaya returned to London after spending some years back in the Australian sun (with sunblock!). In Australia she gained a Permaculture design certificate and is passionate about sustainable food, working to help establish the Real Food Network, a Community Supported Agriculture company and is currently working as the Nutrition Consultant with Daylesford Organics. These experiences, coupled with her years of teaching and clinic, have shaped her current dedication to helping people normalise their relationship with food.
To connect visit:
https://daylesford.com/cookeryschool/rhaya-jordan/
http://www.londonnaturopathy.com/about/
