After my initial approach to the Felix Project they suggested Head Chef, Leon Aarts. Rich, our sound engineer left a note on my final audio saying, “we need more people like Leon”.
He’s right. We do!
Leon comes from a food-loving family; he remembers feasts around his Grandparents’ dining table, his mother’s love of cooking and lying in bed dreaming of eating and never feeling full.
Leon was an overweight boy and although nurtured by family and friends he quietly craved validation and felt not good enough.
When Leon changed his diet things began looking up, at nineteen he encountered his first professional kitchen and instantly knew that this was it.
Leon became an award winning Michelin chef but left the industry several years later to set up a Fine Food Company in London. Still, something wasn’t right and during a Balinese retreat Leon finally saw the light. Overnight, life changed.
Leon set to work and founded three charities but his career peak was establishing the Calais Jungle kitchen in 2015.
Leon is on a mission - to feed people who would otherwise go hungry for free. Which is why he heads up the Felix Kitchen at The Felix Project, London, surrounded by similar visionary and dedicated people who feed over 4,000 hungry mouths a day.
Join me to hear Leon’s inspiring story about how he combines talent and entrepreneurship with compassion to create real and lasting change. If you need a call to action, listen to Leon Aarts.
EPISODE TIMESTAMPS:
- [02:40] - Food as friend in childhood
- [11:30] - Diet change
- [22:00] - Life changes - Finds charities
- [32:40] - The Felix Project
CONNECT WITH LEON AARTS:
Leon's Website
Leon's Instagram
The Felix Project
The Felix Project Website
THANK YOU FOR LISTENING!
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