I’ve always had an interest in food and cooking, and I started a baking business in 2011. When I became vegan, I began the process of changing all of the non-vegan recipes in my business to vegan, but, more importantly, I started experimenting more with flavours and seasoning. My diverse heritage (Russian on my mother’s side, Yemeni on my father’s side) has provided me with a platform for so-called ‘fusion’ cooking and unpredictable food and flavour combinations. Although I closed my business just before the onset Covid and have been working in the charity sector for a number of years, I still have a keen interest in savoury cooking and regularly cook community meals in Leicester.