Team | Edible London

Giulia

Vegan Chef and LovEat Creator

Giulia is our taste hero. In the kitchen, she makes us dream batch after batch. From sweet to savoury, she can transform any nutritious element into delicious preparation. Creativity is somewhere she excels at and not only in the kitchen. With arts and people, you will be sure to learn something new with her. She developed LovEat which is helping to save food, make people eat well and be happy.

Meet Giulia, our Vegan Chef and LovEat creator

Vegan Chef and LovEat Creator

Hi, I’m Giulia!

I joined Edible London in 2018 organising art workshops with children at Wolves lane. One day Sunny told me he had lots of carrot leaves grown in the greenhouse and he didn’t want to throw them out. So I told him I could try to do a pesto and it turned out delicious! Since then my role is to transform fruit and vegetables into food that can be conserved and enjoyed - like pesto, jams, pickles and sauces.

It all reminds me when I was little and my huge family was reunited to eat together, cook bread in the wood oven or prepare the tomato sauce at the end of summer to be stored for the rest of the year. This has always fascinated me - the sharing, the conservation and the importance to never waste food.

Sunny therefore encouraged me to acquire the skills and certifications required to carry out this work of conserving surplus vegetables and fruits in compliance with all hygiene and safety standards.

My ability to organise myself and produce sauces, jams and preserves with these products made available has therefore greatly increased, allowing me to grow my sense of entrepreneurial and social responsibility.

Edible London is helping the community in many ways: connecting people, saving tonnes of food, showing that if we work together we can make changes and demonstrating how important and precious the work of volunteers is - especially during periods in which various negative factors (growing inequalities, climate change, health emergency, pollution) are producing economic, health and social crises such as those affecting the world today. One of the problems faced by Edible London is to tackle hunger and malnutrition that still afflicts many people. In those ethics stands the fight against food waste.

If I were a vegetable or a fruit I would choose to be an olive, because it is the fruit of an evergreen tree that has an ancient symbology of peace, love and hope. It reminds me of the place where I was born, Sicily, where these trees can be seen everywhere and some last over 1500 years. They can tell us lots of stories and teach us how to be so strong!

My journey with Edible London is a never ending growing-learning experience and a way to meet kind hearted people that believe in dreams - this is why all this became possible. This is why people are happy to be part of Edible London: because we all believe in a better future.
Sunny has a contagious enthusiasm that helps me a lot to build up confidence and find motivation.

He and the rest of the team are like family for me since the start of this journey. They are always willing to help and this is something that “we all” as human beings should do in respect of each other.

Maxime

Chief Strategy Advisor

Maxime is our behind the scenes hero. You may not see him on site but you can be sure he is constantly planning, strategizing and thinking of how to improve Edible London's ecosystem. Maxime's dedication to a fairer and regenerative system fits perfectly with Edible London's vision: he is committed to creating inspirational volunteer experiences, engaging with our community and new partners and finding more efficient ways of operating. To top it off he is a fantastic cook, adores coffee and beer, and is Edible London's official drone pilot. Meet Maxime, our Chief Strategy Advisor.

Chief Strategy Advisor

As you can understand from my name, I am French. My parents and wider family cultivate their vegetables and fruit all year round. But I was not really interested in growing before I joined Edible London. In London since September 2014, I have met a lot of people and seen a lot of things. But Sunny and Edible London are really special: once you make contact, it is difficult to forget about it.

I met Sunny on a cold Saturday in October 2019. I was walking with my visiting sister in Haringey, walking towards Alexandra Palace. It was market day at Blue House Yard, and we met Sunny who made us try tasty tomatilloes. After a few times at the stall, I went to visit the greenhouse and met Chris, who is another generous person. In February 2020, I really quickly became involved with the farming, facilitating sessions at Harmony Gardens and helping with the High Cross project kick-off, right before the lockdown.

When the health crisis started, I was working from home for Cornerstone OnDemand as Strategic Partner for Global Product Support. So it was natural for me to help Edible London with the back end office, registering volunteers and building the project after my daily work hours. I rapidly used my logical brain to set up the non-existent IT, recruit an admin team and streamline the operational process with Victoria and Sunny. My role today at Edible London is mainly to help with IT, procedures, strategy and the volunteering process. I ask a lot of questions to assess a situation but can act quickly and adapt to many projects.

From the many different talks I have had with people, I understand Edible London is not only needed to feed the community, but also to connect many different minorities around food, to educate everyone around food poverty, growing food and climate change amongst others.

If I was a fruit, I would be an apple. Fruity, round, and easy to find. As the proverb goes, an apple a day keeps the doctor away. The region where I grew up in France is also a massive apple producer, and picking them was one of my first summer jobs.

Edible London has helped me grow faster than I could imagine. From helping me to be connected to wonderful people during lockdown to showing me how I could help the community, Edible London is now a family for me. I have friends with whom I think, laugh and share moments. It has kept me sane and I have grown immensely.

Oh… And we also partner with beer producers 🙂

Find me on LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter

Paolo

Chief Executive Communication Liaison Officer

Our newest edition to the Edible London team, Paolo joined us in summer 2020 with his amazing hair and infectious energy and has ever since been a huge conduit for Edible London. Championing our work with an insurmountable love for the environment and our North London community. Paolo is a man of many talents and has already made great impact with crowdfunding and community engagement. Meet Paolo, our Chief Executive Communication Liaison Officer.

Head Communication Liaison Officer

I initially met Sunny after being introduced to him by a lady called Tami whilst visiting her shop, Harmless Store, which used to be situated in Blue House Yard. She basically said Paolo make sure you go and speak to that guy on the market stall before you leave Blue House Yard (as she thought we would get along) and so I did, and after a good 30 to 45 minute chat with Sunny, she was right; not only did we get along but I would say I left Blue House Yard that day with both a new friend and a wonderful admiration for all things Edible London. After a few more Edible London market stall visits, and helping out with their homeless free food project hosted at Nana Susies Cafe on my anniversary with my partner, our friendship felt like it had evolved to that of family.

Fast forward about a year, after being made redundant and volunteering some more with Edible London, I now find myself as part of the Edible London team as the Head Communications Liaison Officer helping out in all sorts of areas from project management, amplification of community voice, corporate partnerships, research, analysis, and conflict resolution.

Whether it's giving people in the community free access to growing space, providing free food to those most affected by food poverty and homelessness, or by creating purpose from food that would otherwise be landfilled (whilst at the same time helping to rebuild and reconnect people to the a more fair and just circular food economy for all), Edible London's work is unequivocally necessary; and by uniting together hundreds of volunteers and community groups under the banner of solidarity, Edible London's work provides a key blueprint and reclamation of what inner city urban environmental and social regeneration should look like.

For many reasons, if I was an edible plant I reckon it would have to be a moringa oleifera - also known as the miracle tree. Firstly, moringa can be cultivated organically without the use of chemicals and can provide high yields with very little water or maintenance required. It's also a great plant for intercropping due to its deep root system which allows it, and other plants, to coexist and thrive alongside one another as there is less competition for nutrients on a root level. Its deep root system also helps to prevent soil erosion and landslides, and it's also an amazing plant to help regenerate damaged land due to the high nutrient profile of its leaves which, once fallen, can help improve soil fertility leading to better yields for crops planted alongside it. Along with providing leaves and pods which have a wide range of benefits when consumed by humans, the seeds from the moringa tree can also be used to help clean water. For me this plant captures the idea of being resilient and giving back as much as you can. Long may we plant this magical tree!

Despite already being community minded, for me, my journey with Edible London has helped strengthen my connection to this on a local level. As a North London born individual, although vaguely aware of the issues, I was never fully aware of the specific issues my own community faced and through my journey getting to know Sunny and all things Edible London, I've not only learnt what those specific issues are but also, and more importantly, how they can be tackled. My journey at Edible London has also provided me with the opportunity to be introduced to countless key leaders in the community and, through them, be exposed to all the fantastic work, solidarity, love and support that is happening on a daily basis in North London and beyond. On a more personal level, my journey and growing friendship with Sunny continually inspires, builds and re-energises the much needed resilience and optimism around tackling some of our most pressing issues faced by our communities.

Alex Fox

Food Hub Coordinator

During the pandemic, Alex started as a volunteer at our Highway House Food Hub. Its been over a year and now Alex has progressed into our Food Hub Coordinator at this shelter house. Every Thursday he and the team of volunteers give away meals, fresh fruits, veggies, and many more to people that are in need. Meet Alex Fox, our Food Hub Coordinator.

Martin

Youth Engagement Officer

From working with young people in schools, pupil referral units, city farms, football pitches and community hubs, Martin brings over 7 years of experience in empowering young people and helping them build key skills through uniquely crafted workshops and activities, along with critical one-to-one support/mentoring.

All together, Martin's passion and non-judgemental approach, with trust and integrity as the foundation of all his work, is a joy to behold. He is a key part of the Edible London ecosystem, and future generations to come!