Lily James Olds

Welcome, Malanga.

I'm so happy that you're here with us today.

I'm happy to be with you.

I would love to take it back to the beginning of your journey with food.

And I'm wondering if you could tell me about where you grew up and some of your earliest memories of food.

And so did you grow up farming?

Because you said that your grandmother had a restaurant, right?

That's amazing.

And so what were your first experiences cooking?

And when did you know that you wanted to be a chef?

And how old were you when you started, you know, messing around in the kitchen and with food?

I was 14, 15.

Wow.

That's amazing.

And, you know, I'm curious.

So you've worked in some of the world's top restaurants.

I mean, in Paris, Germany, Japan.

I'd love to hear about a little more of what inspired you to take some time away from that.

world of high-end dining and to spend those two years traveling across 48 countries in Africa, which is incredible.

I mean, first of all, I can only imagine how much amazing food you ate during that time.