Today features a conversation with Sophia Roe. As a major mushroom lover and renowned chef, mushrooms are a central muse for Sophia in the kitchen and way, way beyond. We discuss how fungi offer valuable insight to philosophical and ecological narratives. We challenge stigmas around mushrooms & fungi, and our associations of ‘bad’ with natural phenomena. Some modern day problems don’t have to be a problem, and we talk about how fungi can be the skeleton key to solving or mitigating many. Sophia also shares how to cook the perfect mushrooms, and how not liking mushrooms is a false reality — all it takes is the right preparation and an open mind.
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Sophia Roe is a celebrated chef, writer, and advocate who looks at the world of food, art, and wellness through a lens of diversity, inclusivity, and honesty. Her innate passion for food has always been connected to an understanding—from a young age—that some people have access to nutritious foods, while others simply do not. This duality is the foundation for Sophia’s work: celebrating the beauty and art in cooking while creating resources to advance food justice and build more sustainable, equitable systems.
As a young chef, Sophia stood apart; she felt like nobody looked or spoke like she did, but with social media she built a community where she could share her recipes, her convictions, and her honest take on wellness. Her powerful storytelling has helped those around her understand that there isn’t “one way” to approach wellness. Sophia’s community leans on her for actionable advice and encouragement in an effort to live a more balanced and healthy life. In addition to sharing her recipes, she leads transformative workshops, classes, and retreats that offer a safe, open forum for storytelling, community, food, and healing.
It is with this foundation that Sophia is producing and hosting a new show on VICE called “Counter Space.” Launching November 26, 2020, “Counter Space” combines her expertise in the kitchen with her work in food activism and education. The underlying theme in every episode is resilience, adaptability, and awareness, and “Counter Space” informs consumers about the food, habits, politics, and food systems that affect us all.
Beyond her public platforms, Sophia dedicates much of her time to supporting and empowering young people with similar circumstances through her involvement with two philanthropic organizations: Women’s Prison Association and Edible Schoolyard NYC
Sophia resides in Brooklyn, NY and spends most of her free time writing and filming. She is currently penning her first book, which is slated to launch at the end of 2021.
Topics Covered:
- Sophia’s love for mold, and how these ubiquitous and essential fungi catalyzed her dedication to the fungal queendom
- Reframing waste as a viable material for fungal proliferation
- Inspiring figures in the mushroom scene and how their work is changing the narrative
- Sophia’s cooking show Counter Space, and the importance of mindful consumerism
- The do’s and don’ts of cooking with mushrooms
- Jelly fungi and what to love about them
- The remarkable applications of fungi in each of our lives, and how it’s only just begun
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