#BEYOUROWN MEETS PATRICIA KLAMMERS

Colombian food loving mother of 4 Patricia Klammers, currently lives in Tokyo and spends a vast amount of her time on her passion- cooking. Having found the blog http://green-foodie.com, Patricia aims to inspire you to prepare healthy and delicious meals, explore new flavors and vegetable-based alternatives.

Hey Patricia, can you introduce yourself to us?

My name is Patricia and I was born in Colombia, I became French when I Married my loving husband. Iʼm a mother of 4 boys, they are the center of my attention. I have lived in Asia for quite some time more than 20 years, between Tokyo and Singapore, and I really love both countries.

Can you take us through your journey to where you are now?

I thought I was a health-conscious person until I started to study more about food and the impact on our health, I have realised I really have a special connection with food, and it has been amazing for me to learn how important it is to pay special attention to what food you put in your body if you want to stay in good shape and this not only physically.

My passion for food took me a few years ago to sign up for an intensive 2-month course on raw foods with Matthew Kenney Culinary Academy. Since then I have been obsessed with the idea of eating more healthy, organic, not processed because the food is your best medicine! I have been doing continuous education online since then on raw dessert, culinary nutrition.

What is a day in the life of you like?

1/2 glass of water and 1 Tsp of raw apple cider vinegar, followed by a cold-pressed green juice, a colourful breakfast, with homemade coconut yogurt, fruits, homemade jams, nut butter and a piece of quality sprouted bread. I try to practice yoga by myself, but sometimes Iʼll join in a yoga class in the neighbourhood. The rest of my day is planning my groceries for the family as finding the right ingredients takes time.

What was the concept behind launching Green Foodie?

Since I took the course on raw food a few years ago I have been dreaming to encourage people to appreciate natural organic non-processed and locally grown products, to bring back and enjoy home cooking, to take control of what they eat and make more

Vegetables, fruits, grains, the base of their diet. This was the base of Green Foodie idea which obviously goes along with pushing people to try to focus on local organic producers which are more environmentally conscious because they use no pesticides.

How is Green Foodie funded, is it bootstrapped, self-funded ect?

Green foodie is a one person project with no monetisation plan for the moment.

Can you tell us more about your brand DNA and ethos at Green foodie

Green foodie is an everyday passion coming from the love of being in the kitchen, I feel like my cooking is a kind of meditation journey, starting from when I find amazing fresh products until I build the recipe and then I make it, it really makes me happy and I canʼt wait to be in the kitchen.

Can you highlight 3 tips on preparing healthy, wholesome food that tastes equally as good as it looks?

Locally grown products where the provenance can be traced: farm to table style via the local market.
Small/medium organic producers with non-GMO seeds/ no pesticides and love of the products.
Homemade cooking to keep the taste of the products.

Who does the team involve behind you at Green Foodie?

There is not a team at green foodie, this is just me doing everything; my family, friends and my Instagram community support me and inspire me to keep it up.

Where can you see yourself within the next 3-5 years?

Hopefully healthy, full of energy and running a cafe/ restaurant and probably a distribution of the best local products.

What strategies do you have in place when looking at the expansion of Green Foodie?

For now, I am focusing on building my community on Instagram and doing workshops to spread my ideas of eating and cooking healthy; I have done some brand collaboration as well.

Can you tell us what areas you have struggled in professionally?

Iʼm a mommy of four children, they are my everything and most of my attention goes to them. So I think what I lack is time !! I wish I could sometimes have more than 24hrs in a day.

Have you ever had any other mentor? If so how has this benefitted you to grow?

Jamie Oliver has always inspired me to be in the kitchen and Matthew Kenney I love his ideology of #craftingthefutureoffood.

What outlets do use to market Green Foodie?

None at the moment.

Which methods are you using to build your own support network?

Only Instagram, Facebook, and workshops for the moment; I had some brand collaboration but few.

What would you like to see changed for millennials in business?

Definitely going back to smaller shops selling locally grown non-GMO non-processed organic food and pay more attention to what is consumed.

What is the best piece of business advice you have received to date?

That if I build it they will come, but patience and hard work come first as nothing can be taken for granted especially if I try to monetise the Green Foodie idea.

What is the number 1 critical lesson you have learned in your career so far?

Not to take things for granted; you think something will work because you would like it to work and it is important people should follow widely but it is not the case because you only have to take a look around you to see that people still have bad eating habits.

How do you create an evenly balanced work and personal life?

Follow a passion that is part of your life makes it easier to reach that balance : for me cooking and eating healthy is the passion so it makes it easier to balance; at the same time I really try to spend most of the time with the children and my husband, so I try to do all my work during the school hours.

A seminal point in your career so far?

Finding out that you can replace cow milk with nut milk and make wonders.

What gives you ultimate career satisfaction?

To see people changing their eating habits and realise it is more healthy and often tastier.

What challenges have you seen to have been presented during the growth of Green Foodie?

Probably how to communicate the best on social media; it takes time to master that through filming and editing.

Which other leading entrepreneurs and pioneering game changers do you also admire and why?

Jamie Oliver and Mathew Kenney as I explained earlier Jamie Oliver is a chef with a cause he has long been on a Mission to make the world healthier through his cooking guidance. Also, Mattew Kenney because of his legacy for more sustainable living through his wellness business.

What is a good article or book you have read recently?

Iʼm reading at the moment 2 books in Spanish about gut health which are ‘La digestion es la question’ ( The Digestion Is The Key) and also ‘Alimentación Prebiotica ( Prebiotic Foods)

Top 3 go-to Podcast channels?