Celebrating leading women in Bristol’s hospitality industry

This Bristol based, one woman show is a vegan eatery that brings ethics and sustainability to the forefront of the Bristol street food scene. Offering “Vegan Comfort Food” with a focus on balance and mindfulness – be that in both life and the menu – Kabala Kitchen’s offerings are totally seasonal and ever changing to meet the needs of those being served. Alice grows, composts and cooks all her own food, bringing it to Bristol’s Harbourside Market, as well as events and retreats with sister company Thoughtful Forkfuls around the UK.

In addition to serving incredible, home cooked, delicious vegan food, Alice is also clear to emphasise the importance of balancing work life as a freelancer alongside a healthy and positive personal life. Many of us know the challenges that come with this, and are aware that achieving this balance is the holy grail to surviving a creative, self-employed life, often asking ourselves in the strive to achieve this, “can we truly have it all?” After speaking with Alice, it appears with good boundaries and a conscious business focus, perhaps we can.

When we ask Alice the main challenges she has come across on this venture, and any advice she has for future up and coming female chefs, she explains how having confidence in your work, setting your rates, and believing in your worth is key.

About Chef Alice

When we meet with Alice on a dreary, February afternoon, not only does her enthusiasm and passion for food shine through, but so does her strong ethics and how these have inspired Kabala Kitchen.

Having studied Environmental Science at University, Alice explains how sustainability and food security quickly became an area of interest and passion for her. Becoming a vegan in her first year of uni, Alice quickly realised how little option there was due to the lack of vegan inspiration. From here she became increasingly aware that there was a need for good, sustainable, seasonal vegan food, and this is where Kabala Kitchen started to evolve.

When speaking with Alice, it becomes very clear that there is a prominent focus on creating balance, not only in terms of cyclical sustainability, but also when regarding the work/life dynamic. Alice believes in the importance of loving what you do, and doing it with passion. To Alice, this means knowing when to say yes and when to say no. A key skill in life most of us are still learning to master.

She loves the connection of people coming together over food. This was first introduced to her by her mother who always stressed the importance of a healthy family meal every night. This has been carried into present day Kabala Kitchen, where again Alice aims to strike the balance between comfort and healthy food. Asking Alice for her own go-to comfort food that strikes this clever balance, she says it’s a Ramen Miso Soup – loving the warmth, fresh veggies and crispy top. In terms of Kabala’s menu though, the Thai Green Curry goes down a storm every time.

Bristol Street Food Community and a Focus on Sustainability

Using seasonal veg, the above mentioned Thai Green Curry is always created with what Alice can pick in the season, meaning the recipe often changes in accordance to this.

She also grows her own ingredients and then composts the peel to feed said veg, creating the most perfect sustainable cycle a woman could wish for.

Bristol Street Food Community is more male led, but definitely a supportive community to be a part of. For anyone dreaming of starting their own street food stand, Alice explains how many within that community do not have any professional cheffing experience. What you really need is confidence and a bit of bravery to give it a go!

Where to find Kabala and sister company Thoughtful Forkfuls

Kabala has taken Alice and her vegan menu all over the UK, covering private events, weddings and also retreats with her sister company, Thoughtful Forkfuls. Catering for the likes of yoga events and singing retreats, Alice constantly plans new menus, keeping the point of the weekends at the forefront of her mind. This is always helped by her previous experience as chef at CamYoga, a beautiful yoga studio in the heart of Cambridge focusing on truly nourishing the body.

Female Inspiration

Asking Alice who inspires her most, she tells us, “Isa Chandra Moskowitz with her brand Post Punk Kitchen and her restaurants ‘Modern Love’. I admire her activism, her sense of humour and her creativity.”

On top of sparking an interest in food, nutrition and cooking, Alice’s mum (Trish Kabala) also inspired Alice in so many other areas of the business: namely to work hard, be humble, and be driven with a sharp sense of honesty, integrity and justice. Passing on to Alice from a young age the importance of advocating for the rights of other people, for animals and for the natural world. She inspired Alice’s first venture into vegetarianism (which later led to veganism), and these values drive her work today today. “I do see my vegan cooking as a form of activism,” she tells us. “As by sharing vegan food and demonstrating how wonderful it can be, I hope to inspire people to change the way they eat and think about food. In addition to my wonderful mum, I have two older sisters who are both incredibly talented, hard-working and conscientious people, so I had some really strong female role models growing up.”

Finally, we ask Alice for advice aimed towards younger chefs and entrepreneurs…

“Building a business, working for yourself and working with food is so rewarding, so I would really encourage younger women (or women of any age) to go for it! One piece of advice I’d like to give is to know your boundaries, feel confident in your instincts and opinions, and stay true to your values. One thing I’ve noticed is that well-meaning people love to give unsolicited advice about the direction of your business, and the opportunities that they think you should pursue. In addition, professional advice can often insist that there is one route to take to be successful, and a particular way of doing things. I have taken very conscious decisions to turn down public-speaking events, and to not engage with certain social media strategies/platforms, for example. Yes, both of these things would have enhanced the profile of the business and potentially helped grow the business and reach more customers, but it would have been to the detriment of my mental and physical health. Everyone will have areas that they enjoy more and in which they thrive in, and areas that create undue stress and anxiety for them, and this is a very personal assessment. I have too often felt the pressure to pursue the latter for the sake of the ‘success’ of the business, the ‘end goal’, or even because “outside of the comfort zone is where the magic happens” (my least favourite saying!). Ultimately, as a sole trader, I am the business, and if I’m unhappy, engaging in work activities that keep me up at night with worry, suffering from chronic stress that impacts on my life and relationships outside of work, then I personally don’t see that as a successful business, no matter how much profit is being generated or how effectively I’m spreading the vegan message. If you want to run an ethical business, then that care and consideration that you have for those working in your supply chain or in your team should extend to you, too. If you had staff members, you would take care of them and ensure they were not overworked and neglecting their health for the sake of the business, so why do we inflict this upon ourselves as business owners? Prioritising your own comfort, happiness and wellbeing is not synonymous with lack of ambition and drive, it’s an essential part of running an ethical business. At the end of the day, you’re the one that has to live your life and run your business, so no-one else should be deciding how you do that. Be confident in your own convictions and trust that you know what is best for you and your enterprise, because you know your business better than anyone else and no-one else has the lived experience that you do.”