I work in schools, supporting Headteachers and Governing Bodies to deliver the best outcomes possible for the children in their care. I have worked across the age range, and set up the first free school for secondary children in LB Richmond. The role has involved chairing many Trust and Governing boards.

I have worked extensively in LB Richmond and neighbouring boroughs and have become very aware of the impact of food poverty. Almost all state schools now run breakfast clubs, while children receiving free school meals receive additional DfE funding and support. The quality of school lunches has been for many years and continues to be an issue for schools, parents and the government. Meanwhile, teaching young people to shop for food and cook economically and healthily continues to be a low priority in the National Curriculum.

I volunteer weekly for the Trussell Trust, and worked in a foodbank set up during the Covid lockdowns by a local charity for vulnerable people who were shielding. 

My career has spanned from working for Pizza Hut to being a house builder, with a spell of being a parent governor on the way. One of my first jobs was as a restaurant manager for Pizza Hut which was great experience in managing all aspects of a food preparation business including hygiene, staff management and inventory control. After Pizza Hut I set up a business, supplying restaurants with freshly prepared vegetables which involved finding and equipping premises along with all the other challenges of running an enterprise. When our children came along, I decided to become an “at home dad” which meant facing the challenge of planning and preparing all the family meals. Producing tasty and nutritious meals sometimes felt like a battle against competing offerings of ready meals and takeaways but I was fortunate to have learnt some of the basics from my mother. Menu planning, scratch cooking, using cheap ingredients and other skills that I took for granted. Watching the unfolding crisis in food poverty and poor nutrition with the myriad of problems that follows, I wanted to find a way of getting some of that food knowledge and a set of basic skills to people who needed it. The idea for Cooking Up was born.

For as long as I can remember, I have loved cooking and have worked with food in many different roles as an employee, volunteer and campaigner.

My interest in the link between food and health led me to qualify with an Advanced Diploma in nutrition and to set up my own business running healthy cooking workshops in schools in the borough of Richmond. I have also worked on training projects for campaigning organisations such as The School Food Trust and School Food Matters and I set up and ran chef Anton Mosimann’s Culinary Academy in London. Currently, I am working as a cookery workshop facilitator for the refugee charity, Migrateful.

I have a background in education and training in both the charity and corporate sectors and experience designing and delivering workshops to community groups. I am also a qualified teacher. In my most recent role as Head of Adult programmes at The Money Charity, I worked with a wide range of organisations supporting families in need.

Mithi (Soumitra) Padmanathan (Finance)

I have been a finance professional for over 25 years. During that time, I have worked in many large commercial environments and together with many different individuals from varying backgrounds.

I have also spent a small portion of my career as a governor of a school, where I witnessed some of the challenges being faced by people during the Covid pandemic and now the cost of living crisis. I am therefore thrilled to be a part of Cooking Up where my financial background can be of use to a charity which aims to support people to better feed themselves and their families.

I've always been passionate about volunteering, social enterprise and working on community projects. I love food and for as long as I can remember I've been exposed to how much joy it can bring to people. My dad used to have a food stall at Notting Hill Carnival when I was a child, and I have fond memories of watching him cook for hungry carnival goers. 

I've had a professional career within the construction industry as an estimator and commercial director, worked as the programme and operations director for a charity and currently serve on the board of two charities. I am delighted to be working with Cooking Up.