Our home-grown podcast, made at Botelet:

Breakfast & Beyond:
Conversations from Cornwall on Sustainable Living

In each episode of the Breakfast & Beyond podcast Tia welcomes a guest from within the Cornish community to talk, over breakfast in the farmhouse at Botelet, about the steps they are taking within their work and home lives to embrace sustainability. Through the series, guests cover a broad range of topics from food to floristry, homewares, fashion, skincare, agriculture, wellbeing and much more. Episodes are released at the end of each month, creating a seasonal journey through the year. Do take a listen, delve into these conversations on sustainability that are at the heart of our approach, and try out some of the seasonal recipes.

Episode 1: Becca Stuart on Sustainable Floral Design: Becca Stuart is a floral designer, art director and founder of The Garden Gate Flower Company.  Becca’s work is shaped by the seasons; growing flowers and foliage she creates art with nature through her floral designs for weddings and events here in Cornwall, along with teaching a global community of florists through her courses. Texture, colour and a desire to authentically reflect the seasons define Becca’s approach, along with using natural materials and embracing opportunities to celebrate other local artisans. In Episode 1, Becca discusses the joys of gardening, the journey of The Garden Gate Flower Company, and the shifts she has made through the C-19 era to ensure her business remains sustainable - which have led to fresh opportunities. Oh, and growing cabbages in your flower bed…

Episode 2: Drinking ~ Sustainably with Alistair Frost of Pentire Drinks: Alistair Frost is founder of Pentire Drinks, a non-alcoholic botanical drinks company based in North Cornwall. Tia and Frosty discuss the journey of Pentire from the early days of distilling foraged coastal plants on the habour-side in Port Isaac, to the growth they have seen as a company since they were established, mirroring the burgeoning interest in alternatives to alcoholic drinks that fit alongside a healthy active lifestyle, and consumer interest in purchasing products whose values and modes of working are transparent and sustainable.

Episode 3: Plastic free fruit & veg with Katie & Jamie Sawday of Fruutbox: Katie set up Fruutbox - a plastic-free fruit and veg box delivery service- to create the product that she was struggling to find for their family: fresh, seasonal, plant-based produce, plastic free, delivered at a fair price with a user-friendly online ordering system. The conversation covers the challenges as well as joys of setting up a business as a young family, how promoting plastic-free fruit and veg can have ripple effects through other areas of our lives, along with sharing a lot of love for purple sprouting broccoli…

Episode 4: Sustainable Swimwear with Vicki Jones of Sand & Palm: Vicki Jones is a clothes designer, surfer and founder of sustainable swimwear brand Sand & Palm. The conversation explores Vicki’s journey setting up an eco clothing brand, how attitudes to fast fashion are starting to shift, the considered choices she has made in creating a ‘sustainable’ business, and why ‘slow’ fashion might just begin with reflecting on the pace of our own lives.

Episode 5 at the G7 Fringe - Does my Breakfast Make a Difference? For Episode 5, Tia hosted panel discussion at the G7 Fringe on the theme of sustainable futures. In conversation with four fantastic panellists from the grassroots to the finance sectors, the discussion centres around the role of individual vs large-scale actions in creating a fairer, greener future for people and planet, a critique of the concept of ‘net zero’ emissions, how we should frame messaging around action .. and much, much more.

Episode 6: Sustainable skincare with Amanda Winwood of Made for Life Organics - Amanda Winwood, Managing Director of Cornwall-based skincare company Made for Life Organics, has worked relentlessly to create a sustainable brand - for people and for planet. The conversation covers the belief Amanda holds in the power of plants to support our bodies naturally, the journey of becoming a B Corp, the motivation behind setting up the Made for Life Foundation and much more .. including the value Amanda places on the importance of taking time to sustain ourselves.

Episode 7: Eating and living sustainably with James Strawbridge - Tia talks with chef, author, photographer and TV presenter James Strawbridge as they discuss the journey of James’s work and what cooking and eating ‘sustainably’ means for him. They also dig a little deeper into James’s belief that the way to create lasting behaviour change is to lead by example and inspire, and that small steps such as adopting zero waste principles in the way we eat, can make a big difference.

Episode 8: Alice in Scandiland on building a (sustainable) homewares & interiors brand - Alice discusses the remarkable evolution of her business Alice in Scandiland. Six years ago, while parenting two young children, Alice began updating and re-styling her home on a budget, to make it work better as a family space. Alice’s enjoyment of DIY and hunting out vintage treasures led to the creation of the Alice in Scandiland blog, which in turn progressed into an award-winning brand that now includes shops both online, and in the market town of Lostwithiel (one of our local towns - do visit when you’re staying at Botelet!)

Episode 9: Sail-powered shipping with Alex Geldenhuys, founder of New Dawn Traders - Alex is led by a radical, optimistic belief in the power of people to collectively do good by each other and the planet, and this transfers into an amazing network that encompasses growers, producers and makers, boats and their crew members, and customers – from traders to individuals - based around the world.  This conversation is about climate action and cutting carbon within the global shipping trade.  But it’s also about putting people first, supporting small-scale growers, challenging the whole system - or business model - of the global shipping trade, and creating connections between people and the environment to generate empathy and awareness, which in turn galvanises action.

Episode 10: Creating a Wholesome World with Freyja Hanstein - Freyja created the app Wholesome World - which contains an ever-growing library of recipes along with medical and nutritional information - with the aim of informing and motivating people to improve their health. Behind the app is an incredibly moving, powerful and positive story of how Freyja navigated the loss of her husband Lars in 2014 due to abdominal synovial sarcoma cancer, and the grief that surrounded this immense loss, which was followed by Freyja being diagnosed with a grade III/IV brain tumour the following year.  Through her recovery and the rebuilding of her life, Freyja has directed her energy into creating a platform to share all that she has learnt along the way, and support the wellbeing of others.

Episode 11: Mindful eating & a year of Breakfast & Beyond - For Episode Tia welcomes friend of Botelet Joey Hulin - author, meditation teacher and retreat host - to the breakfast table. They discuss the launch of her latest book Mind & Bowl: A Guide to Mindful Eating and Cooking as well as exploring what ‘mindful eating’ means and the background to the book, and the link between sustainability and mindfulness. Joey then interviews Tia about the evolution of the Breakfast & Beyond podcast, one year since it launched.

Episode 12: Becoming actively anti-racist with Marcus Alleyne of Black Voices Cornwall - Black Voices Cornwall was established in 2020 following the global rise of the Black Lives Matter movement.  The charity exists to enable Cornwall to become an actively anti-racist County, and in conversation Tia and Marcus discuss why an anti-racist organisation is needed within a Cornish context; they deconstruct what being ‘anti-racist’ means in practice; how Black Voices Cornwall work to achieve their aims; along with Marcus sharing some of his own lived experiences and personal reflections.

Episode 13: Green stars & creating a demand for quality with Jeffrey Robinson of The New Yard Restaurant - Jeff and his wife Caroline took on management of The New Yard Restaurant just over two years ago, seeking to create an exceptional dining experience founded on principles of sustainability.  In 2021, they were awarded a Michelin Green Star; a coveted accolade that recognises gastronomy and sustainability within the restaurant industry. Tia and Jeff delve into all things green cooking and eating along with why Jeff and Caroline see the social dimension of sustainability - looking after the people within their business along with those they connect with - as important alongside environmental considerations in shaping the way they operate.

You can listen to the podcast, find links to information about guests and recipes from the breakfast table via the podcast webpage. We hope you enjoy sharing this little slice of Botelet with us through the conversations! We’ve shared some behind-the-scenes photos below …