Or as we say where I’m from, ‘ey up. I’m Bradley and I’m originally from Nottingham in the UK, but have resided in London for over ten years now. Living in one of the most expensive cities in the world comes with its challenges, and my belief in being able to access fun experiences and create memories (on the smallest budget possible) has grown as I navigate these obstacles. I’m passionate about diversity, inclusivity and highlighting hierarchies of power that affect our life experiences.

You can read my manifesto here.

What are your interests?

My interests vary widely, but as you can probably guess, I’m obsessed with cooking, hiking and seeing new places. I love the spontaneity of those “f*ck it!” moments: booking a cheap flight, hostel and shoving everything in my bag before rushing out the door. There’s no thrill like it! I’m lucky to live in Europe and have access to budget airlines and low flight times. I want to broaden my horizons and go international soon!

I also love reading, cultural theory, photography, fashion, art, architecture and interior design. I adore music (I mean, who doesn’t?!), particularly hip-hop, specifically, women’s rap. I love it so much that I focused my Master’s thesis on it!

My degree is in Gender and Sexuality Studies, and my interest in intersectionality has informed my desire to highlight social disparities in travel and food, particularly.

My favourite...

Cultural theorist: I love Stuart Hall and his theory that participants within a culture give it meaning based on people, objects, media and events. This emphasis on cultural practices opens discussion for positive social change, as society is a malleable construction of values and behaviours.

Photographer: My favourite fashion photographer is Steven Meisel. His work between 1996-2005 for Italian Vogue is particularly awe-inspiring, and I like to find vintage issues for my collection! As for documentary photography, it has to be Martin Parr. His work is so nostalgic for me and shows honest British identity, isn’t London/South of England-centric and free of cliches.

Fashion designer: It’s so difficult to choose only one, but in terms of legacy, design language and political ethos, Miuccia Prada takes it for me. Fondazione Prada is also one of my favourite art galleries!

Three guesses for who my favourite hip-hop artist is...

Don't come for me, Barbz! If you know, you know.

How did you get into cooking?

Coming from working class roots, I grew up on lots of budget meals, frozen food and staples of the time. I have fond memories of eating potato smiles, fish fingers and baked beans at least once a week! As time went on and I left home for the big city lights and university, I realised that I didn’t have any skills in the kitchen and a lack of understanding of nutrition. That, paired with aggressive spending on clothes, alcohol and eating out, didn’t exactly help. By the end of my first year, I was living on bread and potatoes (lol).

After uni, I started working full time and still didn’t put any time into gaining an understanding of cooking… until Covid hit. I was alone during the first lockdown, and this gave me ample time (and internet usage!) to focus, learn from others and utilise skills of building flavour to create my recipes. A lot of the content I was seeing was usually quite lengthy (and messy) and used often expensive, hard-to-access ingredients (hello lion’s mane). I realised there was a gap for luxurious and healthy meals that were budgeted and accessible. I’m still always learning, and that’s what I love about it!