This month we catch up with Ankita Pagrut, founder of The Clumsy Vegan food catering company.

So Ankita, can you tell us a bit about how you got into food?

From the age of 5 all I ever wanted to be was a medical doctor, and I have been working as a doctor for over a decade now. Recently what I also love to do is cook, pray and garden, not necessarily in that order, but I do it everyday.

I have been a vegetarian for most of my life. When I was about 8 years old, I turned vegetarian after a history class where my teacher told us the tale of King Ashoka. He was an Indian emperor who conquered the state Kalinga, which none of his ancestors had done. However, after witnessing the mass deaths during the Kalinga war, that resulted out of his desire for conquest, he embraced buddhism and non violence and spent the rest of his life promoting Buddha’s teachings. This story really inspired me to be compassionate towards all life forms and I turned vegetarian.

I turned vegan when my French bulldogs came into my life! Social media played a major part in this decision as I became aware of atrocities committed by the poultry/dairy industry.

I volunteer for a charity called Embracing the World through which we hold weekly spiritual gatherings. My love for cooking began when I started bringing food for the “potluck” after these gatherings. I would always bring a bag of crisps till one time, probably 5 years ago, I decided to cook a curry. I was surprised at how well it was received. I have not stopped cooking since then. I have learnt several new techniques and my food has matured and its quality and creativity has improved from cooking for several people every week (so I am told).

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