Ep #14 Reconnecting With our Food, with Evan Rilling

Welcome to the How To Die Happy podcast, where we explore the art of living and dying well. In today's episode, our hosts Martin O'Toole and Julia Malcolmson are joined by American chef ⁠Evan Rilling⁠, who is on a mission to change people's relationship with food and the land from which it comes.

As an artist at heart, Evan's journey as a chef began at a young age, inspired by his family's love for growing and cooking food. He is a master of health-conscious farm-to-table cuisine and spent four and a half years working as a freelance chef for the actor Will Smith and his family. His love for travel has led him to design menus, create recipes, and cook for health-conscious retreat centres, health food brands, and restaurants around the world.

According to the 2019 documentary, ⁠The Need to Grow⁠, industrial agriculture is now the most destructive human activity on the planet. The United Nations estimates that at current depletion rates, we have fewer than 60 years of soil left on Earth due to these activities. In response to this crisis, Evan and his friend Maggie co-founded ⁠Ulu Food Forest⁠, a community permaculture garden in Bali that aims to create a new system that restores degenerated land, regenerates the natural ecosystems, and grows forest-based sustainable businesses that honour the Earth and local people.

In this episode, Evan invites us to consider what we are consuming, its provenance, and what farming and manufacturing methods are used to grow and create the food we eat. He discusses permaculture farming, a contrasting sustainable model to mono-crop agriculture, and its 12 principles. These principles include observing and interacting with nature, catching and storing energy, obtaining a yield, applying self-regulation and feedback, producing no waste, designing from patterns to details, and creatively using and responding to change.

Aside from some surprising yet welcome spontaneous rapping, Martin, Jules, and Evan discuss travelling, surfing, our fundamental relationship with food and the planet, and Evan's stunning new cookbook, RetrEAT. The book is heart-centred, deeply enriching, and genuinely nourishing, packed with over 30 delicious and easy-to-make healthy recipes that appeal to a broad audience. It includes cooking secrets from a master chef, tips for creating greater connections and gathering with loved ones, and expands your awareness of health-conscious food and cooking.

Join us in this episode as we seamlessly roll between seriousness and fun while sharing stories and practical utilities for the arts of living & dying well. After all, what we consume profoundly affects our mind, body, and soul.

Suppose you're interested in permaculture farming, want to grow your own food, or simply want to learn more about living and eating healthily. In that case, you won't want to miss this episode with the wonderfully happy, incredibly tall surfing and rapping chef Evan Rilling. Tune in to the How To Die Happy podcast, and let's explore the art of living and dying well together.

Postscript note: During the interview, Martin mentions a man in South Central, LA, but can not recall his name. The Gangsta Gardener's name is Ron Finlay, and you can find out more about his wonderful man and his project ⁠here⁠.