Welcome! I’m Radhika from Radikal Kitchen

I am excited to share my debut cookbook, Flavours Without Borders. This book delves into the profound impact of immigration, travel, historical trade routes, and colonialism on the world’s food and flavours. It weaves together recipes and stories from influential pathways such as the Silk Route, the Maritime Silk Road, and the Buddhist trail in Asia. It also explores how British, French, and Portuguese colonialism shaped local cuisines and cultures. Through these diverse influences, I highlight the rich, intertwined heritage of global flavours, showcasing how culinary traditions have evolved, influenced, and integrated with one another across the globe.

My culinary journey started at a very young age. I learnt the basics of cooking from my mother, spending hours watching her cook as a child. I was fascinated by how she could create such delicious and diverse flavours using basic spices. I was intrigued by the way she used spices – it was as if she was conducting an orchestra! She never cooked from recipes or cookery books. She was innovative, creative and radikal – and this is what I have learnt from her.

My cultural heritage also has played an instrumental role in nurturing my love for food, fuelling my unending quest for flavours, and instilling a deep-rooted desire to explore and learn about various cuisines. Born to a Punjabi father and a mother who is half Bengali and half Mangalorean, I was exposed to a rich tapestry of culinary traditions, flavours, and techniques spanning from North to South India. My extended family is even more diverse, encompassing diverse cultural backgrounds, from Kashmir to Hyderabad and Armenia to Italy! My cultural horizons were only further expanded when I met my husband, who is of Spanish and German descent, and by calling London, one of the world’s most cosmopolitan cities, my home for the last twenty-five years.