We’d rather spend time testing recipes than talking about ourselves, but here is a really beautiful, extremely well designed webpage about Ricky & Jasen with a section on our philosophy comprised of some copy-pasta from the interwebs that we agree with.
Our Founders
Ricky is a creative soul who is passionate about food. This pairing of creativity and culinary crafted the incredible menu and inspired the creation of Menu Mandala. He studied Nutrition at SAIT, has lead many kitchens across Calgary, and enjoyed time as a personal trainer. Ricky values workplace culture and makes every day something to look forward to.
Jasen discovered the amazing world of plant-based nutrition through his hunger for knowledge and was surprised how good he felt switching from a heavily meat-focused diet. Food has been a consistent passion through careers in professional engineering, time as a DJ/Producer, and a serious passion for yoga. Jasen values community and enjoys organizing exciting events.
Our Philosophy
Nutrition
“The health of our society is in critical condition. The culprit? Preventable lifestyle-related diseases—including heart disease, stroke, cancer, type II diabetes, obesity, kidney disease, rheumatoid arthritis—and a fundamental misunderstanding in our society about where these diseases come from.” Paraphrased From: T. Colin Campbell; Nelson Disla;. “The Future of Nutrition.”
Fitness
“As demonstrated by the athletes and research featured in The Game Changers, switching to a diet centered around plants can yield significant performance advantages, providing optimal fuel, increasing blood flow, making muscles more efficient, and speeding recovery by lowering inflammation.” Excerpt From: Game Changers (movie) on maximizing performance using the plant-based diet.
Mindfulness
“Mindful eating (i.e., paying attention to our food, on purpose, moment by moment, without judgment) is an approach to food that focuses on individuals’ sensual awareness of the food and their experience of the food. It has little to do with calories, carbohydrates, fat, or protein. The purpose of mindful eating…is to help individuals savor the moment and the food and encourage their full presence for the eating experience.”