ANTONIA HAS MADE BEING HEALTHY, HIP!

Antonia has an incredible connection with the people around her. She exudes an energy that is infectious. You can feel this energy trickle through everything at her vegetarian restaurant ‘Leafy Greens’. Even the food seems to be that much more delicious. Antonia professes that every ounce of food that is served in her restaurant contains the same love and energy that flows through her.

Her diet has been a dynamic process that has changed over the years from vegetarian, to strict vegan to what she calls today, her ‘farm diet’. This is what inspires those around her. She has gone through ups and downs, struggled with everyday issues like we all have and had to modify what she eats to what works for her and her body. She admits there is no one diet that works for everyone but rather a diet that sits well with you as an individual and makes you feel good but eating for vitality and longevity is a lifestyle and definitely not a food fad.

Antonia is against factory farming and the mass slaughter of animals. She has spent the large part of her life on a mostly plant-based diet. Vegan and vegetarian diets are growing in popularity as people are becoming more and more ethical in their food choices and Antonia was ahead of the pack.

Antonia has done more for keeping us healthy then one realises. She started her vegan café, Leafy Greens, in 2010 which has grown from a quaint little farm café on the idyllic De Luca family farm to an iconic restaurant that draws crowds from afar on weekends. Her infectious spirit has expanded far beyond the doors of her café and in a very short period she has collected the mantles of being a chef, an author, speaker, health consultant, TV show host and entrepreneur. Her “ Antonia’s ” products sell through a variety of health food shops and delis across Southern Africa.

Antonia has made a personal connection with many of us.  “People are tired of getting up in the morning feeling drained and puffy, or have partners and kids with permanently blocked or runny noses”. She offers healthy alternatives and substitutes for almost anything from sugar, oils, flour, soft drinks and even medicine. Antonia talks passionately about investing in your health now and you will make up for in savings on medical bills in the future. Someone who says chocolate is good for you goes jumps straight in to my good books… But she points out that it’s the right kind of chocolate.

What Antonia knows largely comes from her insatiable desire for knowledge. She reads incessantly, takes courses in a wide range of topics, travel’s the world in search of inspiration and new ideas and is humble enough to ask other experts for their opinions when dealing with customer’s ailments or questions.  “Chef school taught me about combining flavours in putting dishes together, travel taught me about finding new exotic flavours and healthy ingredients and reading gave me the knowledge to do”

Antonia has indeed combined all these elements in to the food she prepares, the lifestyle she preaches and the good that she does. She lives her motto ‘Eat Well, Do Good’.