Alessandra Spano

Professional Chef of international experience, Mindful Educator and founder of YoMe start-up, in my profession I pursue the objective of promoting social, mental and physical health through Mindfulness. Over the years I have undertaken many challenges and pursued different avenues of employment. I am a university graduate of Engineering and Architecture, and I have life experiences -from travelling to many different countries over the years and working in hospitality, catering, training and as mindfulness educator-to the construction/building (previous and recent experience on straw bale house construction) gardening, farming etc. Always been passionate about food, I achieved a Professional Cook Certificate which was carried out over 2 years along with additional training and qualifications in food production and hospitality, such as Barista training, Bakery and patisserie training, food safety management, health and hygiene training, and more. I work as a Chef and Manager in different countries in the world ( India, Australia, New Zealand, Vietnam, Hong Cong, France, United Kingdom). Thanks to my multifaceted experience I am a great communicator and I speak four languages – Italian, English, Spanish and French. In my previous jobs working in cafes and bakeries I was a strong team player and I was always helpful maintaining morale and having initiative to help others and remain flexible and efficient either under pressure. Cooking for me is feeding people with delicious, tasty, healthy meals, following the seasons and therefore using what is available in the garden, nourishing both body and soul. This ideal brought me to different places in the world and to go through different experiences that helped me developing an awareness of the others and the environment. From my family’s garden to organic and biodynamic farms in Australia and Asia, I learnt how to understand and take care of a land, how to grow and harvest vegetables, how to take care of farm animals, how to make cheese and yogurt, and how to bake fresh sourdough bread. For over 10 years I have been matching imaginative and healthy recipes with the promotion of a mindful way of eating. Recently I qualified as Mindfulness Educator and I participated to different Erasmus + Mindfulness trainings (Sweden, Latvia). YoMe, the Yoga and Meditation Café, is the result of this ongoing research and this year it has been selected for Talent- up Programme for new start- ups. YoMe aims to promote mental and physical wellness through carefully designed menus and mindful eating habits.