Interview: Leyla Kazim

>SUBSCRIBE FOR THE BEST THINGS TO DO EVERY WEEKEND<

Leyla Kazim is a TV and radio presenter, writer and journalist and she is about to transform her life in ways she never imagined by moving from her beloved home in south west London to Portugal, where she can realise her dream for self-sufficient living. In her new book Pathways, she reveals why she is answering this calling and the tough choices she’s made to get to this point. The book is split into two parts: To the Land: An honest account of answering a call to self-sufficiency in the hills outside of Lisbon; and To Purposeful Living: Mini essays and thought exercises to help face a simple question: how can we cut through the noise to identify the things that make us feel good and fulfilled?

Leyla, you’ve travelled a lot. Where have been your favourite places?

It’s a question I’m often asked and one of my favourite countries I’ve ever been to is Japan. There are many reasons I think everyone should visit at least once, the dining scene is just one of them.

I can’t imagine there is any one single resource that lists all the places to get food in Tokyo. If it did, it would break the internet. And if it didn’t break the internet, it would break the human resolve, because reading it would be like counting the global population in that you would never reach the end.

Tokyo’s topography is like a psychedelic 3D game of Tetris. It’s a city made from a bazillion building blocks stacked on top of each other with that efficiency the Japanese are so good at. Every door, every window, every protruding neon sign or hanging banner, every alleyway, every floor in every single building, the top and bottom (and middle) of every flight of stairs, every nondescript frontage, every unassuming flicker of light, every gap between two planks of wood – is yet another dining establishment ready to serve.

I have also escaped to Buenos Aires for a few weeks each winter for the past three years, another city that’s stolen my heart.

Where did you have your best meal ever?

One of my most memorable meals in recent years was at Alonia Guest House in Sfakia, western Crete. With – quite frankly – some of the best food I have ever had abroad.

Up in the White Mountains surrounded by nature. 7 simple and beautiful rooms with handcrafted furniture made from wood from the local forest.

Breakfast consisted of homemade jams, fresh cheeses, Cretan avocados, farm eggs, pancake ‘pies’ dipped in local honey and mountain tea. And during our one evening there I had one of the best (and simplest) dinners I’ve ever had: boureki (potato, courgettes, mizithra cheese baked in the oven with sesame seeds), lamb I can’t get out of my head and village yoghurt that made my heart skip a beat.

What food culture do you think is the best in the world?

It’s impossible to say one food culture surpasses another because every food culture brings something different and meaningful to the table. Italian cuisine is beloved for its comfort and simplicity, Japanese for its precision and freshness, Mexican for its bold flavours and heritage. If a place has a strong food culture at all, I am already going to love that place.

(Scroll to keep reading)

What are you looking forward to about living in Portugal?

The driving force for us uprooting ourselves and quitting the only way of living we’ve ever known, is to pursue a very different one of self-sufficiency and answer a calling to the land. And so one of the things I am most looking forward to is the sheer variety of crops I will be able to grow in the Portuguese climate.

We will be moving our lives permanently to Portugal this summer where we will build a house powered by the Sun in the footprint of an existing ruin. Our intention is to create a homestead where we produce much of our own food in a way that regenerates the soil. We will transform the three-acre site into a productive, abundant and climate-resilient oasis that is biodiverse in plants, crops, wildlife and fungi.

What will you miss about living in London?

I have noticed during these last few months in London that I am already starting to miss it, even though I’m still actually here! I have only ever lived in London, I even went to university in London.

I am a London girl through and through. I do not come from even a casual vegetable growing background, let alone one that worked any land. Nor do I have any experience living outside of the UK or even outside of a metropolis; I’ve never even had a pet. Yet I have been compelled to flee the city and follow a land-based life for several years now. And it is finally, really happening.

One of the things I will miss most is being able to get into the West End from my front door in just under an hour, flat.

Where are some of your favourite places in the capital?

The fantastic Deen City Farm in Merton is a short walk from my house and I visit often for my cute animal fix. It’s also next to the beautiful National Trust Morden Hall Park which is where I do all of my foraging. I make wine from the elderberries and rosehips, harvest lime blossom / linden flowers for tea and collect the seeds of nettles. This park has brought me so much joy for 15 years!

What have you learnt about yourself in your planned move to Portugal?

It’s taken three years for us to get to his point; it was spring 2022 when we first purchased the land in Portugal. Since then, we’ve faced a parade of obstacles that repeatedly set back our progress. We have spent the best part of the time since negotiating, navigating, praying. It has only been in recent months that we finally achieved planning approval for what we want to build and do with the land. So the journey so far has been an extended exercise in patience, faith and trusting that what I felt when I first met the land three years ago was real and true.

Tell us about the idea of ‘purposeful living’ and what lessons do you hope readers will take away from the book?

I’ve only defined the answer to this for myself in more recent times. For me it really comes down to being able to answer one question: is what I am doing today moving me towards the life I want?

It’s about aligning your actions, choices and values with what really matters to you; it’s not just about what you are doing but why you are doing it.

Figuring out what really matters to you, and your own path to whatever that is, is no mean feat. This is where I hope book 2 especially — Pathways: To Purposeful Living — can help. In it I share the thoughts I’ve had and questions I’ve asked myself that helped me define what purposeful and intentional living looks like for me.

My main hope for this two-part special is that people read and resonate with the books. I have found the most impactful books in my life have been the ones that have left me feeling empowered and validated the way I think, when I had previously felt cautious about sharing my viewpoints beyond the safety of close friends and family.

They are books that gave me the confidence to have conviction in what I believe. If Pathways has even a hint of that effect on anyone, that would be quite amazing.

About Leyla Kazim

Leyla Kazim is a TV and radio presenter, writer and journalist. Leyla is a critic on BBC One’s MasterChef, a presenter on BBC Radio 4’s The Food Programme and writes the bestselling Substack newsletter A Day Well Spent.

About Pathways

Part memoir, part manifesto and part guide, Leyla’s debut book Pathways reveals why she is quitting the only life she’s ever known to permanently relocate to a three-acre patch of countryside just outside Lisbon, to answer a calling to live off the land. And the tough choices she’s made to get to this point. This two-book special is an honest look at the absurdities of modern life and how we cut through the noise to identify the things that make us feel fulfilled.

Pathways is with independent publisher The Pound Project and is on sale for a limited time only, until 27th May: poundproject.co.uk/shop/pathways