I am so honored to introduce you to today's guest, Alissa Timoshkina.   In her teenage years, she left Russia for England.  Now, having moved through a career in academia, she is a London based writer, cookbook author, creator of KinoVino, and activist. 

Most recently, Alissa and her dear friend, Olia Hercules, founded Cook for Ukraine, an initiative they started within 48 hours of the war on Ukraine by Russia.  To date, they have raised approximately 1 million pounds which has been donated to UNICEF.  

Aliss and Olia who has shown tremendous bravery and leadership in calling out the atrocities of this war and continuing to raise awareness and funds for the people of Ukraine.   To connect with Alissa and Olia, you can follow them on instagram and all the details of Cook for Ukraine are linked on their websites.  

@alissatimoshkina 

@oliahercules 

https://www.alissatimoshkina.com/

https://www.alissatimoshkina.com/cookforukraine

Today's episode is with Patrick Miller, chef, formerly of one of my favorite restaurants, Rucola, in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, and founder, distiller, and creator of Faccia Brutto Spirits.  They are a Brooklyn based liquor company that uses a variety of botanicals to make Italian spirits, namely before and after dinner drinks (aperitivo and amaros) popularized in Italy.  

If you're enjoying the show, it means so much to me if you link to it on your social media, share with friends and family, and help support not only the work I'm doing on the podcast but also all the amazing guests who have been on the show.  

You can find all of their products and check out the stockists section to see who carries Faccio Brutto in your hometown at https://facciabruttospirits.com
I absolutely love following their instagram @faccia_brutto_spirits  to see the beautiful photography and cocktail ideas.   

At the beginning of the show, I also mentioned some of the organizations doing incredible life saving work in Ukraine.  Please continue to support in anyway you can.

https://razomforukraine.org

Shelter Ugolyyok -  patreon.com/ShelterUgolyok 
Venmo @pawsofhelp    Paypal: pawsofhelp@outlook.com

UAnimals - paypal@uanimals.com

https://wck.org

Today's guest is Kristen Carbone, founder of Brilliantly, a wearable warming device for survivors of breast cancer and mastectomies.  Kristen tragically lost her mother in her early twenties due to metastic breast cancer.  The followed a decade of testing, health insurance difficulties, anxiety, and stress about developing breast cancer, until she ultimately decided to undergo a preventative mastectomy and implant reconstruction.

Among the many challenges that came after the procedure, one of which, was the loss of sensation and constant feeling of coldness in her chest.  In ensuing conversations with other other who had undergone mastectomies and reconstruction, she came to realize that this was an ongoing issue that dramatically affected the quality of womens lives.  Women were using all sorts of methods to feel warm, often resulting in serious burns and scarring of their chests.  
Kristen embarked on a multi-year process of research and development, raising funding, and ultimately developing Brilliantly Warm, a wearable device that a woman could insert into her bra and self-control through an app.  There were no cords, no battery packs, and a woman could lead her daily life in comfort without anyone knowing she was wearing the device.  

Enjoy this incredibly inspiring story and please share Brilliantly Warm with your community. 

You can read more about Brilliantly and Kristen's story at 

https://www.brilliantly.co/

Connect with Kristen directly at:  Kristen@brilliantly.co or find her on Facebook or Instagram @brilliantly.co