Isn't it lovely when you discover that the people behind a company you like are as amazing as you'd hope?
Well that's exactly what happened to me yesterday.
I was listening to one of my favourite podcasts; "Feel Better, Live More" (which I highly recommend!) with host Dr Rangan Chatterjee and this particular episode was with the founder of Leon Restaurants - John Vincent.
I've been a fan of Leon restaurants for a while especially as a vegan actress on tour. I love stumbling across the bright lights of Leon as I'm on my travels because I know I can get a delicious and healthy meal quickly without breaking the bank. However, I had no idea about the story behind it's conception or indeed what they are trying to achieve as we speak.
Listening to John speaking, you instantly get an idea of how passionate he, and the whole of the Leon family, are about making a positive impact on society and offering a genuine healthy alternative to the fast food restaurants we see everywhere. They have game changing ideas they are trying to implement in order to tackle the obesity crisis, one which stood out to me was, for every ten stores they open, they'll open one in a deprived area (with the possibility of reduced prices) in order to offer healthy alternatives to those who may feel that they currently have no options.
After listening to the podcast, I felt compelled to email him (not something I have ever done before) just to say how inspired I was by his ethos and Leon's mission. Within a few hours, I had a reply!
As a thank you to my email, they will be sending me two of their books too, which was totally unexpected and very exciting. I will be sure to share my favourite bits from there!
Maybe I'm sceptical, but I kinda always assume that companies are just out to serve themselves and make as big a profit as possible. Leon seem to be different though. I mean, obviously they want to make a profit too, but they genuinely do care about their customers, their staff (who are affectionately called mums and dads within the company) and the wellbeing of our future generations too.
So thank you Leon. Thank you John.
And for those of you who are yet to experience the delights Leon has to offer, do go in search of a restaurant near you asap!