Independent local businesses are at the heart of a YouTube show and book celebrating food, resilience and community inspired by Bianca Rodrigues-Perry.

Bia’s Kitchen Show and accompanying cookbook – ‘A Culinary Journey of Gratitude’ is the passion project of Brazilian-born entrepreneur and foodie Bianca, who settled in Leamington 16 years ago.

The successful brand showcases some of the region’s brilliant local chefs, nutritionists, and food and drink artisans who share some of their own recipes and top cooking tips, alongside Bianca’s.

But the project is also rooted in her own journey of overcoming personal mental health challenges through a passion for cooking. It’s in this spirit that the self-taught chef-come-author has also been active in her support for local charities, including pledging to donate her book’s profits to Coventry, Warwickshire & Worcestershire Mind, a cause close to her heart.

Bia’s journey of reinvention began when she left behind her family and a high-flying marketing career in 2009, emigrating from her native Rio de Janeiro as the newly married Mrs David Perry – her future now devoted to a new role as mum of three.

It was also to signal the start of a turbulent period in her life, forced to overcome a series of health setbacks impacting herself and her children.

It’s Bia’s combined passions of cooking and entrepreneurialism that became a lifeline – even going on to win Couple’s Come Dine With Me on Channel Four. Buoyed by her early business success of running a thriving food delivery service during lockdown, it was in January 2024 that she stepped out of the shadows of her busy Cubbington kitchen once more, and into the limelight. The Bia’s Kitchen brand was born.

“It was all a big shock for me when I first moved here,” she recalls. “I lost my identity and had no idea what I was going to do next. I just knew that everything comes back to food for me. I thrive off feeling other people’s energy and passion for food. After all, cooking is the universal language of love.”

Since then Bianca and her show have won the affections of a loyal and growing UK audience, even earning the entrepreneur two national awards, recognising the enterprise and compassion she has shown in her work with local businesses. And is a familiar face on many food festival live kitchen stages.

She added: “As well as sharing great recipes from fantastic local chefs, the idea behind both the show and the book is to hopefully inspire with the message that you can have a bad day or a bad period in your life and come back with a determination to succeed all over again. Hence the title ‘A Culinary Journey of Gratitude.’ Through food and through supporting other people, we can all do better.

“For me it’s about helping other people and finding something that you love along the way. This is what I am all about and what the brand is all about. If sharing my personal story goes some way towards helping and inspiring other people who are struggling, I find that incredibly rewarding. Empowering others is what also empowers me.

“Plus, it was important to me to try and give a bit back along the way by donating all of the profits to charity that means a lot to my family and I.”

‘Bia’s Kitchen Show: The Cookbook – A Culinary Journey of Gratitude‘ is available for order from Bia’s Kitchen Show here.

Bia added: “I have loved where this journey is taking me so far and have met so many talented entrepreneurs who have also inspired me in their own stories of resilience. It’s been a pleasure to share in their passion and I’m proud to feature them in this first book which, fittingly, begins my culinary’ journey of gratitude’ in the adopted community I now call home.”

How you can work with Bianca

Bianca can work with food and hospitality businesses to promote their brand through show appearances, sponsorship, product placement, social media reviews or marketing. To view Bia’s Kitchen Show visit www.biaskitchenshow.com.