Optimist – Humanist – Dad – Chef – Speaker – Author – Social EntrepreneurEarly in his career Leon became a chef, almost by accident. He worked in top restaurants in the Netherlands, France and England and later on he opened his own highly acclaimed fine dining restaurant. In 2001 he moved to London to start a fine food wholesale business supplying the top restaurants in the UK, importing from all over the world.A profound inner experience in 2007 radically changed the course of his life resulting in giving up his business. He devoted a lot of time to understanding, integrating and deepening that transformation inside himself. It was time for change.Leon became a social entrepreneur and started a charity to raise funds to feed children in developing countries. He helps people and businesses tap into their own greatness, empowering them to live a fully authentic life. During this time he has written three books.In 2015 Leon went to Calais to cook for a few hundred refugees and ended up starting Calais Kitchens to supply foods to the thousands of refugees living in Northern France resulting in distributing food to more than 9000 people every week. All these experiences have resulted in his latest project: Compassion.An accumulation of everything he has done in his life. Compassion will be a community restaurant where we focus on what we have in common not our differences. Sharing a meal has the power to create greater understanding and to change our perceptions. Compassion will be a community where we create a more beautiful world through the power of sharing a meal.

www.leon-aarts.com