Just to Pasta Time

Patricia Niven: Food, Photography & Queer Spaces

In this episode of ‘Just to Pasta Time’ Alex is joined by a personal heroine, Patricia Niven. Patricia is an award winning portrait and food photographer and keeper of the Instagram account, The Chicken Soup Project.  Born in Brisbane, Australia, Patricia worked several jobs within the food industry while growing up and attending art school. From serving frozen yoghurt in a mall at 14, to later managing a vegan cafe in the centre of Sydney's LGBT district.   At age 21, she bravely booked a one -way ticket to London to pursue her dream of becoming a photographer. Fast forward a couple of decades and Patricia is now one of the most successful and celebrated food photographers in the country. When asked about how she became so successful, she said “it’s about responding to that little spark that lights up when something really interests you and trying to follow that spark.” In this episode Patricia discusses her journey in the photography industry and her passion for capturing food. She also talks about her recent win at the Fortnum & Mason Food Awards and the importance of teamwork in her photography. This is a really inspiring episode that you won't want to miss! Find me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justtopastatime/ [https://www.instagram.com/justtopastatime/]

Chris Sweeney: Directing, Diversity & Dreamy Dishes

In this episode of ‘Just to Pasta Time’ Alex is joined by multi talented director, writer and king of queer podcasting, Chris Sweeney. Born in London to a fashion photographer father and a stylist mother, Chris began to sow the seeds of his directing career at a young age by filming fake ‘you've been framed’ videos on his camcorder at home. Fast forward to today and Chris has quite the resume, with TV shows including ‘The Tourist’ and ‘Liar’ under his belt, as well as music videos by the likes of Lily Allen and Jessie Ware.  In 2017, he launched his hugely successful podcast, Homo Sapiens, which in his words, is the “LGBTQ answer to woman's Hour”. On talking about his podcast, Chris said “it's been the most joyous thing I've ever done in my life, if all my other work evaporated and I only had the podcast, I'd be as happy as a clam.” In this episode Chris talks all things directing from stories of the Saturdays to on set snacks. We also hear about Chris’s childhood and how he came to creating the Homo Sapiens podcast. This is a really brilliant episode that you won’t want to miss! Find me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justtopastatime/ [https://www.instagram.com/justtopastatime/]

Kitty Scott-Claus: Drag, Disneyland & Divas

In this episode of ‘Just to Pasta Time’ Alex is joined by a blonde, Brummie Babe, Kitty Scott-Claus. Born Louis Westwood in 1992, Kitty shot to fame after competing on season three of RuPaul's Drag Race UK where her wit, humour and uncanny impressions of gay icons bagged her a place in the final. Since then, Kitty has been no stranger from our screens, to competing on celebrity MasterChef and finishing in a respectable fifth place, to taking on the mammoth task of turning Ian Beale himself into a sickening drag queen on ITV's Queen for the night. “I was never bullied in school, but I was always aware that I was different to everyone else” he says “everyone had aspirations of working in business or making millions. I just wanted to make people laugh”. In this episode, we explore Louis's journey, starting with his childhood and his transition from musical theatre to drag, including the inspirations behind his drag persona. We then look at the present and the impact of Drag Race on his career, discussing how Louis balances his personal and professional life. Finally, we look ahead to Louis's future aspirations and his views about returning to Drag Race for an all-stars season. This is a really fun episode that you won’t want to miss! Find me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justtopastatime/ [https://www.instagram.com/justtopastatime/]