Namaste, my name is Babita Shrestha. I am a plant-based chef, photographer, graphic designer, and the author of “Plant-based Himalaya”. My cooking journey started over 2 decades ago in my grandfather’s kitchen in Kalaiya, Bara. I moved to Kathmandu, at the age of 12 where I was traditionally trained to cook by my mother. As the oldest child of the family, it was my responsibility to cook and it quickly grew into a true passion of mine.

In 2016, I decided to live a vegan lifestyle as much as possible. After that I became even more passionate about cooking delicious and healthy plant-based meals for myself & my friends. I let my creativity blossom, curating my own unique vegan recipes for dinner parties. This led me to educate and promote fresh nutritious dishes with classes, pop-up street food vending, selling my products to other restaurants, private cheffing, and catering.

My journey in life has taken me from a small village in the Terai region of Nepal to the Ancient Metropolitan Temple City of Kathmandu. Then, as a domestic helper in Hong Kong and a Fine Arts student in Minnesota. Later, as an entrepreneur, I started Vegan Nepal in Lexington, Kentucky in 2017. I seriously never got an opportunity to look at a beautiful cookbook until the age of 30 but I wish young kids will enjoy the first ever vegan and vegetarian Nepali cookbook “Plant-based Himalaya” and open their eyes to infinite possibilities, create delicious vegetable recipes and become great future artists themselves.