Rufina Garay interviews Lola about Equity and Food Culture

In Episode 1 of FoodLove: The Space between Terroir and the Tao of Food, host and former chef Instructor, attorney, executive leadership coach, strategic consultant, and food writer, Rufina Garay, talks with Lola Milholland.

Listen to their conversation here.

Lola is the maker and creator of Umi Organic, an organic Japanese noodle company based in Portland, Oregon. Lola has disrupted a curious and circuitous food export-import system in which U.S. wheat “boomerangs” across the world only to return from Japan in the form of ramen and soba noodles. She has created a U.S. grown and produced ramen and yakisoba noodles that feature organic grain from her home state. The sublime quality of her noodle reflects someone who has studied, revered, and eaten Japanese noodles through what began as a year-long meditation in making noodles. Most impressive in her work is that she has embedded equity principles into her business model to make her noodles affordable. She shares deep knowledge of history and the interconnectedness of different culinary traditions. Learn about her work to bring cultural diversity to public schools through yakisoba noodles. Lola shares an intersection with Rufina as an alumna of Amherst College, whose college motto is “Terraes Irradient”—illuminate the world. That is exactly what Lola does as she demonstrates what it means to make beautiful food from what is grown here.

Two side notes in post-production postscript: The new Jefferson County Farmers Market manager is Deirdre Morrison who is equally lovely and amazing as the former! Also, the nine men I spoke of in the podcast all survived.

Thank you to Robert Sarabia for making this happen on this auspicious day!