Vegan London | From Burnout to Ultra Running | Carla Casadei

Link for the show notes

Today’s episode is a powerful conversation about burnout, resilience, and finding balance through movement and community.

I’m joined by Carla Casadei, also known as @carlafromrio — an ultra runner, vegan food entrepreneur, and co-owner of Casadei Foods, a vegan mozzarella company based in London. Originally from Brazil, Carla shares her journey from running multiple vegan food businesses and burning out, to discovering running as a way to heal, build community, and explore the world in a new way.

We talk about mental health, hustle culture, running through London and the countryside, and how travel and sport can help us reconnect with ourselves and others.

Be sure to check the show notes and blog post for links and resources mentioned in this episode.

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Transcript

[00:00:00] Hello Carla and welcome to the World Vegan Travel podcast. 

Hello. I'm so excited to be here! 

Oh, I'm so to have you on. I see your content a lot on social media, and I just love what it is that you're doing. And I'm so grateful that you can join us today and talk about all of the projects that you work on, and also, of course, how travel has played a big part in your life as well. So Carla, you have recently, relatively recently, become a vegan ultra runner, and you have an incredible story that I would love for you to share, and that really came out of becoming burnt out from doing vegan catering. Can you talk a little bit about that please? 

Yes. So being a small business owner in London [00:01:00] is very difficult. Unfortunately, right now, as you can see, a lot of businesses have been closing down. It's tough. It is a lot of work. Nowadays, you cannot only just do good food. You need to be an influencer. You need to be like, a professional video maker. It's a lot and I felt this pressure, and especially being a woman in the kitchen is really hard. You really need to prove yourself. Not being ultra micro manager, but also drawing limits. It's really hard. And you are managing people. You're managing emotions. So that is a lot on itself. Make people be your friend, do good food, but also respect you as a boss. So that took on me because I was working 15 [00:02:00] hours, 16 hours. It was crazy because I was just not working. So basically, we had two places. We had a pie shop in Camden, a pizza shop in Bethnal Green, East London. And we had a central kitchen where we produced all the food to service these other restaurants and also our online store. I was managing the central kitchen and all the restaurants. It was stressful. I didn't have time for myself. I had times that I had to sleep in the kitchen so I could be there to produce more food. It is crazy. I don't recommend this to anyone. I think when you start getting to that stage, you should like really look at yourself and see, maybe this is not the place where I should be going. Maybe this is not okay, because also, there is this fantasy like, you need to work hard. So many big [00:03:00] millionaires, billionaires talk about this. Like I'll wake up at four o'clock in the morning, I'll work out and then I go to work hard. Not everyone has the same 24 hours. And I learned in the hard way. I had alopecia, two times. That was the point for me when I saw that I was going bald. And then we did the hard bit of closing the restaurant and then I could try to minimize this burnout. Then I start like looking for things to do, to release this stress, because I didn't know. I didn't know like to have time for myself because I was always in the kitchen. I was always in the restaurants or was talking with other business owners or on Instagram, like posting. It was crazy. And then I start little by little like implementing sports in my life. That was really the [00:04:00] change. And it comes from someone that hated sports, I thought was like kind of cringe, you know, like all those clothes. Because I'm a little bit rock and roll. I don't want to be on this like, you know, leggings. But it really changed my life, and sometimes you just need to go back a little bit so you can go forward in even stronger than you were. And success is not always what you think is success, like having restaurants. Sometimes it's just your wellbeing. 

So you said that you found sport. What kind of sport have you explored and which are your favorites? 

Oh my gosh. So I wanted something that was cheap. I thought running is cheap. I just go running out of my door. That's great. I don't need gym membership or I don't need anything. But it's not quite like that because when you are [00:05:00] running, you need to have good shoes. You need to have these kind of shorts that helps you to run more comfortably and these bras that, you know, help to hold everything together. But I really loved running because you also have a community. And for me, being from Brazil, I always felt really, like kind of an alien in here. I couldn't connect with people, especially because I didn't have time. I was always working. So I didn't have time to have friendships where people would call me. I would be like, I'm too tired. I want to sleep today, or whatever. But sports, like running it, brought me all these like friends from running communities. I could connect with a black woman. It was really nice because I think when you are a certain age, it's really hard tohave friends when you're not in school, when you're not studying or you're [00:06:00] not doing anything, you're just working. And I think sports is one of those things that brings you life, not only physically, but socially as well. I wish I had known this back then, and I can tell to everyone, if you're in a new city, if you feel alone, I would recommend, just look for a running club or any other sports because people are very open to just go and do stuff together. And that really changed life for me. 

Wow. I'm somebody, also, who's a little bit socially isolated where I live, and I've been thinking something similar. I'm really keen to try pickleball. 

Yes. This is great. This is great. Like things like this that take you out of home, and make you speak. And it's great because you can talk just about the sports [00:07:00] with so many types of people. So you don't need to have loads in common. You just need to talk about that specific thing, and then you can find things in common. But that is a great icebreaker and you can meet people. That is fantastic. Please do it. 

I am definitely seriously thinking about it. I've never had a good relationship with racket kind of sports, but everyone tells me that pickleball is not too much of a learning curve. You can get okay at it fairly quickly. So maybe I will, maybe that will be a New Year's resolution for 2026. Maybe. Let's see how I go. 

That's good. 

I'd love if you could tell me how it was that you ended up in London, and in the first place, from Brazil. That's quite far away. So how did you end up in London? 

I know. And I come from a very poor neighborhood in Brazil, we call Favelas. Yeah. So basically, I studied [00:08:00] English. I did an English course in Brazil. And I wanted to haveexperience outside of Brazil. I never traveled abroad. I always wanted to travel abroad. I asked my mom to send me some pictures when I was a kid. I can send you later, like me just standing in front of the airplane when I was five years old. So, I was in the time of my life that I needed change. I had finished a relationship. I am a journalist back in Brazil and I got redundant from my TV station, so I was feeling very like, there is no hope for me here. And even if I go just for two months, it's okay. 

It's not a problem. And I chose London because I was inbetween about going to America or the UK. And I'm like, oh, the UK's better. It's near Europe. I can travel around so it's going to be [00:09:00] much cooler. And in Brazil, we know so much of America. So I've just, I was just like, I'm going to go to the UK that I don't know that much. 

There is all the punk scene. Oh my gosh. And then I end up here, like on an English course. It was the best thing I did, since I came here. And I recommend to everyone to just go out and travel because you going to meet so many people that you would never meet in your hometown. You going to create survival mode stuff. You need to look for a flat or for hostel or whatever. You are going to create those stuff that you wouldn't have if you were back home. You know what I mean? So it was the best investment I ever did in my life, and I am so happy that it worked. I stayed. You have difficult bits as well, but that is life teaching you independency, and [00:10:00] how to be out there. And I met so many different people. It is just incredible and fantastic.  

So may I ask, did you go to the UK, to London, for your course, and then you just never went back? Were you able to do it like that or did you come home and pack up your apartment. 

Yes. So I went already on a visa for six months. Then I was already planned to be here for six months, and then I did another visa for a year. And then I started renewing it. Then I got married. 

Oh, that's awesome. Nice. And how many years have you been in the UK now? 

Fifteen years, and it goes so fast. It goes fast. 

Really does. 

It does. I came here just thinking I'm just going to be six months or maybe a month. I was having so much fun. I just loved to be in a place [00:11:00] that is so different from where I come from. It's just so cool. I love how I can learn new things every day. I just loved that. It's everything different. It's incredible. 

Yes, I was in London for just a few days in the summer. It was so much fun. London is an amazing city. 

It is. 

It really is. It's amazing for vegan food. There's so much other stuff, as well. I know you have a few London recommendations for restaurants. We'll get to that in a minute. But what is it about London that you think is just so appealing to visitors, and to you as somebody that's lived there. Why do you love it so much? 

I just think there is a history bit of Buckingham Palace. It doesn't matter if you're into Royal Family or not, it's just fantastic. It is just iconic. Sometimes I run [00:12:00] there when I do the London marathon. Yourun at the mall, they call it. It's like the big street in front of the Buckingham Palace. That thing doesn't get old. It is fantastic. I love it. Like the parks are just well manicured.Everything is so grand and so beautiful, but also there is always something popping up because London has so much diversity of culture. So every week there is something to do. Like, you can have any kind of food, of any kind of nation. You can meet up people. I remember doing this tour, this guy dressed like David Bowie, just going around David Bowie's famous spots in London where he recorded.Things like this in London is popping up all the time. So you never bored, and I think that's why it's so expensive to live in here because you have everything. It's crazy, you are never bored. And you can find stuff for free to do, like [00:13:00] museums are for free which is not like in Europe. You can do so much stuff for free here. And yeah, it's fantastic. Do you have a favorite neighborhood? 

I do. It's my neighborhood. Ah. 

Well, that's probably why you live there. Where is it and why do you love it so much? 

It's so good. I am so lucky to be where I am, because I lived in terrible places. So one thing about London is, the flats are terrible. Like the type of accommodation here is bad. When you come here, if you have good flat, you are lucky. So I live in a place called Muswell Hill. It's North London, so it's close to Camden Town. So it's lovely. Has like Highgate Woods. It's one of the famous woods around for walking. It is just chill. It doesn't even look like you're in London. It's very green. It's very [00:14:00] chilled, but it is expensive. When I arrived here, I lived in Stratham. I don't know if it's near Brixton. It is rough. It's not cool. It's rough. But that's what I could afford, and it's like busy, has a lot of people. You come back late at home, I was followed. I was scared for my life. Thankfully, nothing bad happened. In Muswell Hill you can walk here one o'clock in the morning. It doesn't happen. It's just very good. But it's very towny. It doesn't have any nightclub or anything. It just has cafes in here. Yeah, it's very cool cafes and all that, but it's just cafes and supermarkets. It's great for me, but it's beautiful. You have the Alexander Palace that has over a hundred years of history. It's like this music venue. They do a lot of vegan events, like these huge vegan live events. It's beautiful. [00:15:00] It's on the top of this hill. Oh, it's gorgeous. It's a lot of walking places, a lot of running places, so I love it here. 

Yes, I definitely want to talk more about your running and great places to run. But before we get onto that, I'd love to ask you if there are any, maybe, more quirky or interesting or hidden places that people wouldn't necessarily know about to put on their visit to London. I'm thinking about, maybe like, a quirky museum or a particular park that's special or a shopping area that'sreally fun. Can you share any of those? 

Yes. We discovered this cinema that is in Angel area. I think it's called Nickel Cinema. Basically, it's a cinema with independent movies. And you have these little cinema room, and then you go downstairs. There is this bar with this really cool light. [00:16:00] It just feels like you were in Berlin or something. The walls all weren't finished, and you have the bathroom. It has all these like eighties Porn stars. It's one of the coolest cinemas that I have been in London. I love it. Four things to do. There is the "Pusludge", in Angel. It's a little bit like loads of little like restaurants. And there is this little Japanese restaurant as well. It's a deli and restaurant. I really love to go there. There is a market there, and it's so cute, and it's not on the main road, so it's very easy to not see it, and it has loads of little cafes and stuff. I recommend that for everyone. 

That's a great recommendation. Thank you. And what about your favorite places to run in London? Because it really is, even I know, that it's a good place to run. 

I [00:17:00] love Central London. Central London is perfect. So yeah, so sometimes we go, like some of my run clubs, we go from Tower Bridge and go along the Thames. It's lovely. It's busy, but it's so lovely. And again, to run on the mall, if you go from Green Park and then you go to St James's Park, it's just very beautiful as well. And then you are near to London Eye, and then you go to Trafalgar Square. It is just so beautiful. It's so nearby, and you can just check these amazing landmarks. I know that it sounds so basic, but when you see them all the time, for me, it's exciting. It's really gorgeous to see when you're going towards these places. It's a reminder that you're in London. It's really nice. 

Fabulous. And before we leave London to talk about other places and running, [00:18:00] you have a few recommendations for your favorite vegan restaurants, and some of them, you even provide ingredients for, because we didn't even talk about that, like what it is that you do now. Maybe we should talk about that first because you create an incredible product that these top vegan restaurants are using. So, please, tell us about that. 

Yeah,with my burnout, I was doing a thousand things at the same time, and I was not making my life easy. When we had the pizzeria, I was making our own vegan mozzarella. Before the restaurant, we had a little takeaway in East London, near Main Street. In a very cool place. It was 2018, and we couldn't find good vegan mozzarella. So I'm like, 'I'm going to do it. There is loads of recipes out there. I'm just going to make one that works for me.' And [00:19:00] doing vegan mozarella, it sounds very easy, but it's actually a little bit complicated because it needs to melt really well. But it needs to be really easy for the pizza chef to put on the pizza. If you try to grate it, it gets all very stuck to each other, the grated cheese.  

 And pizza chefs are divas. They want everything very easy for them to do very fast. So it was a lot of trial and error. We made this cheese that friends of ours just, 'Oh, can I use your vegan cheese in our pizzeria.' Sort of like word of mouth.And then we started doing a website, and then started talking with bigger companies. And now we are selling to places like Purezza. It's the only, a hundred percent vegan pizzeria in London. So working with them is absolutely amazing. You know, being that vegan cheese provider, for me, it's a dream. I really, really [00:20:00] love to work with them, and also to work with other pizzerias, to be able to provide this really good vegan cheese to vegans around the UK. It's amazing. 

So we don't only do vegan cheese, we also do pepperoni, and we provide pepperoni to our really cool pizzeria here. It's called Yard Sale. They are really big in London. I think they have around eight pizzerias across London. And again, it's amazing to be working with really good companies. 

Do you only sell wholesale to restaurants or can people buy it in the supermarket or order it online too? 

They can buy on our website, but now we are in the process of growing the company into the next level. So we are in the process of getting an investment, and stuff like that, so we can be available on [00:21:00] supermarkets. We eat our own product to make sure we are giving the best. It is not just something that I want to make money off it, it's really my life. Yeah, so we are growing in that way, and hopefully people can find us on supermarkets very soon. 

I wish you the best of luck with that, Carla, because I'm sure it is not easy. But, you definitely have a lot of passion and experience to bring to this. So, I'm sure you're going to be successful. Let's talk about using running to travel. You have run outside of London on various races in different places. What inspired you to start running outside of London? 

I love traveling. It's what runners do. They love matching a holiday with a race. Aah, it's lush. You know, you go to a new city, you walk, you get tired, and then the next day [00:22:00] you need to run. I don't know if we are normal, but also we got a little campervan, which I can send you photos and videos. It's lovely, and I am just in love with the campervan life. It's just amazing. So I did two ultra marathons outside of London, that's called Race to the King and Race to the Stones. It's not Brighton, but in that side of the UK. And it's so good because we just can take the campervan and just camp there, and then I can go and do my run. These runs is in the middle of nowhere, you know, and be able to have that luxury camping and then go for a run, is fantastic. Very little runners have that luxury, so it's so good. 

How did you find out about these runs and what makes them so special? 

I [00:23:00] find out through run clubs. The run clubs are very special to me because they keep me informed of the good runs around. It's just seeing other scenes. This Race to the King, we pass through the beaches and some villages. It is just fantastic. I would've never go to this places, and it makes me explore parts of the UK that I never see.The Race to the Stones, we go and see stones similar to Stonehenge. Very old. Pretty historic. It's fantastic. 

Wow. Yes, I had a look at the links that you shared with me because I grew up in the south of England, a lot of these places are very familiar to me. I do like the Uffington White Horse and Avebury standing stones. Wow, the Race to the King. This is really interesting. That goes very close to where I grew up. 

Oh. 

Yes.  

It [00:24:00] was very close to where I was born and raised. Oh, that is really cool. But these are long races. They're like a hundred plus kilometers. 

Yes, I did a 50K. It was hard. It took seven hours of my life. It was hard, and we had a very hot summer. So I was scared. But, in these races, specifically this one that I did, with these people, they're really good because they really make sure, around every 5K, you have a stop. And every 10K, roughly, you have food, and they're all vegan. A majority of them are vegan, so they have vegan sandwiches. I couldn't eat everything because there were so much options. They had sandwiches, crisps, you name it. I'm so crazy because I was taking food with me. As vegans, we are always really, like, well prepared, and it was not necessary [00:25:00] at all. 

We have trust issues sometimes, don't we? 

Right, right? All the stories that we see online as well, of people being fed in the airplane, vegan meal, but has an egg. It's just like, 'Aah.' 

Yes. 

You know, but was very good. 

Wow, that's awesome. And you also have done some running in Austria as well? Am I correct? 

Yes, it is absolutely fantastic. So it was a Europe trip that I did with my husband and our little dog. So it was the first time I did a Europe trip. I never thought I would be able, and I cannot urge enough to people to do it. It's the best way of traveling. 

Forget airplanes, forget the train. It's just fantastic. Like for me, as a Brazilian, I always have problem with my passport. My passport is a Brazilian passport. It's not good traveling. It's just, they ask you a thousand [00:26:00] questions. It's all relaxed. There is not that scary vibe that airport has that they want to scan everything in your body. It is just so cool. We got the shuttle. It was just like less than 30 minutes. And then we traveled to Austria. I went through the Austrian Alps. And it's so safe if there is no one. When I was running, I was like, 'Ooh, should I run here?' I get a little bit scared because, you know. 

Of course, when you are in an unknown place. 

Yeah, but super safe, super, super safe. It is gorgeous. Like, the vegetation there, it's just so green, so beautiful. It is fantastic. Fantastic. I recommend going to the Alps. It's not cheap. Even just camping there, was one of the most expensive campsites that we paid. We stayed in this campsite that was 90 euros a night. It was expensive. 

Oh, that's a lot for a [00:27:00] campsite. 

It's a lot, but then it was like, it was gorgeous. You can wash your dog. There is a shower for the dog. There is the kitchen, is so well lit, like with equipment. It is just fantastic. However, it's expensive, but I'll never forget being there, it's gorgeous. Very beautiful. 

How is it that you find running routes when you are traveling? You just, maybe you don't, maybe you just go outside of your hotel and just run, but maybe you have some special apps or something like that to help you? 

I could do that. I would've done that if it was in a city. But if I'm in the Austrian Alps, I need to have some kind of direction. There is this app called Strava, that all the runners love. It's like an Instagram for sports. It talks with your watch. So when you finish a run or a ride, it uploads to this app straight away. And they also have [00:28:00] maps of what people did before. It's really good. And anywhere in the world you go, there is already a route thought out for you with the exact amount of elevation. It's really important. If you are thinking of running somewhere really high, you need to be really careful, you know? If it's like mountain or whatever, is scary. And then the distance as well. It's fantastic. The Strava is my go-to app. 

Okay. And how do you deal with your nutrition? I'm sure when you're doing these long runs, maybe you need to bring certain nutrition in order to do them. Do you bring them from home or do you find them in the country that you're going to? I'm thinking about like gels.  

Yeah. 

Other high carbohydrate things. 

I try to not rely on too much gels, because they need to be very sugary and all that. I try to be more with whole foods. [00:29:00] Very simple because it makes me appreciate the basic foods. You can just do simple foods like chickpea, rice and black beans, or just a salad, just a pasta salad. One of the things that I love doing in other countries is going to supermarkets. It's actually even cheaper if you in a budget. You cannot go to the restaurant every night. But if I need to do a really long run and I need gels, I bring from home. Because if you try a new gel, it can upset your stomach and you don't want to be in a situation. But of all the runs I did, I just ate normally. I just made sure I was well hydrated, and it's fine, you know? 

Fabulous. So what are your favorite vegan restaurants in London for our listeners to check out? 

I love Purezza, not only because we have our cheese [00:30:00] there, it is just that they are really good with pizzas. It's all woodfired pizzas they take very serious, and they're always have something new. So I love it. I love a place called Club Mexicana. They're a hundred percent vegan. I used to trade with them a long time ago, when we used to do pies and street markets, and they come from this time, and now they have three locations in beautiful places in London. It's a really nice opportunity to go and see other parts of London. They have this location, the Mercado. It's an inside marketplace in this old church. It is just beautiful, like in Mayfair, very fancy Mayfair. But the prices are really good and the portions are gigantic. I got nachos for me and my friend, and we were like full. It's amazing. And I love Tofu Vegan. It's just [00:31:00] Chinese vegan. 

I've been there. It's awesome. 

It's not the cheapest, but it's really well executed, and all the staff is very friendly.  

Yes. Yeah. There are so many. Have you been to Unity Diner? 

Oh my gosh. Yes. Unity Diner, another recommendation. I love them because they're a nonprofit restaurant, and they have the sanctuary that they're always raising money for, and I think the sum of the profit of the restaurant goes to the sanctuary, is absolutely fantastic. They have these Sunday roast, pick and mix. So you can have Yorkshire puddings and all the trimmings, gravy. I couldn't finish. I had to take some home. It's fantastic and it's very good value for money. Absolutely recommend, and they are always doing some events as well. I would absolutely recommend. Yes. 

We went to Unity [00:32:00] Diner in the summertime when I mentioned that we were there, and I went there for the Sunday roast, because I love me a good Sunday roast. But sadly, I was a tiny bit disappointed, although it's understandable. I went there like at about six or seven o'clock in the evening. So a lot of the food had run out. Everything was looking a little bit sad and I was like, I'm going to give it another try. And the fact that you say that the Sunday roast is amazing. I'll give it another try. 

It is really popular, and I really recommend going like lunchtime because I had another friend that actually went late, and she wasn't happy. So absolutely, go, yeah, during the day because I think after some time they don't put too much food, otherwise they will need to waste. So, absolutely. I just remember another place, sorry.Spread Eagle in East London. It's a hundred percent vegan pub. It's absolutely fantastic. [00:33:00] They do pie and mash, they do other little plates as well. It's fantastic. I absolutely recommended that, as well.  

Carla, I want to thank you so much for taking the time to be on the podcast. I know it is like middle of the evening for you, so I really appreciate it. Would you please share with our listeners your social media handles and the name of your cheese so people can keep an eye out for it when they're going around the supermarkets because all vegans like to look in supermarkets when they travel and you never know, they may see your cheese and remember it from this podcast. So please share away. 

All my handles is Carla from Rio. Carla with a C. Carla from Rio. Very easy. And my brand is called Casadei, which is our Italian name. 

So that's C-A-S-A-D-E-I, 

oh my gosh. You are amazing. Not many [00:34:00] people get it right. That is fantastic.  

Well, I learned, I'm learning Italian in a very, very low key way, but yes, I think I can spell that one.  

You are amazing.  

You've made my day.  

You are amazing. No,  

seriously. It's really good.  

Oh, thank you Carla. I wish you the best for your upcoming trip and for your business, and all of these wonderful plans that you have, and thank you for bringing such lovely energy to the podcast. I appreciate it.  

Thank you so much for having me.