Today, the self-taught chef is the founder of The Paisley Notebook, a farm-to-table pop-up in Canada’s Okanagan Valley. For her, food has never been just about sustenance, but a “beautiful place to start a conversation,” as she puts it. Dosanj’s pop-ups bring people together to talk about sustainability, the climate crisis, biodiversity, regenerative farming, and supporting local and family-run businesses. Since its inception in 2017, the pop-up has raised close to $80,000 for anti-racism and mental health charities, India’s COVID relief efforts and for feeding Palestinians.
After seven seasons of running the pop-ups, Dosanj realised she had burnt out and allowed herself a much-needed break. During this time, she found that the kindest thing she could do was cook for herself and nourish herself the same way she had nourished others. Her neurodivergence diagnosis additionally helped her find the language for things she had experienced but not processed. “I’ve gone from feeding other people to nourishing my own soil a little in order to get that spark back and get into a place where I’m falling in love with food again,” she says, sharing that a cookbook featuring her recipes as well as her poems and personal essays is also in the works.
Years ago, Dosanj saw her football story drop off, like it hadn’t mattered. But the beautiful game wasn’t done with her and reentered her life just when food stopped comforting her. Since then, she has started getting the recognition she deserved all along, with her story finally finding its place in football history.
