Aug 17, 2026 · 26 min · 12 segments
In today's episode, I’m joined by Leon Aarts, co-founder and CEO of Ample, which buys surplus food from farmers at scale and turns it into plant-based meal components for schools and hospitals. Leon…
Leon AartsGuest
Paul NewnhamHost
So many people will enter food, the food system through economics, science, business, family tradition.
What first convinced you that food was not simply a commodity, but it was something much more fundamental to society?
I became a chef by accident when I was 19, when I had to do it for my college, only for a few year, few, uh, hours.
I'm gonna hate this." And actually, I loved it, and I realized I can be really good at this, and then I became a chef.
But it was only many years later when I had a fine food wholesale business and when I always said to my wife, "One day, you know, when we sold the business, then we will give back." And then one day I, we both realized, you know, that one day never comes.
So I was selling, this is early 2000, so a long time ago, I was selling, uh, wagyu and foie gras and things like that, which I don't touch anymore, but I did in those days.
And then you start learning in, you know, in the beginning it's kind of a sales point, 10 kilos of grains for one kilo of beef.
And then I also knew that children were going hungry, 80 million children every single day in other parts of the world.
So many people will enter food, the food system through economics, science, business, family tradition.
What first convinced you that food was not simply a commodity, but it was something much more fundamental to society?
I became a chef by accident when I was 19, when I had to do it for my college, only for a few year, few, uh, hours.
I'm gonna hate this." And actually, I loved it, and I realized I can be really good at this, and then I became a chef.
But it was only many years later when I had a fine food wholesale business and when I always said to my wife, "One day, you know, when we sold the business, then we will give back." And then one day I, we both realized, you know, that one day never comes.
So I was selling, this is early 2000, so a long time ago, I was selling, uh, wagyu and foie gras and things like that, which I don't touch anymore, but I did in those days.
And then you start learning in, you know, in the beginning it's kind of a sales point, 10 kilos of grains for one kilo of beef.
And then I also knew that children were going hungry, 80 million children every single day in other parts of the world.
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