Our recent trip to India started in Delhi. It was here that I had my first experience as a vegan, back in 1989, when I was staying with a local family who followed the Jain religion. Jains believe that all living things, including plants, have souls and should be treated with compassion. I adopted a vegan diet for the three months I was there and was overwhelmed by how flavourful and delicious everything was – it was the best food I had ever tasted.

Fast forward 36 years and I find myself back in Delhi but this time my mission is to introduce the concept of vegan paneer cheese to the massive vegetarian market here. Imagine the positive environmental impact if even just some of the world’s largest population gave up cow’s milk!

Over the past few weeks I’ve been meeting with hotel groups, dairy manufacturers and chefs to show them how to cook with plant-based milks, butter and cheeses in the hope that it leads to a reduction in cow’s milk production. Watch this space.

I can’t believe this was already a few weeks ago… leg three of our trip to India – this time in Jaisalmer. Here we had more meetings about the future of veganism in India and also visited some of the beautiful local buildings, indulged in some delicious street food and danced in the desert.

Jaisalmer is part of the Rajasthan state of India, which has the second highest population of vegetarians in the country. Visiting this beautiful city and meeting some of its wonderful residents really drives home how impactful it would be if some of them could convert to veganism. After a successful trip, I have high hopes for the future!

The penultimate stop of our few weeks in India was Udaipur, one of my very favourite cities. It was such a treat to be back once again, visiting the stunning architecture and enjoying the local sights and sounds. Udaipur is often called ‘The City of Lakes’ and is famous for its gorgeous palaces, including ‘The Lake Palace’ where Octopussy was filmed. I could spend months here and not get bored. It feels peaceful but busy (in the best way) and was the perfect way to start bringing our whirlwind tour to a close. I already can’t wait to return to see more of this country and hopefully progress with our vegan mission!

Last but not least, we visited the Taj Mahal. We did some sight seeing in between meetings during our weeks in India but to have a day dedicated solely to being tourists was a dream! What a breathtaking place.

Spending time in India is bringing back so many memories, in particular the trip I took after the Gujarat earthquake in 2001. I had only recently returned from a holiday in this beautiful country when I learned of the awful news and knew I had to return and try to help.

The trip was a difficult one – seeing so much destruction and witnessing so many people grieving the loss of loved ones was hard to come to terms with, but I was part of a brilliant and dedicated team who did what they could to help and set up multiple makeshift hospitals. Our fundraising efforts continued and I was able to donate medical equipment from disused hospitals in the UK, as well as 5,000 artificial limbs for amputee victims of the earthquake.

Even in the most trying circumstances the Indian people blew me away with their positivity, offering food and hospitality amongst the rubble.

India and its people have held a big place in my heart ever since, and it is amazing to come back once again