Silvena Rowe’s journey is difficult to label with a single term. She has built her career across global kitchens, media, and publishing, and today she’s equally focused on what food does to the body as much as how it tastes on a plate. In this podcast conversation with Ashish Tulsian, Silvena unpacks the realities behind high-performance hospitality, the discipline of longevity, and why ingredient integrity and operational awareness matter more than trends.
Your career has been truly global. How did that path unfold?
Silvena: I spent years across media and kitchens, including being a food writer for The Guardian, doing TV, and publishing 15 cookbooks in multiple languages. I also judged MasterChef in Bulgaria for three years, but over time, I wanted more peace and creative focus than the constant churn of TV life.
You’ve spoken about the double standards women face in kitchens. What did that look like for you?
Silvena: In a kitchen, intensity is often celebrated in men and judged in women. If a man chef has swagger, it’s “fine,” but if a woman is forceful, it becomes “she’s emotional,” “she’s menopause,” “she’s mad.” That unfairness shaped me, and it’s one reason I built longevity practices not just for the body, but for mental health too.
Let’s talk Dose. What changed after Dose by Silvena launched?
Silvena: We didn’t expect the level of success we’ve had in two and a half years. I’m also grateful I have partners who are decent people, because values matter when you scale. And the core idea is simple: when you respect the ingredients the earth gives you, you can create food that feels like life.
You’re also teaching longevity nutrition. How did that intersection happen for you?
Silvena: I work closely with doctors, and I formalized my coaching side through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in New York. Today I’m teaching longevity nutrition at the Geneva College for Longevity Science, and I’m attached to a regenerative medical clinic in Dubai, working alongside functional medicine doctors.
You call yourself a “biohacking chef.” What does biohacking food actually mean in practice?
Silvena: It means food is not just about taste, it’s information. It’s what you put into the body to support energy, cellular health, and resilience. I’m not teaching “how to cook,” I’m teaching how to combine foods and why it matters, so the body gets the best possible input from nature.
I want to switch to restaurant realities. You made an important point about cost control.
Silvena: Cost control is not about making food cheap. It’s awareness: knowing your costs and keeping your pricing aligned with your business plan. And practically, I focus heavily on reducing food wastage, because that protects margins even when ingredient quality is non-negotiable.
You’re obsessive about ingredient quality. Why does that matter so much?
Silvena: Because people will treat a Ferrari better than they treat their own body. They’ll buy luxury everything, then question why organic chicken costs more instead of questioning why something is suspiciously cheap. If you want longevity, you have to respect inputs.
You also mentioned regenerative medicine. What does that world look like from your lens?
Silvena: I’m attached to a regenerative clinic in Dubai, and yes, there are peptides and stem cell-related approaches. Many places are cautious, but the US is more progressive. Personally, I’m experimenting in a cutting-edge way, but I’m not a fan of NAD IV, and I would not do stem cell injections; you have to know your body and approach things with discernment.
What changes have you actually seen from your own experiments?
Silvena: I’ve seen measurable shifts, including a big reduction in body fat percentage and improvements in metabolic markers like resting calorie burn. I’m continuing to track it because the goal is not hype, it’s data and how the body responds over time.
Outside food, what are your non-negotiables for longevity?
Silvena: Movement and stress management. I play paddle tennis four times a week, I do yoga, and I lift weights. I protect my mental space because I want to be strong for my family, my business, and myself.
Conclusion
Across the conversation, Silvena returns to one consistent belief: food is never just food. It’s a daily decision with long-term consequences, on performance, health, and even how sustainably a restaurant can operate. Whether she’s talking about ingredient integrity, disciplined experimentation, or the invisible pressures of professional kitchens, her lens is grounded in one idea: respect the inputs, measure what matters, and build a life (and a business) that can last.
