The Joy of Cooking and Making Memories: The Story of The Culinary Studio | Leadership Stories | Women Leadership | Female Founders
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In this episode, I’m joined by two dynamic chefs and educators who have turned their passion for food into a thriving business and a lasting friendship. Red Seal qualified chefs Jody O'Malley and Kirstie Herbstreit are the co-founders of The Culinary Studio.
Together, they bonded over properly cooked calamari and never looked back. What began as a shared love of food and teaching grew into a business built on connection, community, and curiosity.
In this episode, we talk about why food is so much more than fuel. And how it creates memories, brings people together, and even saves marriages. Jody and Kirstie talk about their duelling chicken noodle soup recipes and the three of us share memories we had cooking with our grandmothers.
This conversation was more than a behind-the-scenes look at what happens in their online cooking class. Jody and Kirstie share what it takes to build and grow a business as partners, the lessons they’ve learned through entrepreneurship, and how being lifelong learners has shaped their journey.
This conversation was an inspiring reminder that the kitchen isn’t just a place for cooking. It is also a place of joy, connection, and creativity.
Join us every other week for stories that inspire. Hear leadership stories from female founders, trailblazers in women leadership and entrepreneurs sharing their success stories.
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Speaker 0
When we talk about food, I often will have goosebumps. I get tears in my eyes. Like, I we just love so much what we do. You either eat to live or live to eat. We live to eat. We we call ourselves professional chefs, and we call ourselves professional eaters. We want every bite to be as as delicious as the last. Speaker 1
Welcome to Voices of Leadership, my podcast that tells the stories of women who are redefining success and thriving on the edge of change. In this episode, I'm joined by two dynamic chefs and educators who have turned their passion for food into a thriving business and a lasting friendship. Red Seal qualified chefs, Jody O'Malley and Kirsty Herbstreit are the cofounders of the culinary studio. Together, they bonded over properly cooked calamari and never looked back. What began as a shared love of food and teaching grew into a business built on connection, community, and curiosity. In this episode, we talk about why food is so much more than fuel and how it creates memories, brings people together and even saves marriages. They have a great story about that. Jody and Kirsty talk about their dueling chicken noodle soup recipes and the three of us share memories we had cooking with our grandmothers. This conversation was more than a behind the scenes look at what happens in their online cooking classes. Jody and Kirsty share what it takes to build and grow a business as partners, the lessons they've learned through entrepreneurship, and how being lifelong learners has shaped their journey. This conversation was an inspiring reminder that the kitchen isn't just a place for cooking. It's also a place of joy, connection, and creativity. I'm so excited. We, we were able to not have dinner, but we were at a fantastic networking dinner a few weeks ago. But it was there was a lot of us, and so we didn't get to chat all that much. And but we got as far as having you guys on the podcast, so I'm pretty excited. Speaker 0
Yeah. We are we are too. We love we love female run businesses in any way that we can lift each other up and support each other. We're all for it. So we're gonna talk Speaker 1
a lot about cooking, and, you guys are well aware that I am not a good cook, and I struggle in the kitchen. So I'm excited to learn a few things and be inspired. So before we get to the business and the business of cooking and all the things that you guys have done, I really wanna know from each of you, where did your love of cooking come from? Speaker 2
Jody, I'm gonna quote you, you know, what your mom was cooking for dinner would, you know, determine whether you're gonna suck home from school or skip home from school. Right? Like, we grew up with with a love of cooking, I think, you know, just from our families. And I I always joke, like, somebody in the family had to be a chef. I had two older brothers, and everyone was obsessed about food. We still are. And so so the love, I think, for us, just for me anyways, came from just a real obsession for flavor and good meals, and every meal counted. And it was just an important part of of our lives. I I I loved being around food. Speaker 0
Yeah. Like, to further that, my mom both of our moms are really good cooks. Christy's mom still bakes, and we get excited, like, when she shares the the trimmed bits. Like, she doesn't think they're the best, and I think they're the the most amazing part of it. And, you know, my mom, you know, when we were kids, her her stress relief would be throwing epic eighties dinner parties. Like, we're talking, you know, like, Croquel Saint Jacques and and, you know, like, courses, like, a number of courses. And afterwards, all of the liqueurs and and all of those things would come out. Like, not that I was drinking a b fifty two when I was when I was young, but I could pour a mean one. Right? It was a a family affair to tidy up and clean up. It was just it was just so much fun. And I like, food just it just connects people. Right? Like, it it it can either transport you to that best vacation when you're like, I'm gonna make, you know, paella because I spent a couple weeks in the summer in Spain. And and to recreate that and those feelings, if you close your eyes, you almost feel like you're there. And the the other thing, the biggest compliment that Christy and I ever ever get is when someone and I and I get goosebumps when I even say it is that if it reminds them of their grandmother or their mother that passed or their dad made that, like, it's like that's food is more than just fuel. It's it's a feeling, and that's Christy and I grew up with that. Speaker 1
I love that excitement. That's so it's so nice to hear. But, Jody, when you talk about memories, I mean, food is more about eating. It is about memories. My grandmother was a fantastic cook, and she would bake all the time, and I have those memories. Absolutely, I do. And we would bake and watch a lot of game shows like Price is Right and twenty five thousand dollar I know twenty five thousand dollar pyramid. So those are definite memories that come from the kitchen. Absolutely. Speaker 0
What would you eat during those game shows? Speaker 1
Oh, well, it was a lot of baking. So I was like, oh, I get to eat the raw cookie dough, which is something I still love today, which is, you know, not always good for you, but whatever. We did it anyway because Speaker 0
it didn't matter. I love that. Speaker 2
Like, I also think, like, you know, when we grew up, going out to dinner was a huge deal. Like, it's it's so frequent now. There wasn't those options. You know? It was like Swiss Chalet or that's it. Right? Like Yes. You know, maybe we went to golf steakhouse or the T and O Inn, like Speaker 0
Oh, the T and O. Yes. Speaker 2
Those were major occasions. So there was so much more need to to cook at home. You know? We were lucky if we got, like, the old El Paso, you know, yellow taco, but that was, like, exotic. Speaker 1
So on that, what is your favorite meal to cook, and what makes it so special for you? Speaker 0
I know what Kirsty's gonna say. Speaker 2
You? Well, I I'm curious because I'm trying to think about that. I I I have been thinking about it. Let you go ahead, Joyita. Speaker 0
I honestly thought you were gonna say the chicken noodle soup. The reality is is we have dueling versions. We Christy has hers as very particular, and mine is also very particular. Mine is more my chicken noodle soup is more had, like, dumpling noodles in it where my mom would just mix, like, eggs and flour, more eggs and flour and just mix it up and then just drop them in there. And so they would just be these scraggly dough bits in this delicious, you know, well seasoned chicken stock with real chicken and and, vegetables. And sometimes potatoes would be added for that full meal. And and when she made it on those days, we had these plates that that were, like had wide rims. So, you know, even in the summer, my dad would come home my dad would come home from work, and we would eat all as the family. There were six of us. Then we would eat it on a plate and so that it would cool faster, and and we'd have these soups on the plate. And then when I had kids, I changed it a bit. I made, like, noodles that I would roll out and then let my kids, you know, help with it. So I would roll these sheets of of noodles, and then they would take it, and then they would, like, Play Doh it into balls or, like, into, like, accordions. They would throw it, like, literally throw it on a tube, And it would just cook cook away, and then they were they would always hope that they would get their particular noodles that they made. And and even today, my whole family gets excited if I make the chicken noodle soup. I call my brothers, and I'm like, hey. Do you need a bowl of this chicken noodle soup? Because it's it's it's a food, but as we said earlier, it's it's the emotion. It's the the transportation that it that it brings you. And and that's and my kids all feel loved. I felt loved when when a you know, my mom made my favorite pot of soup or, you know, dinner. So it's it's hard. And and as chefs, it's really hard to pinpoint just one meal. And I think that we carry on those those traditions and memories through through the food that we make. Speaker 2
Yeah. Yeah. You're you're right, Jody. Soup definitely would have been my answer. I I find I it it's always my answer. I find it's, for me, I just love the process of of making soup. Right? I like turning nothing into something. It reminds me of, and, Jody, you know this story. My my first apprenticeship job I had to audition for, and they basically put a bunch of ingredients in front of us and said, make a soup. Right? Soup is the hardest thing to make because it's monotonous. Every bite should should taste need has to taste perfect, delicious because it tastes the same. And so it needs to be perfectly balanced, seasoned well, and all that sort of stuff. And I'll I'll look in the fridge and just absolutely love to put my head down and make any kind of soup. Chicken noodle, for sure. That's the process of it, and is is so relaxing. But any kind of soup, I will I will gravitate towards make we we try to, like, sell, like, you know, as you know, we we do cooking classes. Soup classes, I don't know. People think it's boring. They don't they don't they don't sell as as well as they should, because they're just but they're so it's so, so important. Speaker 1
I agree. There's lots of hardcore memories baked into food. You guys have sort of we've talked a little bit around partnership and business and and what you guys are up to today. So let's talk a little bit about the culinary studio and its journey and your journey within it. So you've had a you've experienced a few shifts in your business model over the years. Can you talk a little bit about what that experience was like? Because lots of people go through career pivots, and I think yours is an interesting journey, and lots of people can learn from it. Speaker 2
I think I think our journey start we don't even remember where the journey starts. That's that's also part of it. Right? Like, we we started in in this kitchen, really, Jody. Right? Fun fact, I bought Jody's house. We she was, she she was living here, and she was cooking, and we had met because female chefs were I think maybe still are, but pretty rare. So it's like we knew each other from Waterloo, from, you know, high school, but didn't really know each other. But it was like Jody's like, hey. Aren't aren't you going to chef school? And I said, yeah. She's like, we should we should talk sometime. That's how I remember it anyways. And and we did and kind of started this this journey of of not working in a restaurant, but rather, like, sharing the knowledge. Right? Jody was kinda sharing it with her mom group, and and she's like, hey. Why don't why don't you come over sometime? And we started just kinda developing this this teaching strategy. We started going into people's homes and and teaching them how to cook. I had, like, these random people come to my house teaching them how to cook. And then, you know, as the the famous statement goes, Jody, right, we're not gonna be young and cute forever. Let's start a real business that maybe we can sell one day. Speaker 1
Well and and I I'm glad that you gave us some context sort of how it started because, really, what what I find fascinating and everybody, of course, was affected by the pandemic, but your business model especially required a lot of entrepreneurial resilience, and and you really took your model and flipped it on flipped it on its head. So tell us a little bit about that experience as well. Speaker 0
Well, you know, you gave us some questions that you were gonna ask us, and one of the words that you used was evolution, and I love that word. I love the word evolution because it really is like a pivot. I when we talk about food, I often will have goosebumps. I get tears in my eyes. Like, I we just love so much what we do, and we there's a you either eat to live or live to eat. We live to eat. We we call ourselves professional chefs, and we call ourselves professional eaters. We want every bite to be, you know, as as delicious as the last. In terms of, a business, we built a business where everyone would come together and sit beside each other, not necessarily know each other, and and just, like, be friends by the end of it. But when the when the pandemic hit and we were talking to our clients and we realized that they were going home and not coming back, we're like, I don't we won't have a business then. We we can open our doors, but no one can come in. So we closed our doors, like, everyone at that time, and then there's so many emotions that I think you know, one of the beauties of being humans is we forget so quickly. But I do remember just walking the streets with my kids and just crying, and I'm like, we have put our heart and soul in this business. And what do we do now? Like, you know, the reality is in in the restaurant business, it was two and a half plus years where we were able to then run businesses as, we did before. Corsi, you know, popped by her husband's butcher shop where people were just getting meat in their in their trunk. And one of our clients was there, and they're like, you should run a cooking class online. And I'm like, would you take that? She's like, yeah. For sure I would. And so during the pandemic, we we as you know, like, just through the off chance became what we called pandemic proof. Right? We offered we would get we had that escape for people. We we just we were you know, everyone was having a cocktail with it because they couldn't go anywhere. We had we it felt like an escape. We were online, but our our our our feeling is always to feel connected, and we we happen to make that happen. People felt connected. People felt like they could escape and and have a delicious meal all at the same time. And then we we we had a learning curve that was massive in terms of technology and cameras and lighting and little mini switchboards and microphones, all of those things. We've really become experts in an experience that doesn't feel disconnected even though everyone's in their own homes. And, but they but we just need to the pendulum will will go, like, never online, and then we're coming back to, like, okay. I do wanna stay home tonight. I do wanna have some girls over. Let's let's do this thing on online, and I'll have a blast and then be with Christy and Jody for an hour and a and a bit, and then and then we could enjoy a delicious meal. And people are replicating it. That's our our biggest that's our biggest accomplishment when someone says, oh my goodness. I just made Kirsty's soup again. I make it every week. It's so delicious. I love it. Like, we're very proud of those moments. Speaker 1
I can imagine that's gotta be the, like, the the end result that you're looking for because you don't want it to be a one time thing. You want them to learn and take those learning and then continue to to make whatever you've taught them. Congratulations. I think that's fantastic. So you talked a little bit about and I you're right. I think great entrepreneurs do evolve, not pivot. So I'm glad that you called that out because you guys really did a good job evolving your business to what the market was demanding at the time, and you're still doing that today. So what was the most challenging part of adapting your classes to the digital format? Speaker 2
I think I think timing. You know, we're chatting before Amy. Right? Like, Jody and I used to like, we used to need a script. Right? Like, who's saying what and, you know, the the technology part of that, how to balance the the classes. Now we kinda joke where it's like the nineteen eighties workout twenty minute workout where there's, like, a fast person in the front and then, like, a modified version, somebody in the background. And so it's like we we just learned to to stay true to our motto, which is our motto is today is no cook is left behind. Right? It it there was definitely chaotic moments. And now, like, I don't know, Jody. Like, do you remember the last moment of chaos? I don't know. We've we've learned to hone our our craft over over the years to make classes so, I guess, what's the clear and concise and and results driven and learning learning what people want. That that's been part of it. That's kinda one part of it. Of course, the technology is the other part, which we're we're still always trying to to learn, keep up on. And now now the challenge is, what Jody's really taken a a a hold of is all the CEO and I don't even know the words you'd say sometimes, you know, markup. Like, all these all these things that we have to do to stay top of mind, of people in a rat race that is the Internet. You know, we've we we always say we feel we have so much to give. Like, there's no giving up point because we're not ready. That's our that's our learning curve right now. I last night, true story, a a thirteen year old said to me, Jody, I didn't even tell you this. He's like, oh, you popped up on my YouTube. Your meatloaf your meatloaf video. Like, did you subscribe? He's like, yeah. Looks amazing. I'm like, now that that's an accomplishment. Right? We got into some thirteen year old's YouTube feed, so I feel like I feel like we're doing the right thing. Speaker 1
That is a huge accomplishment because, really, those feeds are the probably the hardest to crack. So good job. That's awesome. Yeah. Speaker 2
Yeah. I don't know. He's slipping through rock videos, skateboarding, and then Meatloaf popped up. So Speaker 1
Perfect. You're you're onto something. You're using some word that's correct that I also, Christy, do not understand, so I get it. Yeah. Now so you we've talked a little bit about the online challenge and the evolution and then some of the sort of changes you made to classes. But the other thing is that you're a partnership, and there are numerous stories about how that doesn't work or it doesn't evolve. And so you're almost taking on two challenges. Not that it's always a challenge, but two things at the same time because working with someone to build a business and how you've done it over the years is quite an accomplishment. So what have you learned about working with a business partner? Speaker 0
I think one of the biggest superpowers you can have in life is is empathy. I think that once you learn to be empathetic to others, have respect for others, like, life life's hard, but it it becomes a little bit easier if you just, like, take a pause and you're like, what what is that person going through? Christy and I share a passion, like, intense passion. Right? Like, one of us we both have leadership qualities. We both can, you know, we can both be in the driver's seat, but we also know when to let the other person be in that driver's seat. I I I have, like, very big picture, thoughts. Kirsty definitely can rein me in and be like, okay, girl. Like, you can think those big picture thoughts, but today, we need to get this done. Can you, like, develop this recipe? You know, today, it was like, can you develop a recipe for biscuits that I can cook on a campfire? And and and I'm like, yep. I can I can do that today? Right? So it does come down to a whole lot of consideration for the other. We want to succeed together. We I have so much respect for her from, you know, from a like, I wanna be like her when she grows up. She's she's patient. She's kind. Right? Her her, you know, like, her she doesn't she never raises her voice at her kids where I'm like, just more like, I always say that I'm color commentary. Let's get Kirsty in there for for the efficiency, and and she'll make things run. And then I just come in with, like, hey. What about this? And then she'll be like, alright, Jody. Like, let's wrap this up. Let's get it back on on track. But you do you really do have like, if if you're in a successful marriage and I've been divorced once, so I I feel like I'm in a very successful marriage. My husband said to me the other day, he's like, hey. If you don't like me, go to bed and wake up in a better mood. Yeah. Because he was like, you're stuck with me, and I'm like, that's fantastic. Right? So it's the same thing. Like, all of those emotions passed, but if you feel like we have a very common goal, we love what we do, we just wanna continue to share that. And, having having that respect and consideration for each other is is really important. Percy's got two kids. I've got four. My life is like a shit show every single day. Chrissy will come over sometimes and will work from either home. Hers is like the equivalent to a Zen garden as far as I'm concerned. Right? She'll come here, and I can see it on her face sometimes. She's just like like, what is going on? I'm like, that's just normal. Speaker 2
I I gotta flip your question and just say, you know what? The challenge would be not having a business partner. Right? Like, when I'm, like I and I and I see it because my husband owns a business, and he doesn't have that sound board. Like, nobody, not even his, like, highest paid best staff member gets it. Right? And old like, my friends don't get it. Right? My parent my mom doesn't get it. My, you know, my union brother doesn't get it. Nobody gets the struggle except for me and Jody. And we and we do it together. And so the the challenge of not I couldn't imagine the challenge of not having a business partner because because that's the only thing that's that's gonna get you through. Speaker 1
Oh, that's such a you guys have a beautiful partnership, and it's enviable. And I think everyone who does have a business partner can aspire to to what you've built, and and so congratulations on that. And it's a huge success or it's a huge reason why you're successful, I would imagine. Speaker 2
Oh, for sure. I think so. Yeah. Jody's always like, let we can make it better. Right? We can make it more delicious. Speaker 1
Well and I think too, the other thing that you've really done, which I'm very interested in, is because it used to be in person, and and now you've taken the classes online. But in that process, you've blended things like team building, family time, relationship building into your offerings when you've actually removed the in person piece, which is very interesting. So was that a deliberate choice, or was that something that you noticed growing organically? Speaker 2
I I think the the the team building component of it was was a natural. Like, that happened right away. Right? Like, it was just such an obvious choice, right, for teams during the pandemic. It was the number one thing to do, and we were very lucky in that, you know, we were exposed to so many companies at that at that time, and it still is a very relevant, obvious choice. Right? There's so many teams that work remotely. You know, we were we were waking up at seven in the morning making butter chicken with teams in Amsterdam. Right? Like, it was really cool, and it and it still is. So that that happened quite easily. We've had people say, like, you saved our marriage. Right? Like, they were like and this this was definitely kind of pandemic, but they didn't know what to do. And then they thought, okay. We can cook together. And, Jody, I'll let you tell the Donna and the Donna story because that's one of our favorite relationship stories. Speaker 0
Yeah. We have a client and she was like you know, she had said we say we saved her marriage. They they moved from their dream home up north, you know, and their mother-in-law moved in. And she felt, and as as, I think, as we do when we we become of a certain age, we think that we sometimes know better than than, you know, the the younger generation. So she she was feeling, that her mother-in-law was criticizing or or more critical of her cooking. And so they took a class, and the mother-in-law never showed her face. And we would we didn't even know this. She was always behind the camera. And then she'd be like, because we are removed from her, she'd be like, oh, that's how they that's how we could do it. And they would then then they connected and became you know, they were on board with with a similar strategy rather than be like, well, I scramble my eggs like this, and you scramble them wrong. Right? They're like, oh, we could do it the Jody and Kirsty way. Look. They're chefs. They're experts. Let's let's try to make this better. And they connect it. So then the mother-in-law, like, hey. Can we can we do another class with those girls? And they they they they still take lots of classes, and we do give a shout out to, you know, the the mother-in-law behind the screen. And they were like, they're talking to me what she like. But she doesn't show her face, so we've never seen her. But it's just a it's just a real like, it it is food connects. And if you're you're willing to just take a step and yeah. It's just a a connection that's so it's amazing to watch it in other people as well. Speaker 1
And can you can you take classes in all varieties of ways? Like, outside of the corporate, is it one class, or do you have to sign up for many? How how does it work if someone's curious? Speaker 2
Yeah. I think it's just like browsing a menu. Oh, what do I wanna make? What do I wanna cook? Is it butter chicken? Click sign up. I get the video. I get some you know, I could get groceries delivered to my door. I could, you know, follow along live, or maybe I wanna do it on a Sunday afternoon by myself and pause the the the video while I'm slicing onions. People are like, oh, like, I get into my own headspace, and I have no interruptions. And it's like right? I I often sound like a yoga instructor during class, and sometimes that's how I feel like it is. Right? It it it's very therapeutic to zone in on on that particular recipe. So, yeah, you you just you just we have over I think we have about a hundred and fifty cooking classes to choose from. Speaker 1
So are most of the courses asynchronous, or is there a way to do it live with you as well? Speaker 0
We have a schedule of live classes. They they become recordings. You've got the option. And what we've found is that people like like both for different reasons. They love the live because they love the energy. Like, I'm definitely gonna you know, Chris, you're I are gonna be like, Amy, turn the heat up. I don't see any, you know, like, I don't see any steam or turn it down. Like, there's way too much going on there. Speaker 1
I would be turn it down because I'd only took things on high. I know that's wrong, but that's what I do. Speaker 0
Yeah. And and through in our classes, we we do talk about the like, we're like, okay. I'm on a smidgey above medium. That's where you need to be. This is the why. This is the how. This is what you should hear kind of thing. We we go through all of the feelings and all of the senses when cooking. And and we do that in the recording, but some people like to pause. Right? Some people like, how did you just peel five potatoes so quickly? I we just we just do. So the the recorded class allows them to pause, finish that task, and then continue on. And, we we wanna make sure that everything is done and hot when you go to sit and eat it. So sometimes in a class, people are like, we need to get the rice on. Nope. Don't worry. We'll get it on in the time that it needs to be so that it's hot in the end. So that's yeah. So so live versus recording, all of our live classes for the most part become recordings. Sometimes we'll be like, what were we thinking recording three different styles of pizza in one class? Let's go back, rerecord it, teach be just be more in-depth about how to make a Detroit style pizza, and and then we will make, you know, like, the other other styles in in their own individual recordings. Speaker 1
I I have to say I didn't fully understand all of the options available. So that's actually very interesting because you're right. People have different time limits or different wants and needs when it comes to learning how to cook. So you've really provided a an array of options for everyone. Speaker 2
One one of the things that I thought of when you're talking there, Jody, with the with the live, version, what we've seen a lot of is, like, oh, my daughter's in England. I'm here. You know? Like, there is that bit of a talk, but we're gonna or, you know, there's six family members joining from across, you know, Ontario or wherever. So there and there's this connection, and you see grandparents, like, waving to, like, you know, babies being lifted up, and and that's that's really cool. And then after, they'll go off and, you know, do their own private Zoom and have dinner together or whatever. And and that that's that's really special to us. Yeah. Speaker 1
Aw. That is. That's so nice to hear. So logistical question then. Is it you send the food to everybody, and can you do that outside of Canada? How does it work? Speaker 2
You've got options. We do deliver across, Canada. We have a warehouse in in Waterloo that we, you know, we've got a a team of elves, essentially, putting together these packages. We use both, you know, private local delivery companies. We support you know, we go to Saint Jacob's Farmer's Market, and we'll go to farmer Robert and buy fifty pound bags of potatoes and onions, and we we like that that part of it. Or we've got clients that join almost every class, and they do the shop themselves, and they really enjoy that. We have a great, affiliate program with Amazon. So if you need, like, fish sauce or, like, you know, curry paste, we've got we provide links for that. So it's it can be a hybrid, or it can be like, hey. We're gonna treat ourselves to the ingredient pack for this, you know, date night cooking class. Speaker 0
Don't forget our new the newest offering, which is the Instagram shoppable Instacart. Or sorry. Instacart. Instacart shoppable recipe. So the meatloaf recipe, for example, it's not a cooking class, but it's a recipe available on our website. And now you can click a button, and it will take you to Instacart, and that whole recipe is uploaded. Speaker 1
I could definitely get behind that, though, because it's all about, removing barriers and ease of getting started for me, anyway. Speaker 2
It it's exciting what it's like. Jodi's crab pasta salad, like, on Instacart. We're like, we've arrived. Speaker 1
So I'd like to ask you some big questions because you have so much wisdom to share with everybody. And I would like for you to give, you know, some of your best pieces of advice for all of us listening. Because there are a lot of entrepreneurs out there that may be facing an evolution in their business or even a necessary pivot, that happens sometimes or a significant change in their business model. What advice would you offer them based on your own experience? Speaker 0
If you're pursuing anything and you want it to be a business, you're like, yeah. I feel like I need I wanna start my own business, you need to make sure that it's backed by passion. When it's backed by passion, it is it's totally different. Like, I don't Christy and I, you know, we're not making millions, but we love what we do every day. We get excited. We're we're so happy. We just wanna, you know, continue to share everything that we've we've got and that we that we learn. I think that's that's an important thing because then it doesn't feel like work because you're also gonna do things that that you don't think you know how. Right? Like, Christy and I, like, the cooking is the easiest part of our day. You know, when Christy says, yeah. Create that campfire, biscuit. Yeah. No problem. Done. I already wrote it in my head. I'll go and execute it, write the recipe, and we're good. But, okay, let's get this recipe on Instagram and get it to people. I'm like, okay. I need to learn what the algorithm is right now. I need to understand what what is what the dance moves are in that. Or, you know, like, AI is just you know, it's it's a year and a bit old. It's not very old in terms of just in regular everyday life, and it's had such an impact on the way businesses are run, you know, eighteen months ago. It's not it's not the same. It's totally different. You have to be willing to be a lifelong learner. You have to feel be humbled. You're gonna have to, like what we say is like, okay. Let's get those big girl pants on. Just pull them up really, really high and just get through some of those hard times. You I think it's okay to be vulnerable and to tell people because when you're in a business, you think is everything's great. Everything's fantastic. Every day, it's fabulous. It's not. It's bleeping hard. And meeting you and and having those networking events feels so great because you're like, you get it. But I, yeah, I think the passion is has to be there. And if it's not, you're not gonna last. And I've seen lots of business. They're like, yeah. I'm gonna open I'm gonna open x, y, and z, and they open x, y, and z, and they're gone. We've been we've been given her for fifteen years. Do we always do we feel stable? No. But we love what we do, and we're gonna continue and we're gonna continue to evolve. And and lots of people, when it gets hard, they're gone. And I don't I don't I don't judge them at all for that. The entrepreneur life is not for the faint of heart. Speaker 1
I like how you talked about passion because you can't thrive a business or build a business completely on passion, but it has to be there to start because you're not wrong. You're doing this twenty four seven, and you're not wrong that not everyone understands that piece. The its pros and cons, but not everyone understands that. Speaker 2
Yeah. Exactly. Speaker 0
Yeah. Not a lot of people are editing a thirty second Instagram reel on brisket in thirty seconds. Right? Like and and doing fifteen tapes. Right? Like, you're like right. That's what that's what you do as an entrepreneur. You you do those those little things, and and when you get it, you're like, yes. Speaker 1
And we touched on this briefly. You talked a little bit about when you first met, how there aren't a lot of female chefs, and it is probably a male dominated industry. And I talked to lots of women sort of in that position. So you're in a unique position to sort of give us some advice. What advice do you have sort of for the next generation of female entrepreneurs? Speaker 0
If you want it, do it. People are gonna tell you no. Don't let people say no to you. Like, I was told, what do you need to go to school to learn how to cook for? I wanted that foundation. I wanted to know the whys. And then, you know, when we were opening the business, like, I we opened the business on April eighteenth, and I had a baby on April twenty sixth. Kirsty had one the following March. So I only took six months off, then we were together for six months at the beginning. Then she had a baby. She only had six months off. And then I had I had one more. I don't is that the math there? I think it is. Yeah. Who knows what happened at those moments? But I remember someone, a client of ours, coming up to me and, like, pointing at my pregnant belly and be like, do you know do you know how the those are made? And I'm like, come on. I'm like, why can't we do this? And if we waited until our kids were at an age when it felt like it was right, it's never gonna feel right. Isn't not everything's going to be perfect. Just just close your eyes, jump in, you know, hone into that passion, be be a lifelong learner, be humbled, surround yourself with people that are better than you. I was lucky enough to have a mentor like that. I lost we lost him. Right? And it was just like, it for me, it was my North Star, but I still I still I I think about him like, what would he do here? And I can hear him, and I and I'm still encouraged, and and we we carry on. And I just find people that remind me of of him that have that little that little bit. And I'm like, I feel like that's him sending that person in that direction and helping helping us with that. Just just find your people. Speaker 1
Oh, that's nice. That's lovely. Christy, I know you have some advice for us. Speaker 2
You know what? I my my advice is that it's almost like a little bit more like a a good as Jody said, you know, she's the you just heard her. Right? Big picture, so much amazing information, and I'm, like, a day to day, like, you know, when if you wanna start a business, you've gotta it's a lifestyle. And in order to maintain that lifestyle, right, you you've gotta, you know, be healthy. Jody and I, we we exercise almost every day, and we have these thoughts while we're we're exercising. You know? Like, having, like, a lifestyle that you can balance it. It is important, to and and I'm guilty of it. My husband said to me yesterday, you know, just just walk away for half an hour. And I'm like, okay. But I have to get this no. You're right. Like, walk walk away for half an hour. So so learning that you can learn and be more efficient by by taking a step back, right, by by by not doing anything. You know? It's those those sorts of things that we think we that you think if you're gonna be an entrepreneur, you do have to work twenty four seven and be completely stressed out. It's it's not a thing anymore, and that's something that we learned the hard way. Right? Like, we were getting to a point in business one point o where even before the pandemic, it was getting too much. I know Jody was like, I I don't know if I can do this anymore. Right? And it was and and this change had to happen, and we learned a lot from it that, you know, we we can continue on. There has to be there has to be a balance, and and I think that's important. Life is short as we know. Life is really, really short. So, yes, if you're passionate about something, do it because because it's it's very, very rewarding. Right? There's there's nothing that's more rewarding. Speaker 1
Oh, well, that was both of you. Such great advice, not just for the next generation of entrepreneurs, but for those of us still doing it today. I appreciate you sharing both sides of the story because you're both not wrong as sometimes we think everything's fine on when we see somebody doing their business when we're out to dinner or online or wherever it is. And but at the end of the day, we all have the same challenges and struggles regardless of the industries So I really appreciate both of you sharing your story today, and I learned so much about your business, what it was, what it is today, and I'm very inspired to go to the kitchen now and cook something. Speaker 2
Oh, fabulous. Let us help you. Speaker 1
I will. Don't worry. Well, thank you so much for sharing today. I really appreciate it, and, I can't wait for the next time. Speaker 2
Thank you so much, Amy. Speaker 0
It was an absolute pleasure. Thank you. Speaker 1
Voices of Leadership is part of the Bespoke Productions Hub network of independent podcasters. If you are interested in partnering with us as a sponsor or if you have a podcast of your own, please visit bespoke productions hub dot com for more information. This episode is hosted, produced, and edited by me, Amy Schluter. 
