Tastemaker Talk

Fifteen years in internet-time is basically forever—and Sally McKenney has built one of the most recognizable and trusted food brands through all of it.

In today's episode, Abbey sits down with the founder of Sally’s Baking to talk about what’s actually behind that staying power: rigorous recipe testing, learning to delegate, and saying no thanks to opportunities that might interfere with her audience's trust. Sally also shares why nurturing the people who already love what you do matters more than pursuing every platform, trend, or follower.

PLUS, we’re getting a preview of what’s to come when Sally takes the stage as the opening keynote speaker at Tastemaker Conference 2027. A huge honor that we are SO excited to bring to life in San Antonio!

Show Notes:

• Find Sally online on her website or on Instagram!
• Join us for Tastemaker 2027 in San Antonio! Sally is our opening keynote speaker and we cannot WAIT to chat more about trust, scale, and nurturing your audience IRL 🫶

In this week's episode, Kevin Curry (Fit Men Cook™️) and Abbey are chatting about what happened as Kevin's personal health mission grew into a community, a business, and eventually a brand with real-life reach. They're exploring why authenticity still matters (especially as the creator economy keeps changing), what people actually mean when they talk about listening to their audience, and what it looks like to balance growth and staying grounded.

And of course, Kevin is giving us a sneaky peek at what he’ll be bringing to the Tastemaker Conference session in San Antonio with his session, Building a Mission-Driven Food Brand That Scales. We're so honored and excited to have him back! This might just be your sign to get your ticket if you haven't yet 👀

Show Notes

• Follow Kevin on Instagram and on his website
• Join us at Tastemaker Conference 2027 to learn and chat more with Kevin! Only 2 months to go 🤯

Alejandra Graf (aka AleCooks) is here to chat with us about how she's been able to find success sitting at the intersection of different cultures, dietary preferences, and languages. Ale started her blogging career creating and sharing vegan recipes after her son was born with a dairy allergy. As she's grown, her recipes have evolved to make sure everyone has a seat at her table. Ale is proof that humans often can't be summed up as just one thing, but that all the nuanced parts of our identity deserve to be seen and celebrated. We're so excited for her to bring this perspective to the Tastemaker stage in San Antonio, sharing her wisdom as part of our Belonging by Design panel! Be sure to snag your ticket if you haven't yet.

Show Notes:

• Get your copy of Comemos!, Ale's beautiful cookbook!
• Follow Ale on Instagram and visit her blog
• Join us for Tastemaker 2027 to hear Ale speak more on this topic during her panel presentation!

Heather Woodland is here, and she's got the "receipts 👏 proof 👏 timeline 👏" to show that it's never too late to make food content your full-time gig. We're talking all about how Heather worked through perfectionism, fear of being perceived, and tech roadblocks to share her recipes and grow her following. And not for nothing, but her YouTube reached 100,000 subscribers in just 10 months.

If you've ever felt like food content is too saturated or like YouTube is too difficult, Heather is sharing some wisdom that you might find surprising and helpful!

Show Notes

• Visit Heather’s website, KeepItSweetKitchen.com
• Follow along on YouTube
• Follow along on Facebook
• Follow along on Instagram
• Listen to our episode with Heather’s web designer, Jennifer Holt!
• Listen to our episode with Tara Bench
• Check out Heather’s comfort watch 😉 Becky from Acre Farms
• Join Heather in San Antonio! Tastemaker 10 tickets here

And listen—no shade to anyone who does love a good bandwagon jump! Time and place, you know?

In this episode, Michelle and Chandice are getting into Michelle's journey through the creator economy as the founder of Nom Nom Paleo. They're also teasing Michelle's upcoming appearance as the highly-anticipated closing keynote speaker for Tastemaker Conference 2027—and that's where the bandwagon comes in.

Michelle argues that it's necessary to take a step back sometimes and think about what this is all for. It can't just be to get more followers, garner more views, and collect more accolades. You have to strategically decide what's important to you—and Michelle's got thoughts on how you might set about doing so!

Show Notes

• Find Michelle at NomNomPaleo.com
• Follow along with Michelle on Instagram
• GET YOUR TICKET TO HEAR MICHELLE'S CLOSING KEYNOTE AT TC 2027 IN SAN ANTONIO
• The Atlas of AI by Kate Crawford is the book Chandice mentions--bonus points if you read it and let us know what you think!

At some point, growing your business stops being just about getting more done and starts being about becoming the kind of leader who can support others as they build with you.

In this episode, Barrett and Chandice are getting into the psychology of entrepreneurship, especially what happens when creators make the leap from working solo to managing a growing team. They talk delegation, risk, resilience, and the very real challenge of letting go of the idea that you have to do everything yourself.

Barrett is a very well-loved speaker, mentor, and member of our Tastemaker community, and we think you'll understand why as you listen to this episode. Enjoy!

Show Notes

• Find more from Barrett at barrettbrooks.com
• Follow along with Barrett on Instagram, LinkedIn, or YouTube
• Listen to "Where Do You Go From the Top of the Class?" our episode with Allea Grummert where we discuss food bloggers being the honors' students of the creator economy!
• Get your ticket to TC 2027 for more convos like these

We're sitting down with Nicole Langdon (The Candid Cooks) to hear all about her experience attending Tastemaker Conference for the first time in Los Angeles! Nicole is sharing what surprised her most about the event, including how she managed the nerves, excitement, and emotions that aren't always talked about (but are definitely very normal and very real!)

We're diving into the immediate sense of community and inclusion that made the conference feel so welcoming, especially for a first-time attendee. Nicole also shares her advice for food creators who are curious about attending but aren’t quite sure what actually goes on behind conference doors. 🤪 If you’ve ever wondered whether Tastemaker is the right fit for you, this convo will give you what you need to take the leap and join us in San Antonio!

Show Links

• Find Nicole on their website, or on socials!
  • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/candidcooksblog/
  • FB: https://www.facebook.com/candidcooksblog
  • TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thecandidcooks
  • YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thecandidcooks
  • Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/thecandidcooks/_created/
• Listen to Shaunda Necole's episode of Tastemaker Talk: Why Creators Who Treat Their Blogs Like Media Companies Win Long-Term
• Join us at TC 2027! Special discount if you're reading this far 🤫 DL50 for $50 off (on the down-low)

Speaking very candidly, content creators have to navigate a lot of tension as an inherent part of their career. You're constantly being told that "authentic" content is what performs the best, but then you have to mindfully curate your brand (which is to say...yourself). There is an urge to document your life in order to share what feels real in your day-to-day, but the very act of capturing these moments makes them lose some of their spark. So what's the solution?

Well - we don't know exactly. But if you've ever felt like you're walking the balance-beam between your real life and your social media career—including the joys, fears, and pressures that come along with it—this conversation might resonate with you.

Show Links

• Come to TC 2027 if you want to gather with folks who care about these types of topics and love to have conversations about them--even when the answer isn't straightforward. We'd love to see you in San Antonio!

Kathryn Doherty is the creator behind Family Food on the Table, and she's been in the food blogging game for over 10 years now. Kinda chic, right?

So why would a food blogger in her shoes—with her audience reach and with so much industry know-how—make the decision to publish fewer recipes? It boils down to listening to your instincts and letting what you "should" be doing become less relevant than what you actually enjoy doing. More details in today's episode!

Show Links

• Find Kathryn at FamilyFoodOnTheTable.com
• Follow along on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest
• Join us at TC 2027 in San Antonioooooo!

Sometimes food creators think that if they want to see growth, they need to pick a lane and never change it. But guess what? That's actually not how humans work. We evolve, grow, and develop new tastes—and Jessica Hylton Leckie is here to explore how doing so in public can actually make your brand stronger.

From launching Jessica in the Kitchen after an 11pm cupcake experiment to building an award-winning food blog with 1,000+ approachable vegan recipes, Jessica is sharing her POV that has fueled 15 years of growth, reinvention, and navigating new seasons of life and content as a food creator.

Show Links:

• Find more from Jessica on her website, on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube
• Get your TC 2027 ticket nowwww - Jessica's session is going to be just as informative and inspiring as today's episode!