They say you can’t control who you fall in love with - and that is true. I remember my dad asking me, “What is going on with you and John Hadeed?” All I could says was, “Dad, he whistles. All the time. And it makes me so so happy.”

However, you can choose who you marry. And while falling in love with John caught me by surprise, marrying him was one of the most conscious, considered, prayed-over decisions of my life. Ultimately, I married John because I trusted him - I trusted that his natural humility and utter lack of pretension, his work ethic, and his enthusiasm for all the little moments of life would see us through whatever came our way.

Like every couple, it took us some time to integrate our dramatically different communication styles and we’ve been through patches over 18 years where everything seemed to be in short supply - energy, health, sleep, understanding, and even faith. But! I have never regretted the decision to marry John. He has risen to every challenge, personally and professionally. His optimism, grit, and faith have held us together as a family.

As we move away from the infant and toddler years and into our middle aged years (a term which John still won’t accept), we’re a stronger team than ever. Everything we build, from our family to his business to this podcast... we are truly in it together. So I wanted you to meet him - and based on the comments over on Instagram, a lot of you wanted to meet him also. In this interview, we tried to answer most of your questions as we chatted about spinach pies and stuffed grape leaves, John’s Arabic heritage, and also adoption, work and fatherhood. Here’s my husband, John Hadeed. 

P.S. Also, I want to say that i know hearing about a happy marriage can be really tough for many reasons. If you are going through something tough, I just want to let you know that I am here and more than happy to listen - just email  me at [email protected] and I’d love to support you just, again, by listening. 

Try my husbands workout routine using the same dumbbells he uses.

This is a week of transition for my family, so I'm bringing back one of the most loved, listened to, and commented on episodes ever - "I am Piotr's Granddaughter"⁠ with guest Lydia Cottrell⁠
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In this powerful episode, Lydia embarks on a search to find her long-lost family in a tiny Ukranian village. Impossibly, she finds them and says, "They immediately knew that I belonged to them.
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As Lydia is joyfully reunited with this long-lost extended family she says, "When I turned around, there on the table were the same foods I had grown up eating.” ⁠
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Lydia shared this beautiful story centered around Varenyky (otherwise known as pierogies) . We learn why she is so very proud to call herself Piotr’s Granddaughter. I also came to understand how proud Piotr would be of his granddaughter Lydia.⁠

Welcome to a short but packed bonus episode with Michelin-starred pastry chef, Monique Chan.

Monique turns the tables and begins interviewing ME about my experiences and struggles with creativity and productivity as a mother, the passion I felt for wedding photography, and even my perceptions of myself. Then Monique goes on to share her own definition of what it means to be an artist and discusses her experiences balancing creativity and productivity both as a chef herself and as a manager of other chefs.

Monique graduated first in her class at her Parisian pastry school, then went on to work in renowned bakeries, five star hotels and multiple Michelin starred restaurants including The French Laundry. Her latest achievement was serving as Executive Pastry Chef of Écriture in Hong Kong, which received two Michelin stars in a record-breaking seven months after opening.

When I interviewed Monique, the two of us simply could *not* stop conversing and we grudgingly got off the phone almost an hour past our intended stopping time. As my poor editor Justin struggled to cut down the episode, he called me and said this was a conversation that was fascinating to him as an artist, and deserved to be a standalone bonus episode. So - here we are! I hope you enjoy it!

And please, if any of these topics get you thinking, let me know your thoughts - drop me an email at [email protected]. I’d love to hear from you!!

You may want to refer to these helpful videos from Monique along the way! They really helped me. 

How to Shape the Butter Block

The Lamination Process

Portioning the Croissants

Shaping the Croissants

YouTube: The Real Chez Momo

Website: www.therealchezmomo.com

Instagram: @therealchezmomo

Ever wonder what it’s like to work inside the finest restaurants in the world? I have!

Today, Michelin-starred pastry chef Monique Chan is giving us a firsthand look inside two famous restaurants completely across the globe from one another.

At the The French Laundry in California, which was called “The best restaurant in the world, period” by Anthony Bourdain. Monique was tasked with the all-important chocolate station and granted creative freedom to completely redesign their bon-bon menu.

From there, Monique moved to Hong Kong, a homecoming of sorts for this daughter of two immigrants to the US from Hong Kong. Monique was part of the “start-up team” launching Ecriture with the immediate goal of achieving 2 Michelin stars - a goal which they achieved.

As fascinating as this insider look into the restaurant may be, I promise you’ll be most captivated by Monique’s humility and vulnerability. We explore the spiritual journey that accompanied the journey of her career, as well as her most recent efforts to raise money for racial justice through her personal brand, Chez Momo.

And finally - look out for a bonus episode this Friday where we explore to uneasy relationship between creativity and productivity. (Oh, and p.s. Monique shared her croissant recipe with us and wraps up the conversation with some helpful feedback about what I did wrong!)

Thank you, every single listener for being here, and welcome Monique!

YouTube: The Real Chez Momo

Website: www.therealchezmomo.com

Instagram: @therealchezmomo

So grateful to welcome Diana Silva to the podcast today with a set of stories that will challenge and inspire us to live with more love. Diana is a YouTuber, podcaster, and author of the book Molé Mama: A Memoir of Love, Cooking, and Loss.

The book begins when Diana’s mother, Rose, was given 3 days to live. It chronicles the 13 months that she outlived that diagnosis - the 2nd time in her life that she survived against the odds.

As Diana walks with her mother deep into “the valley of the shadow of death”, she also cooks for her. In this way, Diana sustains her mother, comforts her, and finally learns the delicious Mexican recipes that Rose made for the 15 (yes, 15!) children and hundreds of migrant workers that she welcomed into her home over 50 years.

We have much - so very, very much - to learn from both Diana and Rose in this episode, as their lives challenge us to love with greater sacrifice, endurance, and joy.

YouTube: Molé Mama on YouTube

Website: www.molemama.com

Instagram: @mole_mama

Read Diana's book Molé Mama: A Memoir of Love, Cooking, and Loss

Welcome! I’m very honored to introduce you to Danielle Ellis. Danielle is an Ambassador for the Real Bread Campaign and Judge for the World Bread Awards.

Today, Danielle shares how a series of influences - a childhood love of French holidays, a summer stint as an au pair, a “mad Scotsman”, and a tough pastry teacher all came together to convince Danielle to leave a decades-long career in marketing and enroll in a French school for baking. Danielle completed the 670 hour course (!!).

In addition, Danielle completed many months of work experience, including an internship at a bakery that used NO electrically-powered equipment - nope, not even to mix 50lb batches of dough.

Today, as an expert on baking, scaling, marketing, and running a bakery, Danielle teaches classes to both novice and professional bakers. Welcome Danielle!

Instagram: @breadbakerdani
Website: www.severnbites.com

Helen Au is a natural born storyteller. Those who follow her on Instagram constantly share her content, not only for the beautiful imagery, but for the intimate, detailed memories of her childhood that she shares in every post.

Sometimes sad, sometimes funny, and always poignant, Helen's words usually feature her parents, first generation immigrants from Vietnam, and the sacrifices they made for their 3 children.

I couldn't wait to talk to Helen and hear more about her parents, so imagine my surprise when Helen shared that, at the time of our interview, she was in fact estranged from her parents. And as Helen worked on finding her way back to a healthy relationship with her family, it was food that paved the way. Food, it turns out, was what bonded little Helen to her mother and what enabled Helen to speak of her parents with so much love and respect through their estrangement.

In this episode we learn from Helen that food is truly a love language. Food is the thread that tightly binds together generations through the complexities of life, especially the life of young woman searching for her identity as an adult and an Asian-American.

I interviewed Helen again in July 2021 as part of my Summer Retrospective Series. We discussed her big move, how she can fit all her belonging in 2.5 suitcases, and why she chose a minimalist lifestyle. We also talk about why I hired her to consult with me on my Pinterest strategy for the podcast. Finally, and definitely most importantly, we talk about her ongoing relationship with her mother.

You can listen to that here.

Instagram: @astepfullofyou

Website: www.astepfullofyoublog.com

A question for you - What did your heritage give you? How does the legacy of your parents - your grandparents keep you afloat through life’s struggles?

For today’s guest, the answer was immediate: Dorina’s parents and grandparents taught her the value of hospitality.

Over a decade ago, Dorina Gilmore-Young wrote Cora Cooks Pancit - a celebration of heritage, Filipino culture, the dinner table and hospitality. The book, illustrated by Kristi Valiant, won Picture Book of the Year from the Asian American Association and a dozen years later, the book is incredibly now in its 8th printing!

Over those 12 years, Dorina ventured into non-profit work and wrote more books, all while practicing hospitality.

Then, the unthinkable happened. Dorina was widowed as a young mother to girls, just 2, 6, and 8 years old.

The value of hospitality and the family table deepened and became richer as mealtimes were the times where Dorina’s community showed up to comfort her and when she grieved with her young daughters.

Dorina has remarried and now works with her husband to raise their young girls, to coach runners, and - yes - she’s written another book with her him. Through these massive life changes, Dorina continues to welcome others to her table where she has learned to embrace not only laughter but also to share tears and difficult stories

Website: www.dorinagilmore.com

Instagram: @dorinagilmore

Dorina's Latest Book: Walk Run Soar

Buy Cora Cooks Pancit (Winner of The New Book Award from the Asian-American Association in 2010, written by Dorina Gilmore-Young and Illustrated by Kristi Valiant)

Can you imagine the freedom of living fearlessly? It’s my pleasure to introduce you to Kimberly Espinel, a London-based food photographer, educator, and very recently author of the book Creative Food Photography. Kimberly hosts the popular and informative food blogging podcast titled Eat Capture Share. She also hosts the seasonal food photography challenge over on Instagram by the same title, Eat Capture Share. Of all the things I’ve admired about Kimberly since I came across her community, the thing I admire most is her utter fearlessness - well, both her fearlessness and her focus.

Today, Kimberly shares how her origin story was fraught with difficulties. Loneliness shaped her into a tenacious, brave, and empathetic woman whose greatest strength is her ability to connect with people of diverse backgrounds - including those who, like her, often found themselves in the place of the “other”. Whatever our own origin story is, if we desire to be more fearless and more focused in our life, Kimberly's story can tell us how.

Website: www.thelittleplantation.com

Instagram: @thelittleplantation

Listen to the Eat Capture Share Podcast

Join the Eat Capture Share Community (and FREE Food Photography Challenge)

Order Creative Food Photography by Kimberly Espinel