Cooking has always been at the center of Hailee Catalano’s world. She grew up watching The Food Network, inspired by cooks like Rachael Ray and watching the adults cook in her Sicilian-German home. Some of our guests have winding paths into the food world but Hailee was on a mission from day one. After attending the Culinary Institute of America, she started her career in restaurant kitchens. When her plan to break into the New York restaurant scene was upended by COVID, Hailee started thinking outside of the box. She got a job as an Instacart shopper for a test kitchen and started making cooking videos as a creative outlet. Today, she’s garnered a devoted following across social channels, and she’s not stopping anytime soon.

Hailee joins host Abena Anim-Somuah to chat about finding her voice and balancing her life as a content creator. They talk about how her videos have evolved, from the “hands-and-pans” style to the more personal content her audience connects with today: calm, straightforward walk-throughs of comforting recipes, made with fresh, seasonal ingredients. Listen to Hailee’s top pieces of advice for homecooks, her stance on dill, and what it’s like sharing a kitchen with Chuck Cruz, her partner and a fellow content creator. Don’t miss Hailee’s voicemail to her future self!

Thank you to Kerrygold, Hampton Grocer, and Dona for supporting today’s show.  

More on Hailee: Instagram, website, TikTok
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Future Of Food Is You transcripts can be found here

Learn more about Cherry Bombe Jubilee here

Hosted by Abena Anim-Somuah
Produced by Kerry Diamond, Catherine Baker, and Elizabeth Vogt
Edited by Jenna Sadhu
Editorial Assistant Londyn Crenshaw
Recorded at CityVox Studios in NYC

The Future Of Food Is You is a production of The Cherry Bombe Podcast Network