Happy, happy, happy Tuesday!!! I’m super excited to bring you today’s interview (part of our series of real-people-really-living-their-dreams. )
You know, for so many of us who want to make a change or take a chance at pursuing our dream (especially if we’re making a big change!), it can seem incredibly daunting. Hearing from others who’ve been there and taken the chance to step out on a new path can be a huge inspiration, which is why I decided to talk with a bunch of really amazing people who’ve up and done just that – stepped out onto their own unique paths to live their own unique dreams.
I hope you enjoy these conversations as much as I did, that they inspire you to pursue your own dreams, and that they pull back the curtain a bit and demystify the process. Because the truth is, you’re not just unique ~ but also are uniquely gifted, and the world really does need your gift.
Carina Tan, founder and chef of “Carina is Cooking”, hails from Malaysia, a melting pot of Chinese, Malay and Indian cuisines. Carina is of ethnic Chinese origin but was born and grew up in Malaysia where good food is a way of life with a blending of the flavors of the myriad cultures. Thailand was just over the border and authentic Thai food was easily available in her hometown. She moved to the United States in 1986 for college and quickly realized she had to make all the food she loved as a student with a tight budget. Graduating with a Bachelor’s in Chemistry and a Masters in Biochemistry, Carina went on to a 25-year career in the pharmaceutical industry as a scientist, before launching her business as a Personal Chef ~ “Carina is Cooking – Eat Well. Be Well.”.
From “Oreo Overkill Ice Cream Pie” to “Crazy Sexy Kale Salad”, Personal Chef Carina Tan (“Carina is Cooking”) creates delicious entrees, sides, treats, comfort foods – even breakfasts & brunches – tailored to what her clients want to eat & like to eat – and meals that can also help them achieve their dietary goals. She offers an amazing assortment of Asian and Asian-Fusion dishes, as well as the ability to “veganize” traditional meals, or come up with other delicious alternatives based on even narrow dietary requirements. Her Plant-Based Entrées menu includes some traditional items such as “Pineapple Fried Rice” (which was amazing), as well as some less well-known but equally delicious fare. (My decidedly “meat-eating” family absolutely loved the “Quesadillas with Cashew Cream Cheese” – better even than they love traditional quesadillas!)
Her menu includes over 100 different items, many of which can be customized. 95% of meals are available gluten-free; animal protein can be added to the Plant-Strong entrees; and vegan, raw, clean, vegetarian, dairy-free, paleo and more are happily accommodated.
You can learn more about Carina’s services by visiting her website Carina is Cooking at www.carinaiscooking.com, or visit Google Map Places for customer reviews & service areas.
I reached out to Carina to ask her about her journey from big pharma scientist to personal chef and discovered not only her passion for food (and her amazing cooking!), but some really great advice (I think) for others who might be thinking of pursuing their own passion.
LuAnne: What was your career before you became a Personal Chef?
Carina: (I was a) scientist for big Pharma for 25 years.
LuAnne: How did you become interested in cooking & nutrition?
Carina: I have always loved cooking, and believed in the power of food, now even more so. I love eating…and especially experimenting with new dishes.
LuAnne: When (and why) did you know for sure that you wanted to make this (career) change?
Carina: I’ve always dreamed of working with food, so it’s a lifelong wish. The push was…losing faith in pharmaceuticals as the answer to chronic diseases such as the ones I had spent my whole career working on (diabetes, obesity, CV disease). I think medications do work for acute problems but targeting a single pathway in metabolism (for example) is not the answer. We tried so hard to make it work in my previous job. I happen to think that the scientists working on this are barking up the wrong tree. The pull was in believing in the power of food to affect everything about your life/health.
LuAnne: You completed the T. Collin Campbell Foundation’s Plant Based Nutrition program. Can you tell me what your biggest take-away from the program was?
Carina: A plant based diet is powerful medicine. I was also sad to learn how the meat and dairy lobbies in this country can put profit ahead of people’s health and that the medical profession is sadly badly trained in the area of nutrition.
LuAnne: What would you say has been the most challenging practical aspect of embarking on this new career, and why?
Carina: The physical aspect…managing the physical demands of carrying, cutting, chopping…I did not expect to be in pain with the heavy lifting, trigger points all over my body. Trigger point massage with a tennis ball has this under control now!
LuAnne: What has been the biggest change in your life as a whole since you began your career as a Personal Chef?
Carina: I have more time to do what I want to do including spending time with my family, exercising, gardening, eating breakfast with the family!!!!! (Instead of with my computer…)
LuAnne: What has been the biggest emotional (or psychological) change?
Carina: I’m happy and more relaxed 🙂
LuAnne: What were some assumptions you had about pursuing this new career? Were they accurate?
Carina: I thought the clients would come rolling in and was shocked that it took 3 weeks to get my first customer. (But) it turns out that that was actually pretty quick.
LuAnne: How were you challenged most (in the beginning)?
Carina: I needed to develop patience and learn the business. It is a…niche business…I did not know it was quite that small!
LuAnne: What is the most exciting part of being a personal chef?
Carina: Making people happy with food! Getting positive feedback is like an adrenaline rush.
LuAnne: What’s the most challenging part?
Carina: Giving up the security of the guaranteed paycheck and…corporate benefits.
LuAnne: Why did you decide to be a personal chef as opposed to, say, opening another catering business or doing some other type of cooking-related work?
Carina: As a personal chef I can have more of a relationship with a family or (an) individual that I am cooking for over a longer period of time, usually on a weekly basis. Catering tends to be one-time events. They can repeat, but much less often.
LuAnne: How do you define “success”?
Carina: Success is doing what I love for a living, halving the number of hours that I am out working, making people happy. Food just has a way of making people happy. Hopefully they also make better food choices when I offer them many healthy options. “Carina is Cooking. Eat Well. Be Well.” – that is my tag line. That is my hope.
LuAnne: What is one thing you would tell someone who’s curious about hiring a personal chef, or becoming one themselves?
Carina: Hiring one: the ideal situation is (that) you should be able to eat the kind of food you want to eat prepared the way you like. If you have nutrition goals, I can help you with that. Becoming a personal chef: it’s fun and a challenge. Your challenge is to keep your customer very happy. You have to amaze them and do that every time. If you can do that you will be successful. It is hard to hold back your own food philosophy, but you have to. However, always have the perspective that whatever (your customer is) trying to do, you can nudge them a little in the right direction simply by preparing delicious food.
LuAnne: Is there anything you think would be helpful to someone reading this, who might be thinking of taking some concrete steps towards achieving their own dream, changing career paths, embarking on new learning, or trying something that they’ve never done but always wanted to try?
Carina: I wouldn’t ever go back. It’s worth it. Try a little at first. The catering stint helped me with the decision making and I learned something about the chef business. I’m lucky that I have the support of my family, especially my husband whom I bounce ideas off of all the time.
Seriously, that’s some great advice – “try a little at first”.
Because what do you really have to lose if you try a little? After all, every journey begins with a single step.
~xo,
LuAnne
