Michelle Tam’s Culinary Revolution

Michelle Tam is the co-creator of the Saveur Award-winning food blog, Nom Nom Paleo. Together with her husband, Henry Fong, they’ve also produced a two-time Webby Award-winning cooking app, authored three New York Times bestselling cookbooks, have been nominated for a James Beard Award, and created a best-selling line of paleo spice blends.

This week, Barrett talks with Michelle about her journey from pharmacist to pioneer in the Paleo community, and her transition to food and wellness. She discusses the creative process of developing cookbooks with her husband Henry Fong, their balanced approach to Paleo eating, and the foundational role of family in their business. Barrett and Michelle cover a wide range of topics including the importance of creative integrity, handling audience feedback, dealing with criticism, the impact of community, and the joys and challenges of running a food blog and app. Michelle also shares her insights on climate change, the importance of professional relationships, maintaining authenticity, and her undying passion for food which continues to drive her work and life.

In this episode:

[00:00] - Intro
[02:43] - James Beard Award nomination
[06:32] - Family and food philosophy
[08:49] - The journey of Nom Nom Paleo
[15:02] - Cultural reflections and family dynamics
[27:45] - Career choices and immigrant influence
[35:57] - Embracing playfulness in work and life
[37:13] - Balancing passion and partnership
[41:04] - The creative process behind cookbooks
[48:21] - The impact of night shifts and discovering Paleo
[52:23] - Food as medicine and personal growth
[01:00:28] - Reflecting on success and personal standards
[01:11:55] - Learning from trolls and thoughtful feedback
[01:13:03] - Evaluating which opportunities to pursue
[01:18:09] - Connecting with the food community
[01:25:02] - Balancing life between two cities
[01:30:45] - Designing the perfect kitchen
[01:34:02] - Reflecting on personal and professional growth
[01:36:57] - The importance of quality friendships
[01:43:11] - The beautiful future Michelle is trying to create
[01:44:38] - Who Michelle is becoming

Key Takeaways

Your environment significantly impacts your mental and physical well-being. Make time to think about what you want from life, to assess your well-being, priorities, where you’ve been, and where you want to go.
Optimizing your health has powerful positive follow-on effects. Personalize your diet and lifestyle to whatever makes you feel your best. Experiment and incorporate new learnings along the way.
Making high-quality creative work (like cookbooks) requires high effort, meticulous standards, and good taste. Combining different kinds of creativity (like comic book artistry and step-by-step guides in Michelle and Henry’s case) can make your work more unique and interesting.
Maintain your values and integrity in business decisions, even if it means turning down lucrative opportunities, and focus on things you're passionate about and proud of.
Relationships and personal growth are intertwined. Cultivate friendships with people who truly know, support, and ground you through your triumphs and hardships.

Quotes

“You have to gain confidence with practice. And I think that's one thing with cooking is people expect to be good right away. But, it's like any scale, you just have to keep practicing and eventually it'll come. It'll be second nature.” ~ Michelle Tam

“When I cut out gluten, it made such a huge difference in my life. And when I started cooking my own meals and eating whole foods, I just felt so much better.” ~ Michelle Tam

“It was really important to us that we did things together as a family.” ~ Michelle Tam

“I really do want people to pay attention to how food makes them feel and act accordingly. You can totally eat something that makes you feel terrible. Just acknowledge it and that's fine. Your next meal is another meal.” ~ Michelle Tam

Links