Today we’d like to introduce you to Ellen Speaker
Hi Ellen, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I grew up in the kitchen with my mom, who is a wonderful cook & host, so cooking has always been a part of me and is one of the many ways I show my love, appreciation and care for others. After graduating from college, I worked a corporate job that I was not passionate about whatsoever. After much contemplation I decided to quit and follow my passion of cooking by attending culinary school. I specialized in baking & pastry, though savory cooking was very much still a part of my world. After graduating culinary school, I ended up working in the hospitality industry creating pastries and desserts for hotel guests. I quickly found the food industry to be draining, demanding, and very different from my personal & professional goals. So, I quit & went back to the corporate world while trying to find my way. Eventually, I closed the door on that chapter and started in real estate, which is currently my full-time career. However, my passion for cooking, hosting, and creating recipes remained. After many years of thinking on the idea of whether or not I wanted to share my passion with others via social media and multiple people encouraging along the way, I finally just went for it in April of 2024. I’m a very all or nothing person so naturally, I went full force and started sharing my recipes on my current page, @forgetthetakeout. I have big dreams, a cookbook being one, for this passion of mine and hope to share with as many people as possible, while encouraging & teaching others to cook by sharing my recipes!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Not in the slightest. Aside from a few burnt dishes, the biggest struggles have come from within. I have had doubted myself more times than I can count, questioned whether or not I’m making a difference, if my content is authentic or valuable, or if I just blend in with the numerous food accounts on social media. I’ve struggled with creativity, comparison, motivation. Not to mention, finding a balance between working full-time, being a stay-at-home mom, and creating recipes. But luckily, my years of entrepreneurship have taught me that the struggles aren’t permanent & it takes time to work out the kinks and to persevere. I don’t expect the struggles of this to ever go away because as an entrepreneur you are always evolving & growing, and struggles are part of that growth. You just learn to adapt and use those struggles to push you forward. In fact, I think failing as an entrepeneur is important for growth and helping you get learn what works & what doesn’t and get you closer to your goals.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I guess you could call me a content creator! My page, @forgetthetakeout, is about sharing healthier, gluten-free meals made from real ingredients that are both delicious and easy to make. I have a background in both food and fitness and I struggled with an eating disorder in my early 20’s, which consequently meant I also struggled with every type of fad diet/trend and it wasn’t until I became a mom that I started to focus on fresh, wholesome ingredients that would nourish myself and my family, instead of becoming obsessed with low-fat, low-carb foods and counting calories. I want people, especially those with little cooking experience, to see that they can make healthy, nutritious meals that aren’t boring and won’t take all day to prepare. I hope that when people cook my recipes it creates a sense of togetherness- family sitting around the dinner table, friends sharing a meal, or cooking something delicious for a friend who just had a baby! I am most proud of myself for starting, for silencing the noise in my head that told me I couldn’t do this or that I wouldn’t be successful and just did it. Though I am far from where I want to be, I took that first step and that was a huge accomplishment. I’d like to think my recipes and content set me apart enough because they are truly from my heart, from my kitchen to theirs and that people see my authenticity and desire to share love through my food.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
With my content being shared via social media I can only imagine the changes that will happen over the next 5-10 years. There was a time that static photos were content creators only way to showcase their skills, then it progressed to long-form videos on YouTube, then to short-form reels on social media. Social media is always evolving and changing and there is no telling how it will affect content creators sharing recipes and food creations. I am happy to see that so many people are still publishing hard copy cookbooks and that customers are still buying them. I hope that doesn’t change over the next 5-10 years because I have a goal to have publish my own cookbook and it sit in someone’s kitchen! There is something special about a printed copy of a book v. e-books, but I also love the convenience of e-books!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/forgetthetakeout/
