Check Out Rebecca Wood’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rebecca Wood.

Hi Rebecca, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Growing up in the Columbus, Georgia with my mom working full-time and my dad as a traveling musician, I spent a lot of time with my depression-era grandparents. I learned how to cook from their garden-fresh ingredients and how stockpile the overages for the months when produce is less accessible.

When I moved my own family to Nashville in 2012, I found my place in the world at Southern Ground Nashville, Zac Brown’s recording studio. I was originally hired as an administrative assistant to get the infrastructure up and running: phone system, booking, and invoicing, as well to furnish the studio, office buildings, and Nashville residences. As the studio renovations were completed, my husband’s band, The Wood Brothers, came in to make a record. Seeing as the only time we’d get to spend together were mealtimes, my sister-in-law and I started preparing meals in the studio’s full, residential kitchen. Upon the finish of the session, Matt Mangano, the studio’s then-manager, came to me and asked how we could incorporate that into EVERY session. And so it became the standard: a fresh meal prepared with ingredients thoughtfully sourced from local, organic farms (and Trader Joes) for every band who booked the main studio.

When the studio closed due to the pandemic in March 2020, I was able to pivot my skill set to create weekly dinners and covid-safe boxed lunches for delivery to Nashville residents and businesses. I’ve taken July “off” to focus on finishing my cookbook and research some new ventures to explore how to move forward.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The struggle for me as an entrepreneur is how to be everything my business needs to run smoothly. It is exhausting to be writer, social media director, accountant, chef, and delivery person! And finding ways to be engaging and stay relevant through the pandemic’s demands has been tricky, too.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
In addition to being a chef, I’m also an artist and have created linocut blockprints for my spice blend labels, t-shirts, and market bags. I do hand-printed notecards, small mixed media pieces, and dabble in watercolor. Finding ways to bring my food and art together is a fun challenge!

I’d say I specialize in baked goods, specifically sourdough, beer bread, and sweet treats. I use organic ingredients and source locally whenever possible. Once, at the dinner table, we had one of those decks of cards that asked questions for discussion, and the question of the day was something like, “If you know that you’re going to make a million dollars doing one thing, what would it be?” And my immediate answer was “MAKE POUNDCAKE.” It really is the best. I’ve been flown to California by Dave Grohl to bake poundcake for the VIP backstage artist catering for the Foo Fighters’ CalJam music festival.

My southern style food is remembered fondly, too, by the Nashville session musicians. All the flavor, with none of the BS.

What does success mean to you?
Finding joy in the work, I do and have the work be financially sustaining.

Contact Info:

• Email: maternalgoodness@gmail.com
• Website: www.heartsinthemix.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heartsinthemix/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HeartsintheMix

Image Credits
Alison Love Manuel Mason Southern Ground Nashville Mason Rey