Hello Substack my old friend...

Taste the Nation and Sports Illustrated and Time 100, oh my!

Hello Substackers,

Remember me?? I’m so sorry I’ve slacked off and just, well… gone MIA! I owe you all a sincere mea culpa. I really have no excuse except that life just got so hectic. The honest truth is that I couldn’t balance it all. I loved the idea of hopefully growing a more intimate community than social media here. And I still do. But it’s been hard.  I’ve missed writing to you all as well as leaving the little voice messages. I always felt like I had friends or penpals that were off in another part of the world rooting for me. 

Krishna is now 13, and I’ve been on the road so much this last year that I felt guilty going off and doing one more thing when I got home rather than spending time with her. 

So I feel a bit sheepish writing again, but I wanted to share what’s been going on now that I can take a breath. 

So much has happened. I had an on-and-off relationship which is now… just off. I gained weight; I lost weight. I worked out a ton! And then I mounted another season of Taste the Nation, which kept me busy most of 2022— it’s now streaming on Hulu!

TTN BTS!

I had a short break with Littlehands for spring and summer and then went to film the 20th season of Top Chef in London, a World All Stars edition.

Then returned to the States and edited all the episodes I shot for this new season of TTN.

My grandmother also passed away over a year ago, leaving a huge hole in my heart. I only had the stamina for work and tending to my child. 

But now I’m coming up for air, and I’d love to share some amazing things that have happened. Since we last spoke, I was also named one of the Time's 100 Most Influential People of 2023, became a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model, and started writing a new cookbook.

I hope you’ll rejoin me as I try to be a better pen pal.