Coffee Breaks are 30-ish minute chats over Substack LIVE with the paid members of this community. It’s a chance to learn more about them and their work and talk about some of the real challenges and opportunities as a food writer today.
I learned so much about Yes! You Can Eat This in this conversation, but one of the most fun little tidbits was that during COVID, she ran an online disco to help people connect and give them something fun to do on a Saturday night. The discos faded out when everyone went back to their normal lives. She missed them so much that she decided to host a kitchen disco with friends for her birthday one year. She cooked a meal they could all enjoy, despite their different dietary restrictions, and after dancing around her kitchen in their socks, they sat down to eat. The whole thing was such fun that her friends wouldn’t let her off the hook until she agreed to share her recipes with the rest of us. And that is how Yes! You Can Eat This was born.
I think this story says a lot about Melissa. She figured out how to make delicious food for people with dietary restrictions because she has dietary restrictions and wants to eat delicious food. Then she figured out how to share everything she learned with the rest of us because keeping good things to herself is not her jam. She does so with the kind of infectious joy and generosity that makes you want to dance around your kitchen in your socks for the pure fun of it. Melissa makes everything a party, and this is one of her greatest gifts.
About Melissa
Melissa is on a mission to make everyone feel welcome and included at the table, and if anyone can accomplish that monumental task, it’s her.
Melissa’s newsletter is written for all of us who care about making everyone feel welcome at our tables, especially those with food intolerances. Her recipes show us that delicious cooking is more about focusing on what we’re leaving in than what we’re leaving out. She offers practical, real-world advice about how to prepare meals everyone can eat and reminds us that making delicious food is all about the people we’re cooking for, perhaps especially when one of those people is ourselves.
The goal of Mastermind for Food Writers and The Food Writers Business Lab isn’t simply to gather more information. It’s to build a better business alongside people who genuinely want to see each other succeed.
Ready to build a stronger, more sustainable food-writing business?
The Food Writers Business Lab offers practical, affordable education created specifically for food writers. Every workshop is taught by an experienced food writer who understands the challenges of growing an audience, diversifying your income, and building a lasting career in this industry.
It’s education for food writers, taught by food writers.
Upgrade to a paid subscription for full access to all Food Writers Business Lab workshops, monthly Business Strategy Meetings, and opportunities to share your work and expertise as a featured guest on a Substack LIVE Coffee Break.
Questions?
Send a direct message to Rebecca Blackwell, or leave a comment on this post.
