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FutureProof You is a team comprised of: Career Pivot Expert Dan Yu, Recruiting Master John Lovig, and AI Consultant Aaron Makelky. Listeners will hear discussions of job trends, career advice, and actionable tips for making sure their careers are future proof!
FU Podcast EP 19 Career Pivots with Terri Dien
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dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: ~And we have a, we have a, a kickoff word. We always have a kickoff word that, uh, so we know where the edit starts.~
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: ~Okay.~
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: ~Um, it's that big green like fruit that's red on the inside. So, um, all right, should's. See here, I'm gonna just check audio one more time here. Great. Oh, uh, a bit of just admin, like when the show ends, like, and I hit stop recording.~
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: ~It'll upload locally to your machine and then up to the internet. So it takes sometimes 10 seconds. But, um,~
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: ~watermelon.~ [00:00:00] Welcome everybody to another episode of Future Proof Use podcast F yourself. Today we have a special guest. We have my high school friend, Terri Terri from the West Coast here to join us today and talk about. Career pivots and the pivots that she's been through, as well as her own journey from her origin story and to what she's doing now.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: We are so excited to have you here. Thank you so much for joining us.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: Well, thank you Dan. So happy to be here. Thank you for inviting me.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Yeah. Uh,
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: school,
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: yeah, high school.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: been 40 years.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: 40 years. Uh oh. We may not look that old, but it has been 40 years. So Terri, it's so good to see you. Um, I love the motif in the, in the background there with all of your books. Are those all cookbooks?
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: This is my cookbook collection organized by color. Um,
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: I love it.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: [00:01:00] just needed an interesting backdrop for all of these, uh, video calls and. I don't really refer to the cookbooks anymore, unfortunately, so I thought I'd turn them into some piece of art, but it's 500 cookbooks in my
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Wow. 500. That is really, really cool. Very impressive. Awesome. And you know, the, uh, and we'll talk about the books that you've written a little bit later, uh, but I just wanna dive right in, you know, so, uh, you know, for you, you're, you know, you're a chef. You know, kind of like by, that's your passion. Right? You know?
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: And so, uh, I'd love to start from the beginning, you know, so after you went to college, you went into kind of like public service, right?
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: I did. Yeah. Yeah, so I studied political science at San Francisco State University with a minor in journalism. I thought, Ooh, this would be cool. And then somehow it was also, you know, in the late eighties when I went to college. So [00:02:00] the AIDS epidemic was a really big
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Mm.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: um, I had an uncle who passed away from AIDS back in 1985, very early 1985,
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Wow.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: of the pandemic.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: Of that pandemic. And so I just thought maybe I'll go into human physiology and also study. There were courses at SF State on HIV disease and I thought, oh, I know with political science, with journalism, with physiology, with an HIV concentration, maybe I'll become an AIDS activist. So I thought about that for a while.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: Um, that was really something that motivated me. And then in my junior year. I had an opportunity to go to Washington DC on an internship, which was
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: amazing.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: I worked in the press office for about nine months and I lived in Washington, DC um,
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: press office?
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: uh, the White House Press office,
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: As big as it gets. That's awesome.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: as it gets. I went straight to the top.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: And, um, all of the other interns that were kind of living in the same apartment and [00:03:00] in the same program as me. Very jealous. So I didn't make a lot of friends, um, but I got exposed to a lot of things and came back to California after my internship was up and realized, well, you know, there's now the, um, the, the. The medicine cocktail that was given to, um, AIDS patients, and that was really helping to prolong their life. We could actually see that it was going to become more of a chronic disease than a deadly disease, less need for, uh, a fiery AIDS activist. So,
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Right.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: I actually then caught the bug for political campaigning and messaging, and I just decided to run into that full speed ahead. Running into a brick wall. But, um, I managed to get on a couple of campaigns, trying to figure out who I was, what I was doing, what my message was, who I was going to be in the campaign that organizational management was really important
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Mm-hmm.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: 'cause you have to make order or out [00:04:00] of chaos. And so I thought, I think I can do that. And I got hired by a political consulting firm that specialized in school bond measures in California.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: on school.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: School bond measures.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: School by measure.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: would have to, um, vote to increase property taxes to pay for bond over time.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Right.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: that would provide money to school districts, public school districts here in California to increase increase infrastructure.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: This was in the late nineties and so the internet was becoming a thing and um, people could actually see that it was going to be an excellent learning tool. And so infrastructure in schools, especially in California, in the rural areas, those schools were built in the late forties, early fifties, sometimes even late sixties, and they didn't even have enough electrical capacity for, you know, all the projectors that they needed to run in the school.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Wow.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: Lot of growth in, uh, certain California [00:05:00] communities. And so, um, the facilities that, the buildings of the schools themselves were impacted with all the kids coming in from all the families moving into the communities. So some districts needed to build more classrooms. Some districts needed to just upgrade and renovate and improve their infrastructure, their electricity, their plumbing. Um, you know, there were some schools where kids couldn't even use the bathroom or drink out of the water fountain 'cause the plumbing was so bad. So I really felt that it was a worthy cause to get into, to really help improve, um, education in California. And, um, ran many school bond measures over the course of 10 years after graduating from college and
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Incredible.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: really helped pass a lot of bond measures so that communities had better schools.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: Yeah.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: incredible. And so, uh, that you, you say, you know, infrastructure and, uh, bringing, you know, you know, just basic, uh, just basic functions to schools, but also the internet and, and it [00:06:00] didn't really matter that you, you were right in the middle of, uh, you know, Silicon Valley. That you still had to deal with all of the basic infrastructure and, uh, that's great work that you did.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Wow. I'm just, this is, uh, this is a revelation to me. Uh, you know, I'm so, so impressed by, by your work. Um, that's incredible. And then, so, so, uh, how long were you doing that, and what was your next step from there?
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: I did that for about, on and off for about 10 years. You know, there's a huge burnout factor. Um, you go into a community, they don't know who the heck you are, they've never seen you before. Um, some of them don't particularly warm up to
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Sure.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: woman telling them what to do.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Yeah.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: Especially somebody as positively assertive as I am. Um, so, you know, I, I really, I, I had to, I struggled a lot. I had to overcome a lot of obstacles. Um, I had to convince people and I had to be very persuasive about how I was coming across in [00:07:00] meetings and giving them the campaign plan
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Yeah.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: and this is our budget, so I need you to raise some money,
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Right.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: Um, and so I would step away from that every now and then and maybe do some. Fundraising work for nonprofits. So I worked for the March of Dimes, I've worked for the American Heart Association, and then I would go back into campaigning because I really loved it. Um,
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Yeah.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: it wasn't until about 2001 when nine 11 happened.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: I was, uh, I was in the Central Valley, uh, south of Sacramento and, um, the terrible event happened and it was right around that time where. People in the campaign office who were working for me on this school bond measure, um, they were just like, Hey, you know, you're not a very pleasant person to work with. I mean, you're, you're very, very driven. You're focused, you're organized. You know exactly what to do. You know exactly what to say, you're really good at what you do. But you [00:08:00] know, you're a lot more fun to be around when there's food. And, um, it just so happened that we were down the street from a really wonderful gourmet supermarket. And I would go in there and I would buy stuff for lunch and I would be telling people in the office, I mean, I didn't even care if they knew about food or not. I mean, this was their community, it was their supermarket. But here I am telling them about the cheeses and the pairings of with the fruit and the different types of bread and let's, let's have like a wonderful like picnic lunch outside.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: And they were just like. It's transforming, like you're such a different person when you're talking about food. You, you really should go into food. You, you should do something with food because you are a big bitch, uh, in this campaign office, and we can just tell that you're under a lot of pressure and you're not really enjoying what you're doing. So your personality's totally different
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Wow.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: I took a big step back from that. I'm like, wow, these people, you know, they've only met me like, you know, two months before I [00:09:00] just moved into this community and just met them, just started working with them and all of a sudden they're just really being very honest and blunt to me. Um. So I was thinking, well, I don't know what I would do. Like I know how to cook, but I only know how to cook for myself and I know
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Right,
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: but I only know how to bake for myself because, oh,
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: right.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: between campaigns, because campaigns are like
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Come and go.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: feast or famine, it's like. An actor, you just wait for your next gig. Um, so in between campaigns, after moving home, before I pack up and move to my next gig, I would actually take cooking classes. I did um, a cake decorating course, and I was like baking cakes and decorating them and just practicing and refining that
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Mm-hmm.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: my boyfriend at the time was like, yeah, everybody at work doesn't want any more of your case.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: Thank you. They're great. We love them. It's too much. Um, so I had to like figure out what else to do with my time. And so then I went into bread baking, and then I went into pastry [00:10:00] making instead of cakes. Um,
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: And you, and you took classes for all that.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: I took classes for that. Um, and they were just like, you know, classes I would find in the newspaper.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: The San
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Wow.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: had a really fantastic food section back then. So this was, again, early to mid nineties. And, um. I would just take classes, I would go to cookbook signings, like, you know, there would be ads that Williams Sonoma is gonna have this famous chef or something. And I'd, I'd show up. I had nothing else to do. Um, and I would start asking questions. And so all of the cookbooks back here, um, I've just collected over the years and I've read every single one of them. I would read cookbooks at night, like people read books at night to fall asleep. Um. I just sort of taught myself how to cook and bake over the years.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: Um, but then, uh, um, September 11th, really tragic day. And um, you know, that completely [00:11:00] changed my life. Um, it changed everyone's lives, actually. But, um,
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Yeah.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: personally, I had to just really understand that, you know, something this huge could just happen. You have no control over it. You don't know when it's gonna happen.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: It comes without warning. You can say, I love you and have a great day to your loved ones, and maybe you
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Yeah.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: them
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Yeah.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: by the end of the day, and your whole life has changed. And so I just, that really shook me and that really got me to understand that, yeah, maybe I am really good at what I do with this campaigning gig, but um, is it bringing me joy?
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: Is am I actually following my passion? I
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Hmm.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: passionate about it when I jumped into it. Right after college. Um, but, you know, lost that love for the campaigning. It became very rote. I could smell a lie coming at me a mile away. Uh, I would literally interrupt people and say, Hey, before you go any further with your little sorry story, um, let me just tell you what I [00:12:00] need from you and let's just kind of meet. Where we can so that I can get something out of you volunteer wise,
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Right.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: because this is your community. It's not mine, right? It's your kids that go to this school district. It's your kids that are gonna benefit from what we're doing here. So please, before you lie to me about something, just let me just tell you, this is really important and I, I don't wanna, I don't want you to waste my time. you know, people don't react to that type of directness very well. But I thought I was doing my job. I was like cutting to the chase. I was like, just like, don't waste my time. Let's, let's just focus on what we have to do here, which is win this campaign. So that was like late twenties. I was in my late twenties and I didn't, at that time I didn't realize that I hadn't fully developed as a human being and mature adult yet.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: So, um, I thought that was how I was supposed to relate to people
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Right.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: anyway. Um. Nine 11 happened. We won the campaign by the way, that [00:13:00] following November. And um, my dad decided it was time to do a big family trip again. You know, it was a big pivotal moment for everybody in their lives. And so did a big family trip to China.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: I think we traveled through China for like five weeks
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Wow, wonderful.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: incredible. It was such a wonderful experience and it was really a big gift that my dad gave us. And then I came home and I was just like. I think it's time I did something else. So I did one more campaign to wrap it all up and then I started looking for culinary schools. really have a plan. I just knew that culinary school was the way to go. Um, in between the campaigns, I was looking for work in restaurants and bakeries, but.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Right.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: Nobody would hire me because I didn't have any,
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: You didn't.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: professional experience in a restaurant. I was just a home cook, a home baker. And I'm like, yeah, but I really know my stuff.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: Like I could show you what I can do. Um, but because I didn't have a degree and I didn't have any work [00:14:00] experience in the field, uh, nobody would actually hire me. So I thought, all right, I'll start researching culinary schools.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: So e even, uh, even with your library of cookbooks and all the knowledge you had amassed,
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: Yes,
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: was still important to then go out and get some more hands-on in, in situation knowledge.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: absolutely. I
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Yeah.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: um, it wouldn't hurt to get a culinary arts degree.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Yeah.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: certainly there would be resources available in the department that would sort of help with. You know, um, career mentoring or career path guidance, or there's gotta be a job board or something,
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Yeah,
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: internships available or people that I can talk to in the industry that are connected to the department. So, yeah, I, I did a lot of research. Um, I. My husband and I, we were ready to move out of the San Francisco area, um, to find the, [00:15:00] you know, if we decided that, you know, maybe going to New York was the way to go, we would pack up and go back to New York. But then somebody said, Hey, um, San Francisco City College actually has a really excellent culinary program,
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Incredible.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: right in your backyard.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: Incredible.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: There you go.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: And it's super. The tuition. They're one of the oldest culinary programs in the country. You should check them out. I did. I went for a tour and, uh, the rest is history, I should say. It's a really fantastic program.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Yeah, so, so you, uh, you were developing the, the skills over, you know, the course, you know of your adulthood Right. By reading all of the cookbooks. But then, uh, I, I, I, I find it great that, uh, that your colleagues, you know, said, Hey, you know, you're, you're just happier around food. It, you know, and, um, that that's what a kindness really, right.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: What a kindness that they gave to you that said, you know, you're, you know, you're just [00:16:00] happier around food. And so leaning into that, right? So you now, now you've gone and, you know, enrolled in schools and from learning all of that, you then made it into actually teaching other people how to cook.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: That was literally an accident. I have to
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: I love it.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: everything after culinary school was a series of me falling backwards into really wonderful situations without really knowing it. So, you know, my entire culinary career, all I've ever said was how grateful I am for the opportunities that have been given to me. When. started culinary school. It was, you know, a four semester program. So it was two years, it was a two year commitment, you know, my husband said, sure, you can go to school full-time for two years. I'll support you through that. You know, um, just get a part-time job, something just to kind of help out.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: And I went and I got a part-time job, and I literally spent more in that part-time [00:17:00] job than I actually earned, but that's another story. Um, yeah, it was, it was really. It was really wonderful to approach culinary school and just say, all my life, I started something with a plan. There was a goal in mind, there was a mission, there was something that I was getting to, you know, there was some kind of vision of what I was gonna do or what I was gonna be at the end of, like whatever journey I was on, and for culinary school, I'm like, no, you know what?
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: I'm gonna be present. I'm going to squeeze as much opportunity. of every minute that I have in culinary school, I volunteered for all kinds of stuff. I stayed late. I got there early. I was older than everybody at that time, so I was, you know, in my early thirties by then when I got to culinary school.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: So I actually related better to my chef instructors
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Sure. Yeah.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: adults then. The other students that were coming in that [00:18:00] were close to 17 or 19 or 22 years old, um, and they didn't know what they wanted. And so I had a clearer vision of like how to approach this new chapter of my life and this new career path that I was about to begin.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: And. I just, I remember saying to people, I'm going to take the opportunity when it presents itself at the end of the journey. So I exposed myself to everything I could. Food styling, wedding cake design. Um.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Wow.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: Food, photography, catering, restaurant work. I mean, I did everything and anything I could get my hands on just to get that experience.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: Is this something that I could find myself doing? And you know, when I entered culinary school, I thought, well, the only jobs that are actually available are cooks, right? Or chefs in restaurants or hotels or resorts or cruise ships. There are people who run bed and breakfast, people
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Mm-hmm.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: people who run hotels, people who run bakeries. [00:19:00] Caterers, private chefs, but like there's gotta be something else, right? And like, oh, did we forget to mention that? In the late nineties, early two thousands, that's when the food network kind of came
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Sure. Yeah.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: Everybody started to understand like how food is such an integral part of their day, and it's such an integral part of entertainment. And so, know, I was like, well, maybe there's something there. So I tried out for so many other things, um, but didn't realize that it was teaching. That really gave me the satisfaction and the fulfillment and, and the feeling like. I can take this and I can go with this forever.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Yeah.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: have to eat, people have to learn how to eat and feed themselves.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Yeah. And so, so what what I, what I think is really interesting, you know, that you, uh, you were testing and iterating everything, right? By learning, right? And knowing, okay, maybe not that I'm gonna lean into these other things here. Right? And, um, it's really, uh, almost like [00:20:00] bringing. What you did as a, uh, campaign manager, right?
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: A political consultant, the organizational management into your own journey, right? You, you were developing the skills, um, and you were definitely, uh, pleasantly assertive with yourself in, in, uh, in that, in that part of the journey. And so, so you, you, you got out and then you became a teacher
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: I
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: of cooking.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: I started out working in a cooking school local here in in my town, and, um. You know, I was doing that part-time and I honestly felt, again, so imposter syndrome crept in a little bit. 'cause I'm
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: sure.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: sure I have a culinary arts degree. You know, I got this piece of paper that says I, I did it. Um, but who the hell am I? Right?
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Yeah.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: why would anybody take a cooking class from me when. I have like absolutely no body of work to support what I learned except for what I learned in school. So I [00:21:00] had to, I forced myself to work in restaurants. I forced myself to work as a pastry chef and a bakery. I forced myself to continue catering and keep working, um, to give me that kind of. Work experience, credibility. 'cause back then, you know, the only chefs, and again, because of the food network, the only chefs that people would listen to or take lessons from, you know, had established themselves with really prominent restaurant careers or restaurant experience. So I felt, well, I, I need more restaurant experience.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: And so I did, I worked in
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Right
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: um, grueling work.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: street cred.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: Exactly that's what it was.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Yeah.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: was working still part-time in the cooking school, really as an assistant at that time. I really wasn't an instructor yet. Um, but I was happy to work and watch and learn from the guest chef instructors that were coming in, the staff chef, instructors of the school where I worked. Um, you know, some of them to this day are still mentors of mine [00:22:00] and, you know. Again, just trying something out. I answered, um, a job posting for a parks and rec job, like Parks and Rec, um, here in the Bay Area. They were looking for a part-time chef instructor to run classes for, you know, their parks and rec leisure guide.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: And I'm like, yeah, I could totally do that. 'cause that's like super small.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Yeah. Test and iterate. Right?
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: an iteration, right? I am like, okay, we're gonna just do a class on homemade focaccia one day, and then we're gonna do a class on stir frying the next day and we're gonna make
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Yeah. That's great.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: fun. So I did that, uh, on and off on the side until, you know, I really felt like I knew how to organize a class.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: I knew how to promote the class and write the descriptive copy for the catalog and.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Gotta have a good hook, right?
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: out. Yeah, figure out,
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Mm-hmm.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: sells. You know, maybe handmade chocolates sell really great in February, but they don't sell at all, at all in August. Nobody cares about making handmade [00:23:00] chocolates in August. Well, what does sell in August?
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: I had to like really think about that, you know? Um, and then it was just really developing recipes, figuring out where the teaching points were within the recipe, because yeah, you can write a recipe and you can cook with people, but they're here for a lesson. They're here to
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Mm-hmm.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: So what is one.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: Or two things they can take away from cooking with me in this class. Um, so I really had to think about how people learn. better at hands-on learning or watching or
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Yeah.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: Um, so I had to really think about all of those things. And then I didn't realize way back then, I was actually adopting the ADDIE model for, uh, instructional design.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: I didn't know that that was even a thing. But back then that's what I was doing. I was really paying
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Mm-hmm.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: and then went back to the cooking school and said, [00:24:00] Hey listen, you know, I'm really great as an assistant, but let me just tell you like I'm not here to be an assistant like I wanna teach. I know I can do this. Just give me something to teach. And so they gave me like a couple of like one-off classes, like knife skills, I think was what they
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Oh yeah. So, so I, I, I, I love how you brought your, your emotional intelligence and that, um, that ability to connect with your students and understand what, what's their learning style, um, really helped you get over your own imposter syndrome, right? So, you know, just being able to, to put a process in place based on eq.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: I love it. I love it. And so, so then you got into the, the culinary school. You were teaching knife skills.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: Teaching knife skills, it's all hands on. I had to really apply geometry,
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Yeah. Especially cut. Cutting an onion. Cutting an onion, right.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: know,
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: This,
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: with angles and then,
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: yeah.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: just [00:25:00] the knife. And then I had to apply physics, which is the motion of the knife. I had to apply chemistry, which is why the onion makes you cry and how you could keep the onion from making you cry.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: Like, here's a little simple practice, like, also like how do you get that garlic stink off your fingers? Like, you
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Wow.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: that was chemistry.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: This is another show. We, we got another show here.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: We could totally do another show. We could do a totally nice skills class. But, uh, I had to think about like every aspect of science, every aspect of life, art, anthropology,
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: I love it.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: cultures,
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Yeah.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: some people cut things differently for their recipes. And so I really started to understand that teaching people how to cook. Was really threaded through Religion, history, culture,
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: All of these skills,
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: all the
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: of these skills.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: everything. And I really started to understand that. [00:26:00] The possibility for teaching and the possibility for people learning about things.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: It's limitless. It is endless, and I really enjoyed that part. And the knife skills class were, they were just so much fun and people really did get it at the end. And I'm like, start off
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Mm-hmm.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: learning dance steps, right? You start off really slow before you can get your speed up. Um, you still have to practice your steps and yeah, it was, it was great and
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: It's like,
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: enjoyed that time learning, learning how to teach.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: it's like learning how to teach, right? It's, you know, it's, uh, um, how, how's the saying go, you know, be brave enough to suck at something new. Right? So, um, that's so great and, uh, so you made the move from politics. To food. So did you feel that it was a big risk, that like you were leaving something you had done for a decade?
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Like did you feel that there was, um, I mean you said you had [00:27:00] imposter syndrome, but did you feel that there was risk there?
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: I felt there was a huge risk. Um, again, you know, I knew that I was leaving. Political consulting, and I knew that I was never gonna go back to it. So if this cooking thing wasn't gonna work out, what the hell was I gonna do next?
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: A big leap of faith,
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: Right? And I just said, all right, Terri, you can't fail, by the way, you have a culinary arts degree.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: You have all of this restaurant and bakery experience.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: right?
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: worked and you've dabbled in catering and private chefing and all of those other different outlets.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Mm-hmm.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: If you fail at teaching, you can still go and get a
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Right. Right.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: somewhere, right? Like if my husband were to unfortunately get laid off or fired or something happened to him and we had to move out of the area, I could always get a job.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Right.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: That's really how I felt. I felt that, you know, the culinary school was also a fallback safety net plan B, [00:28:00] like
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Yeah.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: work anywhere. I'll
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Right,
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: job for line cook anywhere, and I'll just do it.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: right, right. And so, so, um, when you, when you know, when you were going through your, your journey, how, um, how important was networking. For, you know, for your career.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: I felt that it was really important and. still in touch with a lot of the chefs that I met through the cooking school where I worked. Um, you know, if they were coming from a cookbook tour, you know, coming to do a class promoting their cookbook, I would buy the cookbook. I would ask them to sign it. A lot of these cookbooks are signed, so I can't ever get rid of them. Um, and I would, you know, ask them, and, you know, LinkedIn didn't actually exist back
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Dope.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: was, uh, again, mid. Early two thousands,
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Not yet.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: So nothing really existed yet. And I would just say, Hey, you know, what's your email address? Can I reach out to you? And know, just keep in touch. And yeah. And then, you know, when [00:29:00] LinkedIn happened, then you have to like search through everybody and oh my God, I remember this person.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: Oh my
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Yeah.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: the connection request. Hey, a while back at the Cooking School, I assisted you in this class. Hope you remember me. Hope we can stay connected. Really
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Yeah.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: What you've done since we've last worked together, blah, blah. So, you know, it was, networking is really important. Um, and I honestly feel that a lot of the different jobs I've had since culinary school. They were actually given to me. They were, I was, it wasn't really something that I would apply for. Of course, I would make a resume, send in the resume. Of course, I would do a practical interview and things like that, but for the most part, I never felt like I had to. and, and I feel very pro privileged, and I'm grateful for this.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: I never felt like I had to really enter, you know, the job search pool and just be one of those faceless, nameless thousands of the resumes that just get stacked up and they never even get looked at. [00:30:00] Like cold calling is, I guess that's what you call it. Like I, I just am very fortunate I've never had to do much of that.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Blindly applying, you know, is, uh, online especially, right? It's, um, it is such a, what we call a waste of time. We, we actually call it the opium of action. So you feel like you're doing something by hitting the apply button. But you're really not getting anywhere. And the way you approached it, you know, that you built up your network over time so that when you were interested in something, you already knew somebody that could get you in there.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Right. I think that is, uh, exactly, you know, the way to do it. Um, and being a recruiter, you know, I, I teach networking. And, and being a career coach, I teach networking as the main way to really get to the companies and the jobs that you want. And so, uh, along those same lines, you mentioned that a lot of these chefs that you've interacted with over the years, they've also [00:31:00] been mentors to you.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: How important was that for you?
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: I think that that was tremendously important, Dan. I think I wouldn't be here today without a lot of people giving me insights and just giving me unsolicited advice and, you know, hey, it's not time for you to do that yet. You know? Um, maybe continue to assist in some classes and continue to keep your ears and eyes open during the classes that you're assisting.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: You're not ready yet, you know, or, um. What was the one big lesson? Oh, I bit off way more than I could choose, so I, I begged, I begged, begged, begged to be given a class to teach and they were like, okay, yeah, you can have this. Baking class. 'cause nobody really wanted to do the baking classes. I'm like, oh, I can do it.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: I can do it. And I, I bit off way more than I could chew. Um, the class ran over. People just weren't understanding. The cakes didn't turn out the way I had envisioned them to turn [00:32:00] out. People were disappointed 'cause I didn't meet their expectations. It was, it was a wreck. Um, and you know, they were like, yep, that's exactly. We knew exactly what was going to happen and we just needed you to understand and learn from this opportunity. I was just so hurt and crushed, of course, at the moment. But, you know, uh, a few months go by and I think about that and like, what an incredible opportunity for them to actually like, give me permission to fail.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Yeah. Right. Uh, I mean.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: pay in front of paying customers.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Fa failing is one of the best ways to learn. Right. And, uh, you know, stumbling. Right? And did anybody get hurt? Not really. Right? And so your ego may have been hurt in the moment, but uh, you were able to learn from it and actually continue to learn and grow and pivot, right? So I I love that.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Um, and so you, you, you've been such a great example for, you know, someone that had to move. [00:33:00] Out of polls for, for your own sanity. Right. And so, um, uh, and you did feel kind of stuck there too. And so what, what advice would you have for people that really feel stuck in their job or maybe they're in an industry that's kind of shrinking.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: I would say take you know about the job that you're doing that really gives you that wonderful feeling of confidence. Remember that, like remember how that feels when you're doing something that only you can do and you're the best at that in your job. Whatever that is, take that feeling and know that that feeling can carry you to the next thing. So even if it doesn't feel like it's the right job for you, or you don't feel like you have enough experience in this new direction that you're taking. Just remember you rock in [00:34:00] this other area and, and just harness that feeling and apply that feeling to this new thing that you're learning.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: I love it.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: it does come through.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: It really does come through. It shows through with your posture,
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Yeah.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: expressions,
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Yeah.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: language.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Yeah.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: gives you the confidence to try something new. And, and, you know, and I'll, I'll just say I am not one person that's going to be to try new things. I'm not somebody that's afraid of rejection. Like no is the worst, right? It is the worst. But does it hurt me in any way? Do I feel like I'm worthless because somebody said no to me? Like, no. That just means this person said no,
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: That's right.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: down the road. The next person might not say no.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Yeah.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: and that's something that I attribute, something that my mom said to me once she, as a child, when I was like 10 growing up in New York, she didn't want me just sitting home. As a latchkey kid, you know, just getting myself into trouble. So she signed me up for all kinds of like afterschool things. There was painting, there was Irish [00:35:00] step dancing lessons there. Piano.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Wow.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: just weird things that like, you know, it's like it is there a class? Is it after three o'clock? But, and it, it dismisses before five 30. She's like, signed me up and tennis and swimming and I think she signed me up for calligraphy and I like, mom, why am I, because she actually said, I want you to be exposed to a lot of things. I don't want you to grow up to be a timid, shy. Young lady afraid of the world. I want you to be poised and I want you to understand that you try something and if it doesn't work out, you're still, you're still you at the end of the process.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: Like
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Such great advice.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: destroy you,
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Thanks. Yeah.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: you can say, ah, I know how to serve in tennis now. Maybe you
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Uh,
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: tennis ever, but at least if somebody handed you a racket in a ball, you could serve the ball,
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: right.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: Like yes. So it gave me the confidence and the poise, and [00:36:00] it made me less afraid of failure and rejection.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: I love it. I love it. And, and that's one of the things that we teach, uh, in our school future proof view is everybody's got skills that, that you can transfer to another job, another industry, right? You just have to translate those skills for. The, the target industry or that target company is looking for.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: And so we really encourage people to, you know, think about that passion, you know, what makes them feel awesome. Well just translate that skill into that future state. And so, uh, I, I love, I love that, uh, uh, about you and, um, you know, where you've gone and you've, uh, you've also expanded your skillset. You are now doing lots of cool things, not just, uh, working at one of the premier, uh, food companies in the world.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Um, Bon Appetit, um, but also you [00:37:00] do voiceovers, which is incredible.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: Thank you. Yes. Um, voiceovers was also a side gig. I thought during campaigns, you know, in between the gigs, I thought I'd maybe make some money doing some voiceover. Why not? You know, I lived in San Francisco. There were a lot of. Recording studios and casting offices and offices that needed voiceover. So the internet was just starting and you know, we could actually start hearing some audio files with the websites that we were visiting.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: And if you remember, you know, a OL one, the second you sign on it would say Welcome. And if you had an email, you've got mail. And I'm like, I could totally do that. So I started to dabble in voiceover, even back then, um, in the early two thousands, well,
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Incredible.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: I hadn't
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Yeah.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: gone to culinary school yet, so late nineties
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Incredible.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: I was too broke to actually put together a [00:38:00] voiceover demo. I was too broke to hire. Voiceover coach. Um, and again, because I had all that time on my hands in between gigs, I could go to auditions and I could go to casting offices. Um, back then you physically had to go in. Um, but if you fast forward to where we are now in 2025, I would have to say since the pandemic, um, cost for equipment has. Been a lot more reasonable. And of course, the internet and all of the infrastructure within the internet now, so people can actually record from home. And I just thought, Hey, remember I really enjoyed voiceover back then, and I, and I just couldn't make it. I wasn't a, a, I wasn't serious enough. B, I just wasn't confident enough. and CI just didn't have enough life experience to breathe into copy and roles. So I thought, I can do this now. I can buy a mic, I can buy some headphones. I have a laptop. I can teach myself, [00:39:00] you know, the software to a, to edit the audio files. And I really enjoyed audio books. So when I was traveling for my campaigns back then, there was a lot of like books on tape I would listen to.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: Um, and now, you know, with Audible being the. Biggest platform
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Yeah.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: content. You know, there's, there's a lot of, there's a lot of ways people can create audiobooks. And I got into that and I just thought I'd love to just keep doing this on the side. I mean, I love reading books. My mom used to pay me $5 for every book I read, and I'd have to write a book report to prove that I actually read the book. Um, and
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Asian parenting.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: Yeah, exactly. Hello. And so, um, I've always loved books and so, you know, my mom really helped shape me who I am today, you know, and I just, I just thought, I'm getting a little older now. I'm towards the later half of [00:40:00] my career. What's next for me? What am I gonna do next? You know, my husband has supported me through. of the crazy, wacky jobs I've always wanted to do. Um, and you know, it'll be his time, it'll be his turn to say, Hey, I'm gonna retire at this age when this happens and this and this. And
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Yeah.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: he says he wants to move, right? So I don't wanna go somewhere and have to reinvent myself again in the culinary industry.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: So I thought. Maybe if I establish a freelance voiceover career
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Yeah.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: an audiobook narrator, if I can do the networking and all the work to launch that as a freelance business, now I can give myself a three-year plan and a five-year plan. By the time Paul's ready to figure out what he wants to do next, maybe by then I, I'll have the ability to make that flip into doing this full time at some point.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: So I'm doing it now because you know, it has to be a going concern. When that
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Sure.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: in the future. So
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Sure.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: do the work now,
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Yeah. [00:41:00] Yeah.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: great. Um, I started really getting into this very seriously in the last two years. I gave myself a three year plan and a five year plan. And so I have one year left on my three year plan and, um. I've checked most of the boxes and the goals that I set for those first three years. been great. It's been,
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: It is so fun
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: a wonderful learning journey. Again, learning again,
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: learning,
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: school,
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: right?
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: take lessons, you have to get a coach,
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Yeah.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: the things
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: And, uh, and being brave enough to suck at something new. Right? So, so, uh, I I want to, I wanna do a quick plug for your books here. I have all four books here. So we're gonna start off with Easy Walk Cookbook by Terri Terri. We have,
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: by my mentor, chef Mia Chambers. Yep.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: one of your mentors. Amazing, awesome. We have dumplings for beginners.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: We love that.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: that during the pandemic when people were desperate for comfort food.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: We have the [00:42:00] big 10 fish and seafood. I love it.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: cookbook all about sustainable seafood. Yep.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: I love it. And we've got essential seafood. Cook
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: cookbook, all of the additional classic seafood recipes that didn't make it into the first book.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: all
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: Love.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: This is great. So I'm so excited to have these in my possession now and maybe I will start building my wall of books behind me. But, uh, so excited about these. Uh, you can find all of them on right? Anywhere you buy books, right? So.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: you buy books? Amazon, target, although we don't. Yeah. Target I guess, is, uh, Barnes and Noble. Um, any, anywhere you can buy a cookbook, it's there.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: That's great. So
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: Yeah.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: you have it from the, uh, culinary instructor herself. All, all of these books are available. So, uh, so what, what's one of your favorite things to make?
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: Oh gosh,
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Put you on [00:43:00] the spot there.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: Um,
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: I.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: I love pizza. I think, uh, coming from New York, pizza's a big, big thing in my life. Um, I do a really good pizza. I, I don't do it all that often 'cause the dough that I need, you know, the dough that I use usually takes a few hours to proof
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Oh, okay.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: it to be perfect. And my busy life, I don't have two hours anymore, so I have to plan like, oh, this weekend we're gonna do pizza.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: So, um, pizza I think is my favorite
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Pizza's great. That's awesome. I, I love making pizza though. I, I hack it with the Trader Joe's dough. Um, so, uh, I just find it's consistent. At least I know what, what's coming out of the oven, right? And if I cook at a certain temp.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: with pizza dough. It's so good.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Yeah. I, I, I love making pizza too. So, um, now you've gone to your, you're bon appetit, right? And you've been there for, for a bit now. And did [00:44:00] you also get that through your networking efforts?
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: I would say the. The position that I have now at BA through marketing efforts, uh, coming into ba It was sort of a recruiter actually approached me on
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Okay.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: It was a cold email.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Wow. Alright.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: was. Managing a cooking school full-time for a retail company. And, uh, again, I was burning out because I don't do anything just 100%.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: I do it 178%. and so it would've been five years with that retail company and I was. I, I still loved the teaching element, but there were certain elements where I just wasn't having a good work life balance anymore. Um, and I was really thinking about what's next? And, and it was a moment where I was really doubting, you know, is there a future in teaching, [00:45:00] cooking anymore for me? What's next? Because, you know, I was looking out for all of the teaching opportunities and there really wasn't. As many anymore. And so I'm like, oh gosh, what's next? And so I was really having this existential crisis. Um, and this was in 2018, flipping into 2019, and that's when the publishers reached out for the Big 10 Fish and Seafood cookbook.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: They were like, Hey. We'd love to collaborate with you on a cookbook. And I'm like, how did this just drop out of the sky? And again, um, you know, the editor who contact me contacted me had actually just done a Google search on chef instructors in the Bay Area, and she found my website and she found my
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: How funny.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: And so I'm like, is this legit? And like I did a lot of backend research to make sure that this was legitimate um. Was great. And so I thought this was the perfect time for me to step away from my full-time job to [00:46:00] say, Hey, I've just received an offer to write a cookbook. I need to devote all of my time to this.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Mm-hmm.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: thank you very much, but I need to. And so I thought that was a really great exit plan for me.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Mm-hmm.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: and at the exact same time I received the cookbook author offer. I got an, I got a cold email on LinkedIn from a recruiter and he, he was like, Hey, saw your LinkedIn profile and really impressed with your experience. Um. Would you have any interest in, uh, working in a role here? Um, we are, you know, managed food service, corporate dining company, but the role that I'm looking to recruit for is to run the food service for the childcare program that we have here on campus. And I don't have kids, I don't. I don't know. The first thing about cooking for children, I think my nieces and ne, my nieces weren't even born yet, and my nephew was certainly like just a toddler. And like, I, I don't [00:47:00] know, but I thought, Hey, this corporate dining company, Bon Appetit, they're pretty big. Um, a lot of opportunities might, might come out of this, right? So at least I'll at least take the meeting.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Yeah, absolutely.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: And the rest is history.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Yeah.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: as they saw my resume, a lot of the people, a lot of the chefs on the interview panel recognized a lot of the chefs that I had listed as references.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: They
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Mm-hmm.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: where I had worked. They also were very appreciative that I, you know, use, um, certain, uh, productivity tools that I was very fluent and proficient in using, um, digital. Tools like Docs and Sheets and PowerPoint presentations
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Yeah,
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: um, a lot of people knew, a lot of people over there knew a lot of the people that I had known.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: It was like all mutual connections
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: it's the network.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: Yeah. so I would say yes, [00:48:00] then it, it is the networking, um, and just being in the industry for so long,
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Yeah.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: and doing so many different things in the industry for so long. So, yeah, I took the childcare role,
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: I.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: which was fantastic. We, we fed over 400 kids, um, every single day.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: Three meals a day, and it was a super tight, food allergen restrictive, uh,
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Food safety. Yeah.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: had to have for food safety. And I learned a lot about that. And again, the learnings that I got through being the executive chef of childcare, actually. Transitioned me into the role that I have now, which was really
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Okay.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: know, again, the pandemic as horrible as the pandemic was for many, many people on this planet. I have to say, I came out really good, beneficial things that happened to me because of the pandemic.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Yeah. And um, and also you've got more stuff to put on your already strong [00:49:00] LinkedIn profile, which got you both the writing gig as well as the gig with, uh, with your present company. Now, I, I think it's so great that you are comfortable with not just experimenting, but also talking about your journey.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Almost in real time, right? And so that's, I think that's such a great example of using content. And obviously you are a master at, uh, at producing content, both written and also the audio. So having all of that in your journey really shaped, you know, their, their search because they fell upon you. Right. And that's a, a lot of, you know what, I think a lot of what people really need to be comfortable with is talking about their journey.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: And whatever happened, that's what you did. Right? You owned it. Right? You gotta own it. Um, so I have a question about, uh, about all of the artistic work that you do from your cookbooks, your voiceover to [00:50:00] creating food or leading food service. Right? You know, is it important that your audience likes what you do?
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Is it important to you that you get that feedback?
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: Yes, I would have to say, uh, I crave feedback. I crave positive feedback. It is validation for me, um, that people like what I do, but also I have to say. okay too if they don't. Right?
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Right.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: I've been around, I've been on this planet long enough to know that it's, it's okay if people don't like what I do, it's okay if they don't like me. Um, there are plenty of other people that do. I like myself. I like what I'm doing. Again, um, I only do things that I like to do at this point in my life, and pretty happy with what, what's going on here. And if,
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: great.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: if it's not for somebody else, that's okay. It's not for them, it's for me.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Right? And, uh, I think that's a lesson that, uh, a lot of people can take away from today. You know, [00:51:00] it's, uh, if you get a no. It just might be a not now, right? Or it may lead to a referral to somebody that might be a maybe, right? And so that's, uh, such great, uh, great learnings today, Terri. Uh, it is so good to have you on our show.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Um, you know, it is, uh, we've learned so much today. I hope our Audi, I know our audience will take a lot from this, um, especially, uh, the, the different adventures you've had. Um, so, uh, every show, uh, I want to end every show with, uh, some speed round questions. You do not know what the questions are, right? So, uh, this is.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Um, totally off the cuff, and I want the first reaction. Are you ready? Are you ready? Okay. You have to have a last meal. What is it?
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: my last meal is the roast chicken from Zuni Cafe.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: [00:52:00] Awesome. Uh, what are you reading now?
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: I'm reading two books right now. One is, uh, for voiceover. It's called Audition by Michael Shirtliff, and it's all about how to get your head into the right space for auditioning successfully. And another book I'm reading, uh, was a free. Y little neighborhood library book, you know those little,
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Yeah.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: cabinets?
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: Um, I pulled one out, it's called Bad Blood by Linda Fairstein, and it was written several years ago. It's like a legal thriller.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Wow. Very cool. But I love that you're still adding your skills, right? So, you know, getting that audition mindset, I, I love it. Um, what is one TV show or movie that you've already seen that you could, that you wish you could watch? Like it's the first time?
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: I'll go with the TV show 'cause I think everybody knows. Star Wars is
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Yeah.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: that I wish I could see for the first time again, but TV show, it would be a series that came out in, I think [00:53:00] 2011 called Person of Interest
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Oh, okay.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: on location in New York City. Uh, I get very homesick, so I like to watch television shows that are shot on location in New York and not in a studio.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: That's great. Awesome. I love it. And uh, last question here. Favorite ice cream?
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: Pistachio
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: I love it. That is my favorite as well. I love it. Yeah. Oh, so Terri Terri, the author of multiple cookbooks, all of these cookbooks. Um, thank you so much for being a guest on
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: you
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: our show.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: conversation, Dan.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Yeah.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: Thanks for having me.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: What a great adventure you've had and, uh, wanna thank the audience for tuning in today.
dan-yu_1_07-03-2025_112518: Uh, we will be back with more guests on our podcast. This is, again, future proof use podcast f yourself, where we all want to talk about [00:54:00] how you can future proof yourself in your career and all of the wonderful things you're gonna do in the future. Have a great day, everybody. Thank you so much.
terri-dien--she-her-_1_07-03-2025_082518: Thanks.