This is A Personal Touch, a chance to check in with ordinary people making an extraordinary difference in the world. I’m Rebecca Cressman and today our guest is Kelsey Nixon from Kelsey’s Kitchen. Kelsey, thank you so much for joining us today.
Q: I first want to start out clarifying one thing. Is it true that you developed your passion for cooking, for being in the kitchen from your own Mom who made home cooked meals seven nights a week?
A: That’s absolutely true Rebecca. I was so privileged to grow up in a home where my Mom loved to cook. And she actually did make a home cooked meal, almost every single night of the week. And it was seeing her in the kitchen and loving the fact that she was making meals for her family, that I think really initially drew me in. It was never anything that she stressed about. It was something that she looked forward to. And I can remember as a kid, looking forward to when she would go out of town so we could buy a frozen dinner because it was just a rare occasion at our house. And now I can’t thank her enough for having such a wonderful and positive outlook on cooking, because it has brought me so much joy, especially in the past couple of years as I have started to head down this career path.
Q: Well interestingly enough, most young adults to begin a career, they go to college for a number of years, if they are fortunate to do that, and then they launch from there. You actually took a different path. While you were in college you began to launch what you saw was Kelsey’s Kitchen. At what point did you decide, okay I really think I want to be the person that says, cooking shouldn’t be stressful. Cooking can be easy and I see that all my roommates; I see a whole new generation of people who aren’t home cooking, and I’m going to solve that?
A: Well you know I went to college to be a broadcast journalism major. And that was the major I graduated in and I loved the program. But I knew right off the bat that I wasn’t interested in doing news. I really liked the lifestyle side of television and I have been a fan of the Food Network for years. And I thought, “That would be the best job in the entire world, being a cooking show host.” I knew that it wasn’t the type of job that you apply for online, but if I was going to actually pursue this, that I would have to create my own opportunities. I received some wonderful advice in college: That there is no better time in life to take advantage of opportunity than when you are a student. And that is exactly what I did, I took the advice to heart and I used students and I used the University. I used their equipment, I used the wonderful mentorship from Professors that I had there and decided to just create my own cooking show.
Q: And you did segment after segment. How many episodes did you actually create before you graduated?
A: We ended up doing one hundred episodes of “Fast Fun and Affordable” programming for college students. Which were three segments per episode, so about three hundred segments before I left.
Q: And when you say fast and affordable, you really did find that what you found was easy seemed overwhelming to the average twenty something.
A: Absolutely, and I don’t think it was the actual act of doing. I think it was the concept of it. And so many people just assumed that it was so much easier to drive through and get a burger from a place than actually preparing something at home. And some days it is; I’m human just like anybody else. But in all honesty a little bit of planning and you have got a meal that is much better for you. It’s a lot more affordable and there is a sense of pride that comes with preparing a meal on your own and learning to develop a repertoire of recipes and making it a skill in your life. I had such a good time. I was young and in college, finding these things I was interested in, making a meal, looking at it and being proud of it, and pleasing my roommates and my neighbors. I just fell in love with it. I am so pleased that so many young people are now starting to catch the wave. There are more young people enrolling in culinary school and there are more young people that are working in the restaurant industry. I just think it’s fabulous because it is one of those skills, that whether it is your career or your profession it is something that you can always use. You always have to eat. And if you have a family, you’re going to have to feed your family. For me it was kind of like killing two birds with one stone.
Q: I’m interested to, we talked about the generational divide. If you go up to individuals who are in their fifties and beyond, they understand that home cooking for them that was the norm, home cooking. And yet you do have this middle generation where fast food just took over the communities; took over society. And it almost seems like that became a lost art so that is what created that kind of divide. I don’t know I’m not confident in that area. If you wanted to help someone gain confidence in the kitchen, what would be your first tip?
A: Well my first tip would be; if you’re going to start cooking, cook something that you like. If you like desserts, than start with desserts. If you happen to love breakfast food than pick a few recipes that are meals that you enjoy. If you love cinnamon rolls, start off with cinnamon rolls. And from there all cooking is: is following directions. And when I grasped on to that concept a whole new world opened up to me. Really if you get a nice looking recipe that comes from a legitimate resource and you follow the directions point-by-point, then you are sure to have success. There is very little room for error. So for anyone who is, especially a young person who is looking to get more involved in cooking, first find a recipe that sounds and looks interesting and will taste great to you. From there follow the directions. Read the entire recipe through, start to finish before you get going. And I’m telling you that once you have finished that recipe and you are feeding it to, whether it’s your family or it’s your roommates or it’s your friends, there is a certain sense of pride that comes with that. And you feel great that you made someone’s day; you made your own day, and it’s something that you always have. It goes in your back pocket as, “I make great cinnamon rolls” or “I make great fish tacos.”
Q: Interestingly enough you said simple recipes. On your website you do have some that actually only require four different ingredients. So I don’t know if you can get anymore simple than that. I’m curious though Kelsey, your faith, your energy, your smile, your personality; not only did it sweep across the college campus, that and your skills in the kitchen opened up doors for you. You were able to work as a part of the Martha Stewart Living Show and then moved onto the Food Network. What was that like for you to find yourself on the Food Network that you had looked at and thought, “Someday I’d like my own show?” You found yourself in a reality show competition.
A: Absolutely. It was quite the story of setting a goal and being able to accomplish it. I still...I hope it is okay to say this, but I am so proud of myself for what I did. It was so hard. If I look back five years ago a freshman in college saying, “I’m going to be a cooking show host.” If I were to look five years down the road and see where I am at, I would be so proud of myself, because it’s not something; it is not a job that is just handed out. You really have to go out there and create opportunities for yourself. But the best part about this is that you can. It doesn’t matter what you want to be. It was something that I was passionate in. I knew that someone had to have those jobs. I knew that someone had to have those career paths and so I decided why not me? I have had such a great time creating this path of... trust me there have been ups and there have been downs and there have been positive responses from people and negative responses from people, but the opportunity to actually find myself on the Food Network was awesome. Because of that experience more doors are opening up and I hope that that cycle will just kind of continue to happen.
Q: Now you came very close to winning the reality show, Next Food Network Star but you did come home with some great prizes?
A: I came home with some great prizes. I was the fan’s favorite, thanks to all of those loyal voters out there, and won a brand new kitchen that is wonderful. In addition I have continued to work with Food Network and I have some projects coming up here in the near future where I am still attached to the brand and doing work with them and couldn’t be happier about it.
Q: Well I am curious too, you know reality shows have their positives and their negatives and sometimes that conflict is what’s really played out on the screen and it is magnified to draw the audience in. I am wondering now when you step back, it’s been a few months since the show actually was on the air and week by week we would watch to see how you were doing, when you reflect back now, did you learn much more than how to be a personality on T.V. from the experience?
A: You know who I learned the most from was the people that I was competing against believe it or not. I decided to do the show because I had seen the show and it is a family friendly show. It is a G-rated program and I felt good about it. Reality program does kind of have a tendency to pull the drama out of things. I felt really good about this show and I had such a wonderful experience surrounding myself by those nine other contestants that almost all of them, if not all of them, had way more experience than me in the industry. And just being surrounded by them, I learned so much about what I wanted to do in the future. Culinary skills in general, developing recipes, and it also made me appreciate where I came from. So this show was definitely such a positive step in what I think is the right direction of fulfilling the ultimate dream of having my own cooking show on a network one day.
Q: Do you have a date for that? A timeline, because you are not quite yet even twenty-five, or are you?
A: That’s right; I am not quite twenty-five. I just turned twenty-four, so I don’t think I am going to set a timeline, because I would hate to disappoint myself by not accomplishing it. I have been blessed with a very proactive spirit in that I get up every day and I say, “What can I do to get one step closer?” And I have been so blessed and lucky that things have fallen into place these past couple of years and I am really excited for the future as each opportunity gets me one step closer to fulfilling that dream.
Q: I guess when I said timeline maybe I should have said, “Setting the kitchen timer,” and maybe that would have gone a little bit closer to home. Well Kelsey Nixon, congratulations on all of your success. It has been through the product of not only setting your goals, but a lot of hard work in and out of the kitchen and we congratulate you on that. And we will be watching you as you continue to pursue your dreams.
Thank you so much for joining us today.
Well thank you. I appreciate the opportunity.
And I’m Rebecca Cressman, and we want to thank you for joining us for this week’s edition of A Personal Touch. Be sure to check your email next Saturday to find out who else like Kelsey Nixon is making a difference in our world with a Personal Touch.
End of interview.
