Next week, I’m headed to New York for Cherry Bombe Magazine’s annual women in food conference, “Jubilee”. I went to my first Jubilee event last spring and I have to say - industry events in food are a far cry from the health tech conferences I used to attend. But when it came to these health tech conferences, it wasn’t the awkward interactions, cheesy dress code, long hours, make believe jargon I was sharing, or lack of real food that got me the most. It was the fact that I truly wasn’t needed there but always pressed to go. I started to see myself out of attending and I definitely got some side eyes, but doing something *that* mentally and physically exhausting for absolutely no reason just did not sit well with me.

Also…who wants somebody welcoming people at a booth that has absolutely zero understanding of why they’re there in the first place? Conference attendees can sniff out these types of “booth babes” (another term we love) a mile away - and unless you’re giving out a free fresh baked cookie, it can get ruthless. Kind of reminds me of when I was a hostess at Chili’s in highschool and they told me I didn’t smile enough when I greeted people. They moved me to be a To-Go girl (still didn’t smile enough), help out at the expo line (messed stuff up / didn’t smile) and ultimately I became a server and cocktail waitress. You can be a little salty in that job and it’s a’ok. Maybe that was an early sign that I didn’t have a future in trade shows!

Fast forward to my first Jubilee event, and I left with new friends, a stomach full of insanely tasty food from sponsors like Wegmans and Kerry Gold, and a ton of inspiration! This inspiration wasn’t limited to creativity around food, but also in leadership. It is so helpful to hear from women in business about how they succeeded in a world that makes every step 10x harder for them. I also love and appreciate being surrounded by people “like me” - aka people who want to do it all and don’t want to apologize for it. Shoot high, fail, and try all of the things. Not to mention, the women that fill the speaking agenda are always *such badasses*. This year we get to hear from Gloria Steinem (!!) and a number of other favorites, include Eden Grinshpan of Eden Eats. Freaking love her!

I had thought about taking Hej Hej on the road earlier this year, and decided that being in New York would be a perfect opportunity to give it a try. I mentioned this in my last post, but it was much harder to find a pop up location than I initially thought. Thanks to my friends at The Culinistas and a fellow private chef (shout out to Sydney Buck!), I’ll be slanging hot dogs and Swedish meatball subs at Lise & Vito in Brooklyn on April 13th from 4-9pm. Tell your friends!

While I’m still in the process of finalizing details on the next few locations in each city, I’ll be heading to Albuquerque + Sante Fe, NM, Los Angeles, CA, and Flagstaff, AZ before wrapping up at a favorite spot of mine back in the East Bay called Hammerling Wines. These next six weeks will be an experience, no doubt! Can’t wait to shake myself out of my current routine and meet some hot dog lovers.

Now, for the good, the bad, and the ugly this past week!

The Good

I’m booking out through October for various gigs (cooking classes, private cheffing, pop ups and events) and this hot dog tour is coming together, even if I’m building the ship while it’s sailing. Is that the saying? I’m notoriously bad at sayings.

The Bad

Taxes this time are going to be scary!

The Ugly

Trying to grow my social following so I can supplement my income with sponsored collaborations has felt impossible. One week I’ll get a number of new followers a day, and the next I lose 5 in one day. I’ve gotten my first round of rejections for a set of ten brands I reached out to about collaborations - it’s hard to convince people of your value to them when you only have 3k followers. Which, I am still very proud of! On to the next ten brands!

Hope you’re having a lovely Sunday, and thanks for reading - as always!

Amelia 🍓