Food Network Obsessed

Meiko Temple, Corporate America to Content Creator

Episode Summary

Food blogger Meiko Temple dishes on her shift from corporate America to content creator and the skills she had to massage to take her content to the next level.

Episode Notes

Food blogger Meiko Temple dishes on her shift from corporate America to content creator and the skills she had to massage to take her content to the next level. The Dallas resident discusses her thought process during recipe development, leaning in to what her friends need out of food. She talks about pulling inspiration from her grandmother who taught her how to cook in her San Diego kitchen at a young age. Meiko reflects on first meeting her husband on set and shares what it’s like sharing a kitchen as two chefs. She expresses how much they’ve learned from each other between sharing techniques and competing head to head at home. The Eat the Culture founder shares what inspired her to create the organization and how she hopes to further the amplification of black creators. Meiko reveals her future goals in the industry between creating her own cookbook and expanding Eat the Culture to an in-person conference.

Find episode transcripts here: https://food-network-obsessed.simplecast.com/episodes/meiko-temple-corporate-america-to-content-creator

Follow Food Network on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/foodnetwork

Follow Jaymee Sire on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jaymeesire

Follow Meiko Temple on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meikoandthedish

Follow Eat The Culture on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eattheculture

Learn More About Meiko and The Dish: https://meikoandthedish.com/

Learn More About Eat The Culture: https://eattheculture.com/

Learn More About Crack an Egg With: https://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/crack-an-egg-with

Episode Transcription

Jaymee Sire:

Hello. Hello and welcome to Food Network Obsessed. This is the podcast where we dish on all things food with your favorite chefs, food influencers, and Food Network stars. I'm your host, Jaymee Sire, and today we have a culinary content creator giving us all a lesson in the Art of the Career pivot and the inspiration behind her mouth watering recipes. She's a writer, a chef, photographer, and recipe developer behind the blog Meiko and The Dish. It's Meiko Temple. Meiko, welcome to the podcast. First things first, how are you beating the heat down in Dallas these days?

Meiko Temple:

Staying inside , ,

Jaymee Sire:

Ac on full blast, right?

Meiko Temple:

That part? Yeah. Yeah. So I, I was just asked that the other day about the heat. I'm like, yeah, I fortunately have a job where I can choose if I wanna go outside or not . So

Jaymee Sire:

So inside, inside for now. Yes. Well, I loved your Crack an Egg With episode because not only did you showcase a recipe that was inspired by your great-grandmother, gas house eggs, you also talked about your journey kind of learning to enjoy the process. How did your evolution from corporate America to content creator kind of teach you all that?

Meiko Temple:

Yeah. Well, when I left corporate America, I really thought I was gonna have an advantage on everyone else, Uhhuh, , you know, I had come come out with multiple degrees in marketing, business background, design background, and I thought I was just gonna hit the ground running and I wanted to grow fast . But what I learned very quickly is that building a community, like a really authentic community takes time. And so while I was eager to grow quickly, um, it didn't necessarily happen that way. And so I had to really, you know, even though I had these advantages and, and they were transferable, I still had to take time to learn one food blogging, which it is an industry of its own, but also just really learn to refine my voice, refine my cooking style, and have something to offer that was different for, you know, compared to everybody else out there. And so that, that, that took time. And so, you know, I had expectations, but, you know, reality kicked in

Jaymee Sire:

. Yeah. I think that that's A tale is old as time.

Meiko Temple:

Right? A tale is old as time.

Jaymee Sire:

Uh, one of the things that you, you talked about in that video that I really liked is, you know, just being real, being authentic and being, you know, not afraid to kind of show, you know, the mistakes, the bloopers. What are some like real life bloopers that you can share on any given day when you're working?

Meiko Temple:

Oh gosh. Food bloggers will relate the art of getting the shot . So before I, I, I have like a little mini studio in my house now, but before that, you know, climbing on table , I've contorted my body in all of the ways, burnt myself, trying to get the end process while it's bubbling up, you know? Yeah. Those are the things that you're just trying to get. 'cause you want, for me, vis you know, being visually appealing is so very important and it's important in food anyway 'cause we eat with our eyes. So, you know, just trying to get that perfect shot and then, you know, working with your phone and it dropping in batteries just like . It's a, it's a wonder that my phone still works, but yeah. Tr the art of the shot is like constantly delivering bloopers.

Jaymee Sire:

Yeah, no, I, I completely agree. I, I had a food blog for many years and it was, I, I feel like winter was always hard too. It was like, oh, I have less light to work with .

Meiko Temple:

Yeah, you get it done, you quickly learn that artificial light is your friend. Yeah. So ,

Jaymee Sire:

Yeah. So that artificial light is, you know, gone at 4:30. It's a little bit tougher, but no, I can, I can definitely relate. What were some of like the more unexpected parts while you were making that career pivot?

Meiko Temple:

I think it was unexpected. One, I, I talked a little bit about the time it would take to kind of to grow my brand, but then it was also the unexpected how many hats you have to wear to be successful. I think when you're in a specialty, particularly within the corporate space, like you're a subject matter expert, this is what they need you for, and you have a cross-functional team of everybody else who are doing all the other things. Uhhuh . But as a food blogger, you're the recipe developer, you're the photographer, you're the on-air talent, you're the videographer, right? Producer , you're the producer, you're the, you're, you're the accountant, you're the manager, you're the social media, you're the social media, you're, you're all the things.

Jaymee Sire:

Literally everything.

Meiko Temple:

Yeah. And I think I was constantly like, gosh, I'm in a simulation of how to balance all these things all the time. I think, you know, as you go through the hills and valleys, you finally start to get a rhythm or you realize what's important and what makes the most impact, but it takes time to get there. Mm-hmm. ,

Jaymee Sire:

Uh, you know, like speaking of which I, I look at your grid, your, your food photography is beautiful. Was that a talent that you had previously or was that something you kind of had to develop as you went along?

Meiko Temple:

Well, I guess you didn't go far back enough , because it was definitely a talent that I had to develop. I did have some experience like with videography, um, and design, but not with photography. And I knew that that was like a weakness of mine. So very early on, I invested in the equipment to make sure and the courses, but even after you take the courses, it doesn't click. Like you still have to work with the equipment and learn lighting and all these different term terminology. So yeah, it wasn't something that I walked into the space with, but like, I feel like the common thing I'm talking about is time . Yeah. Reps, like giving reps, right? Yes. Reps. Yes. Absolutely. And that really is what helped.

Jaymee Sire:

Were there any other, like, additional skills that you had to learn as well to kind of elevate that co content and take it to the next level?

Meiko Temple:

I think comfort in front of the camera. I think that's super important, particularly now when video is so, so very important. You really have to de develop some sort of comfort with, you know, one feeling silly that you maybe are talking to , , an inanimate object, hoping that someone else is on the other line or on the other end of it watching. Um, but I would say that, and then also, um, ss e o and that's one that's like, like, I don't know if a lot of people outside of this, the food space really understand, like, it, it, it really can make you or break you understanding kind of the analytical aspects of this particular work. I, it's really hard to grow without understanding some of the, the more , methodical things behind. Yeah. What helps you grow on the web.

Jaymee Sire:

Yeah. I What are some of those things that you've learned? 'cause I, you know, I can think of like a, a couple of things as well, like yeah. That I had never really thought of before. Like, making sure that the recipe is in like h recipe like format and all this crazy stuff that you didn't even think, like you would have to know, like

Meiko Temple:

You're absolutely right. Thinking about the layout and the flow. Like you go on and you're like, oh, I'm just telling a story. No, you're not

Jaymee Sire:

,

Meiko Temple:

You're telling a story, but it also has to be organized in a certain way. You have to think about what, what you give a heading to. You have to think about what words you use in the heading. You have to think about how you summarize the dish to attract people. You have to think about the overall title of the recipe. What's, you know, you, there's a hundred of Southern Mac and cheeses, like what are you gonna say about yours and your heading? And just five words that really stand out and make someone wants to click on your particular page. Right? So you just have to be much more strategic, particularly when it comes to those word.

Jaymee Sire:

Mm-hmm. . No, for sure. How have you found, like working for yourself, you know, compared to what your career was previously? And is it more rewarding even though it is in a lot of ways more work as well?

Meiko Temple:

Yes. Uh, well, so I have a lot of admiration for my time and for my peers who are in the corporate space, I feel like I learn so very much. But what I do have now that I didn't have before is ownership of my time. And so I, one thing is like, I think from a very early on, I always knew I wanted to be entrepreneur. I just didn't know what it, what it may look like. And so to be able to be building a legacy that could potentially something that I leave for my children is something that I'm super excited about. But then also, like we talked about, like if I don't wanna go out in this heat, if I don't wanna drive to an office, or a studio, like I can choose to work at home and, you know, I would not say I'm working less at all. As a matter of fact, I think I'm working a ton more, but I can choose to front load, you know, or, or back load the work as I please. And that freedom is something that I really appreciate.

Jaymee Sire:

How did you, you know, hone in on your personal style, your voice when it comes to recipe development? Because like you said, there's, you know, the, the space is so saturated, like how do you find your own personal voice and make sure it stands out among the rest?

Meiko Temple:

I think I might have talked about this during the gas or the gas or the egg, or the gas house eggs. There we go. The gas house egg segment. But it took time for me because I tried a, a, a couple of different avenues or angles, and then I just wanted to do what felt like it flowed naturally. Like I wasn't really working hard to do. And that was like thinking about my friends and what they needed. I didn't want a voice that was so far from who I am that I didn't, that it didn't feel relatable. And so I thought about like my friends who are still in corporate America, who were raised by really strong women who were also in the workforce, who may have been not as focused on the domestic side of things, but still like they're, so, they, they, they're striving for to be good at everything, right? And so they need re a reliable resource who they can turn to when they do find themselves in the kitchen, someone that, that one that they trust, they feel like the, the, the flavors are gonna be on point and that, you know, we're gonna take into account some modern conveniences. And so those are the things that I wanted to make sure that I delivered upon, was thinking about what my friends need and how I could develop recipes that kind of spoke to those childhood comfort food memories, but also kind of incorporated some of the modern conveniences,

Jaymee Sire:

You know? Who was that person for you, I guess? Like who had the most significant Im impact and influence on what you grew up eating and cooking and what you're creating today?

Meiko Temple:

Well, I have to say my husband is one of them because I would not ever live this down . He's a true southern boy from New Orleans. And so, and he's classically trained, so he's taught me a lot about, about the food that I grew up eating and, and, and understanding identity and where it comes from. Mm-hmm. . But then also I just, my grandmothers and I have such fond food memories from like all of my grandmothers and how, how good they cooked it. My mom was a microwave queen, . So, so it didn't necessarily come from her, but if I go a generation back, like my grandmothers were the one who I remember being in the kitchen, my, one of my grandmothers, like, I remember her cooking in her wheelchair, like making feasts like it was, and, and granted like she, I was a child, but it was just so impactful seeing like her making dough from scratch and doing multiple dishes and just like putting all her heart and soul into food. And that's kind of how, that's the same kind of lens that I take on as I prepare recipes as well.

Jaymee Sire:

When you think back to that time, like what, what are some of the, you know, those memories that really stick with you as it relates to, you know, ingredients or dishes? Like we know the gas house eggs were the first thing that you learned to cook. What, what are some of those other food memories that are just really like, ingrained in your head that you, you look up back on with fondness?

Meiko Temple:

Oh my gosh. I actually just rewrote a blog post about this. It's peach cobbler from my grandma Jesse, the one who I just talked about who cooked in a wheelchair. So I, uh, was born in Kansas City, Missouri and moved to San Diego when I was about seven years old. And my grandma Jesse, is the one who sent for me to come out to San Diego. And I remember my first year, 1989 in her kitchen for Thanksgiving. And she allowed me to kind of help her in the kitchen. I thought I was helping , but really I was just soaking everything up. And I remember her in her wheelchair, like making homemade pie dough. Wow. And, and, and, and, and it's so interesting because I don't know if, like most people, I don't know outside of the black community, how many folks actually eat peach cobbler with pie crust versus a biscuit. But you know, that was the way that I learned how to make peach cobbler. And I will never make it, you know, I'll never say another way is better How about that?

Jaymee Sire:

I won't. But that's your way that,

Meiko Temple:

That is, that is my way. And she made the D for scratch and she allowed me to help her cut it. And just, I just don't think I had ever seen something from scratch in that way. Mm-hmm. And see how food comes together. Like a, a lot of the things that we ate before that were like processed things off of the store, you know, shelf mm-hmm. . And there's nothing wrong with that, but there is just something about homemade and those moments when you can incorporate that, they just feel so, just so much more special. And that's why I try to take a homemade or semi-homemade approach to a lot of the dishes that I have on my blog.

Jaymee Sire:

That sounds really special. And I'm obsessed with stone fruits right now, so I'll have to check that out too. When we come back, Meiko tells the story of meeting her husband on a food production and later explains her vision for her organization, eat the culture. You mentioned your husband, um, he is actually a Chopped champion as well. He's from New Orleans. How did the two of you meet? He

Meiko Temple:

Is, as a matter of fact, he took his chopped earnings to buy me our wedding ring.

Jaymee Sire:

Oh wow. Well, even better .

Meiko Temple:

Yes. So we appreciate Chopped in this household. Okay. No, we met on a food production. So we were both on air talent and I had come in the day ahead, finished up my set, but I was staying an extra day was in Atlanta. And because I was there an extra day, I was like, oh, I'll help out. And I was assigned a sous chef and he was, he fell in love immediately, .

Jaymee Sire:

Of course he did. Of course he did.

Meiko Temple:

He hasn't let me out his sight since. No, but he's amazing. He is so very talented. He's also a creator. So it's just nice to have that. We both are in the same household kind of doing similar things.

Jaymee Sire:

Who made the first move?

Meiko Temple:

Oh, him, . Oh, okay. So that's a story within itself. So we were, all of the talent we're going out for dinner and he strategically sat next to me in the backseat. And no, like, he's just a bold guy. So he reached over and grabs my hand and I'm like,

Jaymee Sire:

Oh, we're

Meiko Temple:

Not even, we're not even hold on. Like, we haven't even had a conversation. And I looked at him like, oh my gosh, like, who do you think you are? And he whispers 'cause he didn't want the rest of the people to hear, do you want me to stop? And I'm like, oh, no, .

Jaymee Sire:

You’re like, no, I don't. No. So who are you?

Meiko Temple:

Who are you? Yes, exactly. And it was kind of like, yeah, he was just bold. He knew what he wanted and I was, I was hooked too.

Jaymee Sire:

Uh, so as they say, the rest is history. Huh? The

Meiko Temple:

Rest is history. .

Jaymee Sire:

Um, you, you describe him as your kitchen partner in crime. So how, how do you work together these days? You know, after meeting on set, you know, back in the day

Meiko Temple:

When I tell you it's been a journey, uh, it, it ha and I think people automatically assume, oh, you guys both love to cook. You're in there like, you know, you know, just like two love birds. And it was not that way. He's classically trained. He's more methodical, right? More about technique. And he is like, you know, doing things certain and he's so efficient, he just gets in and gets out. Whereas I'm very much a typical home cook. I'm cutting the wrong way. I am holding the knife the wrong way. , uh, he goes in with kitchen vision and he knows like, I'm starting here and I'm ending here. And I'm just like, I'm just like kind of flowing. So our our styles really clash in the beginning. Like, we would get in full blown fights. Like we just can't cook together. , um, it just can't work. But I think over time we've been together for seven years now. We've learned to appreciate the, the strengths that we both have and we've learned to kind of lean into those. He still comes in and tries to correct me on my knife skills, but

Ultimately we've definitely found a way to kind of merge our strengths to make the most impact for both of our businesses.

Jaymee Sire:

What do you think is like the biggest thing that you've learned from him and what's the biggest thing that you've taught him? .

Meiko Temple:

Ooh. So that whole concept of kitchen vision. He has a whole like, online cooking course, but he kind of talks about like, you know, that that whole me applause, like I, you know, you, you hear it and you know about it, but you don't really incorporate it. Like the more prep you can do ahead of a recipe, like he always taught me, like, read through the recipe one time before you actually go into it. Make sure you get all those things set up and ready to go, because then when you're ready, if something's happening, you're ready for the next thing. Right? You are already prepared. And that was something that I really hadn't done before, like being with him. And I think, and I think from him, from me, he's learned like a little bit more just kind of flowing and playing with ingredients. Like I am definitely, I'm a pantry cook at heart. Like I'm, that's what I'm known for, is like making something outta nothing. And I think we challenge each other to kind of get creative and use what we have versus going out and buying more things, like figuring out how to make what we have work.

Jaymee Sire:

I love that. Do you guys ever have Chopped challenges in your own kitchen? ?

Meiko Temple:

Um, I wouldn't call it chopped challenges. We don't actually go and get mystery baskets , but we definitely have challenges. We've done stuff, uh, from content-wise for our audiences where we've had similar ingredients. I, I beat 'em. I, I just wanna put that out there on the record. I won. And we've also done, we love to do like fridge dump challenges where like, at the end of the month where we're getting low on our ingredients or something is old before it runs out for sustainability reasons, we try to find unique ways to work with it or to cook it. And I think one holiday we were like, oh, we're not gonna do anything in this year. But then we once it got closer, we were like, actually we should cook something . Um, and we were like, okay, well we're not gonna go grocery shopping. We're just going to challenge ourselves to like, you see what you can do with these leftover ingredients. And we had a whole feast just on refrigerator leftovers.

Jaymee Sire:

That's so fun. Okay. When you're not, you know, creating content and that kind of thing, who does the cooking at home? Like, is it a team effort? Do you guys take turns or are you doing everything?

Meiko Temple:

Oh, no, no, no. I, he's fast

Jaymee Sire:

,

Meiko Temple:

So I'm definitely leveraging him more than he's probably leveraging me. He's, he always says like, when, when I married you, I thought you were gonna be doing more of the cooking. And I'm like,

Jaymee Sire:

Yeah, sure. ,

Meiko Temple:

You know, if he needs me, I jump in. But for the most, he does a lot because he is so much faster. But also, we eat out a lot because, you know, we're cooking so much, we want inspiration. We wanna constantly, you know, have some sort of creative, something feeding out into our creativity. So we actually eat out a lot too.

Jaymee Sire:

I love that. What's like your guys' go-to place or, or a favorite place in Dallas that you've gone to recently?

Meiko Temple:

Oh man. So yesterday we, 'cause every day is something different. , we love, we love Torchy's tacos. Oh yeah. You've got, you had Torchy Torchy's tacos,

Jaymee Sire:

But in Austin, but, so I don't know if that count. Yeah, yeah. No, it

Meiko Temple:

Counts. It absolutely counts. Yeah. Yeah. Love the creativity there. And then also there's a Thai place down the street, and we just found out that they sell mango sticky rice. Ooh. And it's like, one of, it's got a special place in my heart. And so, and there's this good 'cause not, it's hard to find a good mango sticky rice. So yeah. That, that place is now like, at the top.

Jaymee Sire:

. I love that. Who, who? Um, like who gets to pick when you guys are figuring out where you're gonna go out to eat? Or do you kind of like trade off on that as well?

Meiko Temple:

He actually picks a lot because I don't like to have to decide , so he'll ask me. He wants me to decide. And I'm like, why don't you just figure out something? So it's normally I just leave it up to him and I'm always happy 'cause we have similar like, taste profiles, so yeah. It works out.

Jaymee Sire:

I think that's fair. Your decision is that you don't want to have to make a decision.

Meiko Temple:

That's it.

Jaymee Sire:

. I wanna talk more about the community that you talked about at the top of this interview and why that was so important to you. Like what makes you the most proud about the community that you have built so far?

Meiko Temple:

I think I'm most proud about kind of the two-way conversation that I'm having with my audience. It took a while to get there. I think, you know, for a long time I was just, you know, it's, it entrepreneurship can be very lonely. And so I was just worried that like, you know, maybe I'd made the wrong decision. I had invested all this time into this one path, and then in the middle switch, and I don't even know if anybody's listening to me. And I feel like, you know, in the past years I finally started to see the fruits of my labor people actually, you know, letting me know like how delicious the food is or how appreciative they are that I've gone to use ingredients that maybe someone else typically wouldn't use or shown them how to use it multiple ways. I, I appreciate the two-way conversation. I think anybody who cooks for a living, that's one thing that they love about it, is the fact that there's some instant gratification on the other side of it. And so that's one thing that I definitely appreciate is that like, now I have, I'm having a two, a conversation with my audience and I can really hear from them what they love and what they don't love.

Jaymee Sire:

And I think that that's like one of the things that kind of led to you founding Eat the Culture. Can you talk a little bit about what that is and why that's such an important thing to you?

Meiko Temple:

Sure. So Eat the Culture is an organization that I founded and it's all about amplifying black creators in black food ways. Mm-hmm. , we are trying to find ways to really encourage more, more placement, more, more visibility mm-hmm. of what we're doing and how, and the recipes that we're making and the stories that we're telling. And so it was really important to me in the beginning of my journey to connect with other creators who looked like me. Um, 'cause as, as I said, it just looks lonely sometimes. And then when your voice is not necessarily a voice that's on that's mainstream or the types of food that you're cooking, and it's not always mainstream, you wanna feel like I'm not alone. And so I made an effort to connect with as many black creators that I could. And out of that I started developing these roundups, if you will, around Black History Month and around Juneteenth around the holiday season where we would get together and we would not only share our recipes, but we would do something that helped educate us about our roots and the types of food we need in black food ways.

And also another element of this was trying to amplify black chefs, black authors and things of that nature. And so for me, eat the Culture is a way to give back to community. Mm-hmm. the community that served me, that helped me feel comfortable in the beginning stages of doing this food blogging. And it also is a way to help just advance exposure of black creators and hopefully build some responsibility and help support some responsibility within brands and media to also make sure that they're including us in the conversation.

Jaymee Sire:

What's been the most surprising or rewarding part of, of starting to eat the culture so far?

Meiko Temple:

I think the co I think the community aspect of like having, I think other people kind of look for the same thing that I was mm-hmm. , just community somewhere. You can talk openly, you can talk freely, talk about the challenges you face, you know, talk about the different things that you know, hold you back. Or we have a Facebook group where we kind of are very openly talk about our brand deals. Sometimes we'll talk about, you know, you know, what the legalese is of these different contracts to then make sure that, you know, we're things are fair. Mm-hmm. , I think that that's just the most thing that I'm most proud of is that we have a community of people who keep coming back, who find value in what we're doing and who are helping one another.

Jaymee Sire:

Yeah. I think it's, I think that's great that you guys are, you know, talking about the money aspect, the brand deals because it is kind of like this, it's a weird subject. I feel like sometimes people are like, you know, keep it close to the vest. Like, I don't wanna tell, but I think it's important for everybody because like, everybody benefits, right? If we're all talking about it and making sure we're all getting paid the, you know, the fair amount. Right.

Meiko Temple:

I think that's absolutely true. And I think a lot of times we have this crab in a barrel mentality. Like if I share, that takes away from me, but we just don't realize the abundance that exists out there. And, you know, you helping someone else out does not mean less for you. That's what, if you're doing this right, authentic voice, your authentic voice is what sets you apart. You will be leveraged for, for what you bring. And the other person will be leveraged for what they bring that is authentically, that authentically makes them who they are. And so, you know, we really have done a, I think a great job fostering that openness so that it doesn't feel com as competitive.

Jaymee Sire:

Yeah. Where, where do you see it going? Like what's your vision for it down the road? Couple years?

Meiko Temple:

Yeah, I really wanna have a conference. Like that's when I wanna, you know, a lot of the things that we do is digital or virtual right now. So I think the community is journeying for something in person where we get together and we learn together. I think that's the biggest thing is like, you know, some sort of learning workshop conference kind of kind of download together where we're learning about the industry, we're learning about the new things in photography, learning about ai, right? Like, yeah, this industry is ever changing. And so I think, you know, making sure that our community is at the cusp of what's happening and prepared for what's coming is most, is super important.

Jaymee Sire:

That's awesome. What are some of your favorite black culinary creators that we should be following?

Meiko Temple:

So

Jaymee Sire:

I know you're like, I don't know, I get singling them out is like, you know, hard. Like, it

Meiko Temple:

Is hard. I'm gonna be, because I'm on the Food Network Obsessed podcast. , I'm gonna shout out some friends of

Jaymee Sire:

Mine. Okay.

Meiko Temple:

Please. So one of my really, really good friends who I'm just so proud of and is a mentor for me is Jocelyn Delk Adams of Grand Baby Cakes. Mm. She just came out with her own cookbook. She's also a regular on the Food Network. And so she is just so very talented and a bundle of joy, and she really leans into generational recipes. Okay. That's something I admire about her. And so she's the queen of like pound cake, right, , . So I, I I love her. You, if you're not following her, you should be from the chef side. I would say another friend of mine, Tiffany Dairy. Mm-hmm. She is a chef of Roots Southern Kitchen and also on the show Top Chef. Right. She was a Top Chef candidate.

Jaymee Sire:

She's on Bobby's triple threat. Yeah. She's

Meiko Temple:

On Bobby's triple threat.

Jaymee Sire:

She, she was also on Food Network obsessed, of course

Meiko Temple:

Tournament champions. Like she's out here.

Jaymee Sire:

No, she's a powerhouse.

Meiko Temple:

She is just so dynamic and amazing and what she's doing here in Dallas particularly when it comes to, and I hate the word elevating. Yeah. But she is showing, so just appreciation in such a classy way for southern and soul food, like what she's doing is amazing. Her food is delicious. I absolutely love her. And for anybody else, I mean, we're always highlighting people and eat the culture. So you should be following eat the culture .

Jaymee Sire:

So just go to eat the culture and see all of the people eat the cultures following and then follow all those people. There you go. See, see who you're, uh, highlighting at the time. There you go. Uh, what's next for you?

Meiko Temple:

What's next for me? Well, I think I talked a little bit about like just expanding eat the culture. Mm-hmm. , wanting to make it more of an in-person engagement type event down the line. That's one really big thing for me. And I think I've also had, like, on my horizon, wanting to like write a cookbook. Mm. I've actually, like, before I even had the blog, I, like, I had asked for, I actually self-publish a cookbook. I like, I won't show you it because it's quite embarrassing, but I think I've always wanted to have something physical that I can put place in people's hands with kind of the story of identity. I think my whole blog now is kind of transforming into this search for identity because I, I come from a family that, uh, that, uh, has adoption and obviously being an African American, you know, in many cases, uh, and descendants of the slave trade, we, we don't have those roots going all the way back to where we come from. And so, like, I think my relationship with food has most recently been about identity and understanding who I am and why food is so important to me. And so I think writing a cookbook kind of about that journey is something that I'm really interested in sharing.

Jaymee Sire:

All right. Well, we will be on the lookout for that . And don't be embarrassed about yourself publishing. That's still like a feat in itself. Like, that still takes courage to put, put it out there, you know? 

Meiko Temple:

Yeah. You're right. .

Jaymee Sire:

All right? All right. We're gonna, we're gonna remember that. Well, it's been such a delight chatting with you. We are gonna finish off with a little rapid fire round, and then we have one final question for you before we let you go. Okay. All right. Rapid fire questions. Summer produce that you wish you had year round,

Meiko Temple:

Watermelon and peaches.

Jaymee Sire:

Ugh. So good. If you don't live in Texas, you wouldn't understand what?

Meiko Temple:

Shopping and eating at gas stations are a real thing. ,

Jaymee Sire:

What's your favorite thing to eat at a gas station?

Meiko Temple:

Oh my gosh. Bucee's has great brisket, sandwiches. Bucee's really like the Walmart of freaking gas stations. You, there's everything. There's clothes, there's kitchenware there. I mean, there's everything. Deli. Like, everything everything. Yes.

Jaymee Sire:

All right. Next trip. I'm, I'm checking one out. What could you make with your eyes closed?

Meiko Temple:

Greens. . I love greens. I, on my blog, I've got like a, a regular green, a hot Insta Pott green, a vegan greens, like I love greens.

Jaymee Sire:

Yum. All right, I'll have to check that out. Uh, what's on your kitchen playlist?

Meiko Temple:

Anything like two thousands, like neo soul, soul, classic soul, Stevie Wonder, Anita Baker, ERY Badu. Kind of, that's my vibe.

Jaymee Sire:

All right. One pantry item. You cannot live without.

Meiko Temple:

Hot sauce. . I love hot sauce. I use it as a topping like most people do, but I also cook with it. I love hot sauce.

Jaymee Sire:

How many hot sauces do you own?

Meiko Temple:

Probably like 10.

Jaymee Sire:

All right. That's a good number. Yeah. Food network show you'd most like to be on.

Meiko Temple:

I always want the good food. So the best thing I've ever ate. . Best thing I've ever ate. Yeah.

Jaymee Sire:

All right. Our final question is not rapid fire. You can take as long as you want on this one. And the question is, what would be on the menu for your perfect food day? So like, take us through the progression of the day, the breakfast, the lunch, dinner, desserts, snacks. If you wanna throw those in, there's no rules. So you can travel, time travel, spend as much money as you want. No rules. It's your day, we just wanna hear about it.

Meiko Temple:

Okay. So I'd probably start like, I'm down for eating, like breakfast for dinner and dinner for breakfast.

Jaymee Sire:

I love that .

Meiko Temple:

So I'd probably start off in New Orleans. There is a place, and the name is like leaving me at this moment, but it's, they had these Abel Skivers, the little round pancakes and they had this lemon curd on the inside, like probably like whenever I touch down in New Orleans, like I have to eat those for breakfast. I go there multiple times on my trip. And then also, like in Gentilly, in the Gentilly areas, there's this hole in the wall place called Gentilly Spice Kitchen. Okay. And they have, they have the best smothered Turkey necks. And I've never, and I didn't really eat smothered Turkey necks like that until I was with my husband, but I mean, you just suck. It's like, you know, it's like such a delicacy. It's just so good. It just smothered and good old brown gravy and

Jaymee Sire:

It just

Meiko Temple:

Tender meat falling off the bone. Like, it's

Jaymee Sire:

Like, oh my gosh, that sounds incredible.

Meiko Temple:

Nobody knows about this squad and I'm kind of like scared to tell everybody,

Jaymee Sire:

No, you can't gate keep that. You gotta, you gotta let the people know. I wish people could see like your face as you're describing like the Turkey. Like, because like I feel like that makes, really makes it as well, man.

Meiko Temple:

Oh man. Deliciousness. And for lunch I feel like it would be a three-way tie. So I've lived a little bit everywhere, but, so San Diego for tacos, either or Kansas City for beef on bun at Gates or you know what? San Francisco, some of the best Chinese food I've ever had. San Francisco, Nan King house. Yep. . It would, it would be, it would be, it would be one of those for lunch for sure.

Jaymee Sire:

Okay. You could have all of them if you want. Again, calories don't count either. So I

Meiko Temple:

Love this . Yes. Can this be real? Can

Jaymee Sire:

This be real? Yes, I know we need to make it happen .

Meiko Temple:

And then for dinner, I'd probably go to DC. My favorite restaurant is Aten by chef Jose Andres. It is Mediterranean food. He used to have one here in Dallas, but not anymore. But it's literally like my favorite dinner place to go to.

Jaymee Sire:

What do you get there?

Meiko Temple:

Everything. . And I'm not lying. I literally order as much as I can on the menu and I don't have shame because I'll take it home and I'll eat the

Jaymee Sire:

Rest. I love a leftover. Yeah.

Meiko Temple:

I love all of it. And then since there is no rules, I would go to Thailand and have mango sticky rice

Jaymee Sire:

For this. Yes, you would. Yes, you would go right to the source. That's

Meiko Temple:

Right. Why not? That's where the best is. So I'm going to the source

Jaymee Sire:

And maybe some peach cobbler too to, to throw in for, for good measure. You're,

Meiko Temple:

I dunno why I'm limiting myself right now. I don't know why I'm doing that. You're right. .

Jaymee Sire:

Uh, well that sounds like a, an absolutely perfect food day. And we thank you so much, uh, for joining us and, and sharing part of your story and we look forward to, uh, seeing the rest of it unfold.

Meiko Temple:

Thank you for having me, Jaymee.

Jaymee Sire:

You can catch Meiko's episode of Crack an Egg With on foodnetwork.com and make sure to follow us wherever you listen to podcasts so you don't miss a thing. And if you enjoy today's episode, please rate and review. We love it when you do that. That's all for now. We'll catch you foodies next Friday.