Chrissy Tracey Transcript
Kerry Diamond:
Hi, everyone. You are listening to Radio Cherry Bombe, and I'm your host, Kerry Diamond. I'm the founder and editor of Cherry Bombe Magazine. I'm coming to you from Newsstand Studios at Rockefeller Center in the heart of New York City.
My guest today is Chrissy Tracey, the chef and foraging expert behind the new book, “Forage and Feast, Recipes for Bringing Mushrooms and Wild Plants to Your Table.” It's a cookbook and a guide for everyone curious about gathering edible eats. Chrissy shares how her family shaped her approach to food, why she pivoted away from the tech world, and why the great outdoors and community are so important to her. Chrissy is smart and stylish and someone we can all learn a lot from, so I can't wait for you to meet her. Stay tuned for our chat.
Thank you to LilliStar for supporting our show. It's summertime and that means rooftop season is here. If you are looking for a fun picturesque place to grab a drink and a bite, check out LilliStar on the rooftop of the Moxy Williamsburg in Brooklyn. LilliStar is an indoor-outdoor lounge and cocktail bar with great views of the Williamsburg Bridge, East River and Lower Manhattan. It also features unique drinks by award-winning mixologist, Christine Wiseman. You can enjoy a beverage from their fun cocktail menu, which features signature sips, like One in a Melon with Vodka, St Germain, rose, watermelon, and London essence rosemary and grapefruit tonic, or grab a mocktail. LilliStar also has a small plates menu because, let's be honest, you're going to want a little snack with that summer bev. I know I always do. Seating at LilliStar is first come, first serve, but you can make reservations for parties of six or more. Visit lillistarbk.com for more information and to check out their events calendar. Here's to lots of beautiful sunsets and summer nights in your near future.
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Now, let's check in with today's guest. Chrissy Tracey, welcome to Radio Cherry Bombe.
Chrissy Tracey:
Thanks for having me. I'm so excited.
Kerry Diamond:
You wrote that foraging is the closest thing you found to treasure hunting. Tell us what that's all about.
Chrissy Tracey:
Something I realized as I became a forager is that foraging is more about the journey and not just the destination. At first for me, I was like, oh my God, I can't find this chanterelle, what a waste of a day. It took me a while to switch gears and understand that it was more about the journey of being present with nature and just having this quiet time to be with yourself and explore new things or new paths in the woods or find a new mushroom rather than just looking for the one thing that was going to fulfill my culinary needs.
I finally had this mindset switch that ignited a more passionate side of foraging for me where I was like, no, anytime I get out into the woods is an amazing treasure hunt because if you do find what you're looking for, you have the best day ever. For example, I went out into the woods of Connecticut two weeks ago with one of my good friends and mentors and we were like, "We're just going to go on a leisurely walk. There's probably nothing. It's been rainy, but we think it's too early to find anything, so let's just enjoy our time." As we were turning around, I look over this little stream and I see this huge maple tree that had fallen down and it was covered in over 20 pounds of oyster mushrooms.
Kerry Diamond:
I think I saw that on Instagram.
Chrissy Tracey:
We had this moment of like, wow, this is what it's all about. That's why I do what I do.
Kerry Diamond:
Your Instagram is like a treasure hunt. I never know what I'm going to find when I look at your Instagram. I'm like, "Where is she in the country? What is she finding out in the woods?" I definitely enjoy looking at what you do.
You have pretty much been foraging since birth, I feel like. Anybody who's followed you knows that this has been something ... You didn't necessarily know what you were doing when you were little, but you've been doing this since a young age.
Chrissy Tracey:
It started with the wild berries that grew at the hedges of my parents' house. I would try to eat them and they would be like, "No." So I ended up using them for painting little pictures and things like that, thinking outside of the box, and then it came full circle with wild garlic chives. I remember vividly when it became something more than just a curiosity for me and it's when I was, I want to say I was 18, 19 and I was out in the woods, and I saw the garlic chive. I remember that childlike spirit filled me up. I picked it and smelled it. I was like, "Well, one of my forager friends told me if it smells like an onion, it's in the allium family, it's edible." I nibbled at it and I felt this rush of, wow, this is what I've always known this whole time, but was too scared to try. Why don't I get into this deeper? I never looked back since.
Kerry Diamond:
Did you know it was wild garlic because of the chive blossom on top of it? I would think as a young child that's so pretty, those purple flowers.
Chrissy Tracey:
You know what it was actually, I decided to dig it out of the ground and I saw the little bulb underneath. That's when I brought a bunch home to my mom and was like, "Hey, look at this." She was like, "Put that down." But truly, I mean I think what solidified foraging for me was going to Jamaica for the first time. I had gone once in 2011 and then again in 2016, and that trip I was able to meet my grandma, Hazel.
Kerry Diamond:
That was the first time you met her?
Chrissy Tracey:
Yeah.
Kerry Diamond:
Wow.
Chrissy Tracey:
That was the first time I met her. Everyone thinks of Jamaica as beaches and that's it, beaches and beautiful sand, but where my family's from is the country of Jamaica. They're deep south where it's red dirt roads, and once it's sunset, there's not a single bit of streetlight around. It's pitch black. It's very vibrant when it comes to the natural produce that the earth provides.
We went to her house. She asked if we were hungry because we had a long journey from the airport. She went to the backyard and she picked what's called Callaloo. It's wild amaranth basically that originates in Africa. Then she took us on a tour through her property and there was naseberries, which is this delicious custardy succulent fruit that you'll never get anywhere else. You might be able to find it in Little Jamaica or something like that, but she took us through this tour and I felt this feeling take over my entire being like, this is innate. This is part of who I am. This is my culture. That was it for me.
Kerry Diamond:
You met your grandmother for the first time, which is really beautiful, but you were also in high school and they happened to have a business class which really set you on a certain path. Can you talk about that a little bit?
Chrissy Tracey:
Yeah. I had this one teacher, her name was Leslie Pear. She had seen something in me that I could not see. She really believed in me and saw this spark of entrepreneurship in me that I didn't see quite yet. I remember when it all came together for me was when we had to create our mock business plans. I had this restaurant concept called Tracey's. Little bit of a backstory. I was raised in a family of seven kids and my parents raised us all vegetarian. The business plan I created was to have a restaurant that had more delicious options because I was tired of only having french fries and a salad.
Kerry Diamond:
We should point out that it wasn't so easy to be a vegetarian back then.
Chrissy Tracey:
Oh, yeah.
Kerry Diamond:
So much easier today.
Chrissy Tracey:
It wasn't easy at all. The cheeses tasted like plastic. My parents would always try new ones when they came out because they thought it was healthier to go without. I loved dairy, I loved cheese, so I just ignored those vegan options that were there at the time. It was just so limited. Everything was so limited. It was like you could have tofu basically at that time and some sort of boxed oat milk that was really disgusting, to be honest. Now, we've come so far.
Kerry Diamond:
You can be a vegan today.
Chrissy Tracey:
You can be a vegan. There's something with that. I understand how privileged I am to be able to live in this lifestyle and have the knowledge I need to really be a healthy vegan. Nobody really talks about that, but it takes a lot of work. That's something that's easily ignored because I think a lot of people just, they're only thinking of the lens of animal cruelty or they think it's going to be a healthier decision for them just because it's a more plant-forward diet, but I'm like, no, that's the part, it's more plant-forward. No matter what your diet, if you make that conscious decision to eat more fruits and vegetables on a regular basis and make them taste delicious, you're already on the right path.
It opened up the door to a creative outlet for me to be able to reimagine and reinvent foods in ways I'd never thought of them before. Like hearts of palm calamari, what? You know what I mean? Who's doing that? Why are you doing that? Well, because at the end of the day, I like to meet people where they are and to be able to see their faces when they have a bite of that calamari and say, "This is vegan? That's insane. This tastes like seafood." That is awesome. I'm just here to bridge the gap, and that's my whole purpose and philosophy.
Kerry Diamond:
We'll be right back with today's guest.
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You take this business class, and you're so lucky you had that in high school.
Chrissy Tracey:
Yeah.
Kerry Diamond:
Where did that lead you?
Chrissy Tracey:
What that led me to was I pursued a business degree in undergrad. But funnily enough, in addition to the business side of things, I've pursued computer science because I have immigrant Jamaican parents. Okay, they were like computer science or the sciences in general, engineering, teaching. I have to do something that is going to lead me to a pathway of success that just makes sense in their heads. We don't have any entrepreneurs in the family, or we didn't at the time. Even though I knew I always wanted to start my own food business, it was unheard of. I didn't really have support for a long time, but I did find support in community and that allowed me to shut out all the noise.
I remember when I was in college, I was working for Apple full-time while taking my classes. I would bring food into work and someone in the break room said to me, "Why don't you open a restaurant? Your food is insane." I was like, "You know, I'm just not there. I think I got to stick to this computer science thing. It works. There's good money there." But then they invited me to their outside project to cater this event for 150 people. I was like, "Well, I haven't done that before, but I'm not going to say no." One thing about me is I don't say no when opportunity knocks.
Kerry Diamond:
Wait, were you in Cupertino, the mothership?
Chrissy Tracey:
I was not in Cupertino. I was at the Yale Apple Store fixing computers and iPhones and stuff like that.
Kerry Diamond:
Now, we all know who to call, people.
Chrissy Tracey:
Yeah.
Kerry Diamond:
You're going to wish you didn't announce that on Radio Cherry Bombe.
Chrissy Tracey:
Yeah, I still have family and friends always like, "Hey, Chrissy." And I'm like, "Okay, I'll help you."
Kerry Diamond:
That's so funny. Everybody just sensed this in you that this is what you were meant to do.
Chrissy Tracey:
Yeah.
Kerry Diamond:
What'd you do post-college?
Chrissy Tracey:
Post-college I continued at Apple, but then I switched over to tech systems at Yale. I was configuring a lot of devices for the cancer unit and things like that. Then I moved on to tech support at a insurance firm in Connecticut. I redid the whole thing. I'm sorry, but it was a boys only club. I was like, "Guys, this place is disgusting. The cables are all tangled. This is so unorganized. Do we have any training systems in place?" I turned that place around, and then I left. Then I pursued food full-time.
Kerry Diamond:
All right, we got to talk about your pizza era.
Chrissy Tracey:
Oh yeah.
Kerry Diamond:
Because there aren't a lot of women in pizza.
Chrissy Tracey:
The pizza era happened simultaneously between Apple, college, and working at that restaurant. I worked in New Haven, Pizza capital of the world. I worked at this restaurant called Nolo. They had these artisan, humongous pizza ovens imported from Italy. They had to actually install them through the roof before they put the ceilings on the building. It was insane. I had the chance to, first of all, invent new pizza flavors and things like that.
But I was known as Pizza Girl in New Haven. It was really funny. That actually came about because there was someone that was in the food world that came into Apple and was like, "You would do really well here, you should try this out." I tried it, and I loved it. I fell in love with it. I used it as a window opportunity for me to start this Meatless Monday program, which was awesome. We had these Meatless Mondays at the restaurant every week. I did that for about three months, and it gained insane amount of traction. But the chef and I were not getting along. He didn't like it, and so he took over my Meatless Monday program. I left, and that didn't continue.
Kerry Diamond:
Chefs are complicated.
Chrissy Tracey:
Yeah, chefs are complicated.
Kerry Diamond:
They made a whole TV show about that, in case you didn't hear about it. It's called “The Bear.”
Chrissy Tracey:
Complicated, and I get it. There's a lot of big egos in the kitchen. I was just like, "Hey, I'm just doing my thing, man. This is what I grew up eating and doing, and I'm just trying to be creative and share that with the world."
Kerry Diamond:
Let's talk about some of the positive stuff about the pizza because I was so interested. You got a big following. I'm so curious. What toppings were you doing? I was like, darn. I wish I could have lined up for one of these pizzas.
Chrissy Tracey:
I did a lot with wild mushrooms and confit, onions and garlic and lots of fresh herbs. At that time, I was experimenting a lot with my cashew and almond-based cheeses. That was the start of that era for me. I was making these almond ricotta pies with oyster mushrooms and lemon. I don't know, I was getting out there. I made this cashew mozzarella so we can make these vegan margarita pies. But then my menu also extended out from the pizza, so we would have a specialty pizza every Monday for that program, but then I'd be able to riff my own menu for anyone that walked into the door.
Kerry Diamond:
So cool.
Chrissy Tracey:
Yeah, it was really fun.
Kerry Diamond:
Were you using foraged ingredients?
Chrissy Tracey:
Was using foraged ingredients by other people at the time. We had Beldor as our supplier. They have a lot of wild to table ingredients available all year round. That's how I got to really experiment and have some fun before I was sure of myself.
Kerry Diamond:
I'm going to jump ahead a little bit. How do you make a living today? Because I'm sure there are a lot of people thinking not so easy to make a living as a forager.
Chrissy Tracey:
Foraging is my niche. It is what sets me aside from other vegan chefs. I curate these pop-up experiences throughout New York, Connecticut and beyond. I'm taking it on the road now and traveling and working with brands that I love to bring my visions to life. For me, that has been quite lucrative. I'm very, very fortunate that these different brands and vineyards and just people are receptive to bringing me in and accepting me with open arms, even though I might not even fit their clientele.
I found that to be really interesting and surprising, but once I realized that nobody really cared that I was vegan anymore or that wasn't the only thing I was being seen for, it was like, "No, you create delicious food. That's why we want you." I think it just made it easier to cross some lines and make a name for myself.
I will say, I'm sure you can tell, I'm very persistent. I really advocate for myself. I've always felt that I've had something a little special or a little bit different to offer. Being able to just be fearless and put myself out there, even when I feel a little uncomfortable, has taken me to so many new places. Outside of that, sometimes I get a nice brand deal every now and again. I have a really great manager.
Kerry Diamond:
Oh, happy to hear that. Any brands you want to shout out?
Chrissy Tracey:
I definitely want to shout out Gozney. Of course the pizza comes full circle at this stage in my life, but Gozney has been one of my most amazing brand partners.
Kerry Diamond:
They're one of the new pizza ovens.
Chrissy Tracey:
Yeah.
Kerry Diamond:
The outside pizza ovens.
Chrissy Tracey:
Yeah, they have the Gozney Dome and the Gozney Arc. I also want to shout out Bonterra, which is a organic vineyard estate out in California. They've done a lot to support me. Actually, they supported my book launch party, which was really sweet. I also want to shout out Jacobsen Sea Salt.
Kerry Diamond:
Oh, love them. I carry their little tin with me.
Chrissy Tracey:
Yeah, yeah. Actually, I shared the Jacobsen Sea Salt Joy when I was just in Jamaica. They created this strawberry salt with Oishii.
Kerry Diamond:
I saw that. Yeah, I saw that.
Chrissy Tracey:
Then we had it on some ice cream, which was awesome. The whole wedding party, it was just going around. We were sprinkling it on everything. But they've been really great just from a willingness to support me from my book launch perspective, but also being able to provide little sea salt tins in my PR packages and everything like that and beyond. We have some fun plans for the future, so I'm really excited about that new partnership. Oh, you know what? It just came to me. Atlantic Sea Farms. First of all, woman-owned kelp foragers. They are an incredible company. We've built a really great partnership over the past four years.
Kerry Diamond:
Oh, you have a whole kelp thing in your book.
Chrissy Tracey:
I have a whole section.
Kerry Diamond:
We should jump to your book because I don't want us to run out of time. Congratulations.
Chrissy Tracey:
Thank you.
Kerry Diamond:
Your first book, how did it all come about?
Chrissy Tracey:
Some of you might not know, but I still work loosely with Bon Appetit, but I was in contract with them for a few years. Obviously, that really helped me to jumpstart my career in the food world and get some more eyes on me, which was really helpful. Truthfully, I had a really good experience with them and still continue to do so.
Apparently, Penguin Random House was watching my Instagram for a couple of years. They noticed I had this unique way of intertwining foraging into my meals on a regular basis, and they were intrigued by it. They reached out to me in an email and they said, "Hey, we've been watching you for a while, and we were just wondering any interest in writing a book?" Truth be told, at the time, I was in a really dark space and I was like, "I don't think I can do that." But again, I don't say no when opportunity knocks, so I put on my big girl pants and I said, "Yeah, I'll write a book. Definitely. Let's do this."
It was a question of just a vegan cookbook or a foraging cookbook. Obviously, all in on the foraging. I knew it was going to be a challenge from the start, but I'm so lucky to see how well received it's been so far. The cookbook process was a beautiful one. I really had so much creative freedom, I couldn't even believe it. I recall those beginning stages of doing the research and development and organizing how I wanted the book to look and feel, and having these conversations with the editors and them just being like, "Whatever you feel works, we'll go with." I couldn't believe it. My partner was like, "Are you serious? They're really giving you a first-time author, all of this freedom?" I was like, "Yeah, down to every bit of the design." It was really a special, special process, and I wouldn't trade it for the world.
Kerry Diamond:
Well, it's a beautiful book, “Forage and Feast.”
Chrissy Tracey:
Thank you.
Kerry Diamond:
If you already know what you're doing, it's fantastic. But if you're new to this world, it's a really nice 101.
Chrissy Tracey:
Absolutely. It's like, "Hey, I'm holding your hand along the way," is the way I thought of it. I focus on mushrooms that have the greatest culinary value, and plants, of course. Being able to find a unique focus within foraging rather than trying to know it all has been really helpful to my learning and my understanding and my knowledge. Therefore, I feel very strong about the things that I do know. There's still so much room to grow, and I think that's really fun. I'm able to continue this curiosity throughout my entire life. No one's telling me when to stop, and there's so many cultures to explore when it comes to foraging.
Kerry Diamond:
I would imagine you've got a lot of future books in you. As I was listening to an interview with you when you were literally out foraging with the person who was interviewing you, and he asked you about foraging apps, and you prefer books, you said. It's so interesting now knowing that you have a tech background that you prefer one of the field guides to an app.
Chrissy Tracey:
The field guides are going to be more matter of fact, more technical, more specific. The trouble with the apps right now is that they are not a hundred percent accurate. They're not even 90% accurate in most cases because you're relying on a human to take a really, really clear picture from three different angles, and then you're putting that through an AI analyzation system. At the end of the day, there's so much room for error in just being able to take a good foraging photo.
Kerry Diamond:
Oh yeah.
Chrissy Tracey:
When you're just relying on that to help your learning, you're putting yourself in a troubled place, I would say. Because you don't want to be the person that I met in the woods last year who thought he identified a patch of chanterelles, but in reality it was a poisonous Jack O'Lantern mushroom. He didn't want to listen to me. He took all of those home. I mean, I haven't seen him again, but peace be to him. I hope he's okay.
Kerry Diamond:
Yikes. “Forage and Feast” would be a great app though.
Chrissy Tracey:
Yeah, it would.
Kerry Diamond:
You must think about it.
Chrissy Tracey:
It would. It'd be cool. I am really into the educational side of things. I would love to have some sort of subscription platform where I can take you foraging with me in the woods to help you identify visually that way rather than just having a picture alone, showing you the habitats, showing you the type of soil that a different plant is growing in and being able to have a community where people can actually interact, ask questions, and then learn to cook with me. That's actually something I've been working on over the past year. I have the program fully built out, but as you know, it takes a lot to get all of that filmed and produced properly.
Kerry Diamond:
Oh, that sounds exciting.
Chrissy Tracey:
Really excited.
Kerry Diamond:
You mentioned the word community. In your writings, I've seen that word come up over and over again and you've talked about how important the forager community has been to you. Tell us a little bit about that.
Chrissy Tracey:
I always say I'm like, "I'm an old lady because I am a big proponent of Facebook forums. I don't care. I will die on that hill." I think they're one of the best tools for learning when it comes to new foragers. I'm on some vegan cooking forums and stuff, they give you springboards for creativity. But also, being able to have a community that can help you out and give you feedback in real time, specifically when it comes to the foraging communities online. There's foraging of Southern New England, for example, big forum that everywhere from New York to Maine is on. I've been able to actually go out on these foraging excursions over the years with a few other foragers. You meet up at a public hiking spot, everyone goes out. At least one or two of the foragers there are really experienced and have been doing this for 20, 30 years or more.
We'll bring you out there in the field to teach you exactly how to forage and things to look for, things to look out for, deadly or poisonous mushrooms or plants. I've found that to be my number one teacher. That's how I've met some of my best friends now. I don't care how much older they are than me, that doesn't matter. We're able to be on this playing field together where we have shared values and shared interests. It's really fun.
It's also been fun to see how five years ago I didn't know nearly as much as I know, but now I can teach the people that taught me a lot of things about foraging, something new every time we meet up or talk. I find that to be really special. I think it's nearly impossible to succeed in this world without community. It doesn't matter what that is centered around.
Kerry Diamond:
I'm guessing you spend a lot of time thinking about things like the loneliness epidemic, the fact that kids are inside on their phones or playing video games and not outside experiencing the world and experiencing this community that you talk about.
Chrissy Tracey:
Absolutely. Even at the book talks I've been doing recently, I'm like, "Hey." If there have been parents with children there, the parents are interested, but maybe the children are not or they don't even know what I'm talking about. I've been encouraging families to get outside together. It's so important because we've become so plugged into technology. Obviously, I love technology. I'm a big proponent of it. I think especially if I didn't have the focus time to just run around in the woods as a child, truly, I would wake up in the morning, call my neighbor, we'd be in the woods from 8:00 A.M. till 6:00 P.M. Our parents would be like, where are these people? Where are my kids?
If I didn't have that unplugged time growing up, I don't even think I would be foraging today. I think I just have always been super present with nature just by means of where I grew up. That's another thing, I was lucky to grow up in the woods and have access to nature spots where I could just dilly-dally and have fun. Not everyone has that, but making the conscious efforts to immerse yourself into those areas as much as you possibly can, I think it's just so important for learning and enrichment overall. For me, I'm a hands-on learner, so that definitely is the reason I'm even on the path I'm on today. I strongly believe that.
Kerry Diamond:
I heard that you are rewilding your yard. That's a tough one to say, rewilding your yard. What is that all about?
Chrissy Tracey:
For me, that is transplanting clippings of different berry bushes or ramps from one patch to another, and the other place would being my yard, for example. I started this ramp transplant project two summers ago at this point, and my patch is already expanding exponentially in my backyard. Also, I just let the dandelions do their thing. I'm not spraying.
Kerry Diamond:
Oh, controversial. Controversial.
Chrissy Tracey:
Yeah.
Kerry Diamond:
Do your neighbor's mind?
Chrissy Tracey:
No, you know what? To be fair, I don't really have close-by neighbors in any direction. I look, I can see your house, but no one's really close. I live in the woods even now as an adult.
Kerry Diamond:
Because the mowing versus not mowing, I know that's controversial in some neighborhoods.
Chrissy Tracey:
It is, it is. Because my partner's brother, he's also wilding his yard in the neighbor and him have fights about it constantly. It is a big thing. I get it from an aesthetics perspective, but at the end of the day, it's better for the environment. It's better for the pollinators, our bees and butterflies.
Kerry Diamond:
The ramps and dandelion greens, the makings of a nice salad right in your front lawn.
Chrissy Tracey:
I do. I have wild Japanese wineberries and all these fun things. I'm really lucky.
Kerry Diamond:
So cool. What else are you up to this summer? It's not over yet.
Chrissy Tracey:
It's not over yet. I'll be doing more local book tour efforts just in Connecticut, working with a couple of the libraries there and just simmering down because it's been a lot of travel for me personally. But in September I plan on going to, there's a cookbook conference in Philadelphia I hope to be at. Then in October, I hope to wrap up the book tour with Gozney in Sonoma. I'm going to be doing a big dinner with Rasheed Philips out there, and I couldn't be more excited for that one. It's going to be really fun.
Kerry Diamond:
Very cool. If people want to know about all these things and maybe buy tickets or come see you, how do they find out?
Chrissy Tracey:
They can go to eatwithchrissy.com. That's where I have all of my event schedules and upcoming tour dates. Other than that, they can follow me along on Instagram @eatwithchrissy.
Kerry Diamond:
What's the best advice you've ever gotten?
Chrissy Tracey:
The best advice I've ever gotten is to stay authentic to myself. I know that sounds cliche, but the reason why that's the best advice is because there have been many times where I have found myself at a crossroads, even when it comes to the brand deals that I decide to take and things like that. Staying true to what's authentic to me and what I actually enjoy, rather than just doing anything for a certain dollar figure, has kept me on a path where I'm able to just be myself in any room without having to change anything about me in a negative way. Obviously, there's always room for growth and improvement, but I simply mean just from the perspective of being able to be in tune and be present with where your values are at and aligning with opportunities that only meet you right there.
Then there's one more piece of advice for my late brother-in-law, which is to meet people where they are. I've taken that as my entire philosophy with the way that I do my work, and I think it has gone over really well with people because I'm not here to tell you what to do, I'm just here to encourage you to open up your eyes and see life a little bit differently.
Kerry Diamond:
We just celebrated our 10-year anniversary of the podcast. I know, very exciting.
Chrissy Tracey:
So exciting.
Kerry Diamond:
I realize I've talked to over 500 people. When I think back about the common denominator, it's really trust your gut. I've been asking everybody what that term means. It's so interesting with you because most of us trust what we eat, you can't trust what you eat, and that's what keeps you alive. Trust your gut means something totally different for you. Can you expand on that a little bit?
Chrissy Tracey:
Yeah. For me, trust your gut, you should still trust your gut when it comes to the knowledge that you've learned and cultivated. But trusting your gut also comes with trusting that you have the tools to go back to in order to validate what you think you trust yourself on. Which sounds a little bit odd, but I feel like you can never be too sure of yourself. But if you follow your gut instinct, it can still lead you to the right pathway. Just understanding that it's okay to make mistakes or it's okay to be wrong sometimes, you're not going to have it all figured out, that's totally okay. But just trusting that you have the right resources to guide you to better understand whatever it is that you're facing, whatever challenge or decision you're having to make at any given time is just so important, knowing what tools you have in your pocket.
Kerry Diamond:
Have you always trusted your gut?
Chrissy Tracey:
I would say I've always followed it as a compass from relationships and otherwise. Once I get this gut feeling that something is no longer for me, I'm out the door. I think I get that from my mom. She has a no-tolerance policy for once she has a realization that something's just not for her. I think it's pretty badass, so I follow in the footsteps a little bit.
Kerry Diamond:
Very cool. All right, let's do a speed round. What beverage do you start the morning with?
Chrissy Tracey:
I start the morning with black coffee every day.
Kerry Diamond:
Black coffee. Okay. Why that?
Chrissy Tracey:
I think there's something about the bitterness that helps to jolt me awake. I also just enjoy it. I'm big into Ethiopian roasts, and also I really am a huge fan of Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee. It's expensive, but it's worth it. It's just a bold way to start your day. It's very raw and real. You might wake up in the morning and not feel like doing anything at all or just continue to lay in bed, but having a habit that you do every single morning can just start your day on the best foot forward. For me, that's a hot, black cup of coffee.
Kerry Diamond:
Okay, good advice. What's always in your fridge?
Chrissy Tracey:
Oat milk. I always have Bonne Maman raspberry preserves-
Kerry Diamond:
Yum.
Chrissy Tracey:
... and orange juice. Always. Always, always.
Kerry Diamond:
What is your most used kitchen implement?
Chrissy Tracey:
Probably my Vitamix.
Kerry Diamond:
Oh, I love my Vitamix.
Chrissy Tracey:
And my stand mixer because I make a lot of breads and pastries at home. Those are my two most-
Kerry Diamond:
Favorite cookbook or food memoir, book on food?
Chrissy Tracey:
I am really obsessed with “Dessert Person” by Claire Saffitz. That's one I always reach for because I have struggled a little bit with a lot of traditional cookbooks because there's a lot of ingredients that I just don't cook with. However, baking has been this connector for me to where I've figured out the perfect subs for everything, eggs, butter, et cetera. Being able to create some delicious baked goods, I always go back to the citrus olive oil cake recipe in there. So good. But being able to veganize these recipes and really just get creative and get my hands dirty is my favorite thing to do, so that's one of my favorites.
Kerry Diamond:
This next cookbook is just writing itself.
Chrissy Tracey:
Yeah.
Kerry Diamond:
Favorite childhood food?
Chrissy Tracey:
Favorite childhood food would be my mom's ackee and curried cabbage with fried dumplings.
Kerry Diamond:
Yum.
Chrissy Tracey:
Yeah.
Kerry Diamond:
Favorite snack food?
Chrissy Tracey:
Favorite snack food would be, ooh, this is tough. I got to be honest with you, I'm obsessed with potatoes. It's really bad. If I could eat potatoes for every meal I would, but I realize that's not a sustainable diet.
Kerry Diamond:
That could be your third cookbook. You've got the vegan substitute baked goods, then the potato cookbook.
Chrissy Tracey:
Potatoes, everything potatoes.
Kerry Diamond:
Okay, dream travel destination.
Chrissy Tracey:
To be honest, I would really love to go to Cape Town, South Africa. There's a hotel by the name of Table Bay that brings in local foragers to bring guests on these excursions where they'll then come back to the hotel and cook a meal with the foraged bounties they found. That's a growing thing around the world. I think when I go back to what I was saying earlier about how everyone can connect to their roots through culture, that's a perfect example of that. They're going back to the ways of the land. This is something that's catching on like wildfire around the world.
To be at the edge of that and to be able to have the space to travel and learn new things to forage, new mushrooms, new plants, would be a dream. I, actually, I mean based off of that, to be frank, I really hope to be able to have some sort of TV show someday. I've talked to a couple of companies. We'll see what happens, I'm crossing my fingers. But I would love to be able to meet with local people in different places, whether it be Australia, Africa or beyond, and have them take me out on these foraging adventures and cook a meal with their communities and learn their stories. That's the only thing left on my bucket list.
Kerry Diamond:
Okay, last question. If you had to be trapped on a desert island with one food celebrity, who would it be and why? They would be lucky to be trapped with you. I would pick you. I won't starve.
Chrissy Tracey:
It's funny you asked that. First and foremost, let's just throw vegan out the door at that point. Secondly, this sounds odd, maybe, but Jacques Pépin, because we're both foragers and in tune with the land around us. I think we both have different skill sets that would come together really well, but also when we're together, we have so much fun. We have so many parallels in our lives between foraging and cooking and food TV. I don't know. I think it would be a blast. I'd probably find a way to make some homemade alcohol and things like that. We'd have a blast. It'd be great.
Kerry Diamond:
Have you hung out with him in Connecticut?
Chrissy Tracey:
I have. He's come to a couple of my events. I'm so fortunate.
Kerry Diamond:
Oh, that's amazing.
Chrissy Tracey:
He's been a big support for the book, actually. I was really gracious that he was able to leave a quote for my book. It was really sweet.
Kerry Diamond:
Oh, that's incredible. People love him, and people love you, Chrissy. You're amazing. Thank you for your time today.
Chrissy Tracey:
Thanks for having me. I appreciate it.
Kerry Diamond:
That's it for today's show. I would love for you to subscribe to Radio Cherry Bombe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and leave a rating and a review. Let me know what you think about the show and who you would love to hear from on a future episode. Our theme song is by the band Tralala. Joseph Hazan is the studio engineer for Newsstand Studios at Rockefeller Center. Our producers are Catherine Baker and Elizabeth Vogt. Our associate producer is Jenna Sadhu, and our content and partnerships manager is Londyn Crenshaw. Thanks for listening, everybody. You are the Bombe.