How ‘Top Chef’s’ Gail Simmons Made It to the Top of Her Industry — and You Can, Too
f you’re a foodie or a reality TV junkie, you already know and love Gail Simmons, a judge on Bravo’s Emmy-winning series Top Chef. Before becoming the media personality she is today, Simmons was a trained culinary expert and established journalist. She is also a bestselling author and recently released her second book, Bringing It Home: Favorite Recipes from a Life of Adventurous Eating. In 2013, she was appointed entrepreneur-in-residence at Babson College, a mentoring role where she works with student entrepreneurs, helping them develop food-related social enterprises. In 2014, Simmons and business partner Samantha Hanks founded Bumble Pie Productions, an original content company featuring new female voices in the food and lifestyle space. Their first series, Star Plates, premiered in fall 2016 on the Food Network.
Many entrepreneurs can relate to Simmons’ story. She found herself post-college, with a degree (in anthropology) she couldn’t really use and didn’t really want to use. As her friends were heading off to law school, medical school and entry-level corporate jobs, she wanted to forge her own path. She wrote out all that she wanted to do and be and was left with the question, How do I make a career out of writing, cooking and eating? This was before food blogs and YouTube channels, so she had to get creative.
If you can see the ideal goal for your business or career, but aren’t sure how to get there, you will enjoy these top six lessons from my recent chat with Simmons on the set of Top Chef Junior.
Just get a foot in the door.
Simmons surveyed her options and, having decided writing might be the best place to start, landed an internship with a local lifestyle magazine. From there, she went to a national newspaper, working as an editorial assistant. In both positions, she found herself drawn to the food sections. She often joined food editors at restaurants and helped them with their research. Getting her foot in the door as a writer, though not in the food section, ended up solidifying for her what she wanted to do. If you’re trying to combine many passions into one business, career, product or service, focus on one area first, jump in and start learning.
“I found myself following around the food editor and asking him to let me write for him, and slowly he let me write little stories here and there. After about a year, I came to him and said, ‘Well, this is what I really want to do. How do I become a food critic or how do I become a food writer?'” Read more…