We recently connected with Garianne Gagliardi and have shared our conversation below.

Garianne , appreciate you joining us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

I’m Garianne. The owner and face behind Garianne’s Table where I curate recipes that are approachable and accessible enough for the average home cook.

My story is important to share because for the longest time I felt alone and assumed no one could relate to me. Over the years I gained such knowledge around mental health, food, wellness and how intertwined they are. In short, what we eat is central to our health. The more we understand ourselves, our bodies and the food we consume – the better we will feel. The better we will be.

SO my passion for food started 10 years ago when I lost my sibling. I was diagnosed with severe PTSD and struggled for the first 3 years after his death to control the lack of sleep from night terrors, constant panic attacks, newly developed phobias, raging anxiety and depression. During these first three years of “healing” I saw countless doctors. I was always offered countless medications, but not once was I given even the slightest bit of insight on what I know now is the most important factors in healing: therapy, diet change, movement, and paying attention to ingredients in our food.

After struggling to find answers for so long, in and out of hospitals with infections/food poisoning/panic attacks/heart palpitations/ulcers – one day I had a moment where I decided to show up for myself and those who no longer could, like my brother. I chose to become the best version of myself. I chose to be my biggest advocate and by doing this I changed my life. It started with moving….

My now husband, Chris, and I moved cross-country to California. I chose California because this is where my brother and I planned to move together all along. Plus, I have read about a few therapists/doctors out in San Diego I wanted to give a try.

We moved into the first apartment that accepted us (not many) it was maybe 400 sq ft. and all we could afford at that time, but there is where my life changed for the better. That tiny kitchen in Oceanside is where I found my passion for all things food and wellness which eventually developed into so much more than I could’ve ever imagined…

After two years in Oceanside CA I became the healthiest I’ve ever been in my life. I was slowly getting ahold on my PTSD and symptoms started to lessen. I was doing hypnotherapy, EMDR, working out consistently and eating to fuel my body properly. I felt incredible. We made the decision to move back home to New York and here is where my business started.

In 2017 I was working a 9-5 and felt myself slipping back into old habits and symptoms from PTSD were notably becoming more present. This was enough to push me to quit my job, start an instagram business account based around wellness + vegan recipe curations and HOPE for the best. During this time, Instagram was on the rise and little did I know how quickly my account would take off. It was a success quickly, but not right away. I worked HARD in the kitchen sharing minimum 2 recipes a day on my account and had countless sleepless nights putting together product to sell at our local shops in town. I was hustling.

After the first year of running my own business, I learned a lot and was finally seeing the income I wanted to see, but the best part was the impact the work I was doing had on my community and following. Here is where I began to understand how similar we all are as humans. Many of us, if not all, are misinformed when it comes to food. The whole point of my page was to share how understanding my body and the food I was consuming changed my life for the better and I wanted to help people obtain this. The recipes I started sharing were vegan and gluten free, but now I don’t label my recipes or my diet. My recipes and page have evolved with me over the years and still share the focus on healthy living + ingredients, but also highlights that we are human and It is OK to fall out of routine, it is OK to eat that cookie, it is OK to simply live and not obsess, but to always find your way back to health.

7 years later after starting Garianne’s Table I am living my happiest, most fulfilled life with my supportive husband, Chris, and my two beautiful children Ruby and Pierce. They all inspire me daily to keep going when it comes to my health journey, recipe curation and creativity. I have over 1,000 curated recipes, a following across all platforms of 200K and many fun projects in the works! Most people now know me for my focus on easy recipes and motherhood, as well as my love for wellness and interiors. Some of my most popular recipes include my viral Caramel Apple Bark, Feta Egg Bake, One Dish Garden Spread., Cheesy Domino Potatoes, Ham & Cheese Croissant Bake and fun Hosting Sandwich Board. You can explore others over on my Recipes page at www.gariannestable.com.

Over the years, I am proud to say that I have established myself as a resource for creative, inventive, yet approachable cooking, sharing recipes that are accessible enough for the average home cook, but still bring something unique and special to each meal. I believe that everyone has a seat at the table, with food being a sacred experience that brings us together by letting the busy days subside into a connecting experience.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

In 2017 I quit my job as a preschool teacher and joined instagram to share vegan recipes to talk about my journey with food and mental health…the rest is history!

I didn’t see success right away, which is common for a new business, they say 5 years! Knowing this little fact pushed me to keep going. I had to self-teach everything when it came to a business: quarterly taxes, LLC, putting aside a percentage per partnership, reading contracts… the list goes on. I worked tirelessly to understand what it mean to run a business, I made recipes every day and never took a day off for the first two years, I created a website and hired people to help me understand the logistics behind it, I worked with countless local businesses selling product to keep myself afloat while keeping my head down and working on my instagram account on the side. I worked so hard for a very long time, harder than I ever worked in my life because it was passion and I was receiving countless DMs from followers about how much they could relate or how much my story or recipes helped them. It was the fuel I needed to see the success I now have. It was always because of the community standing behind me cheering me on.

Running Garianne’s Table is still very much demanding! It takes a lot of self-discipline and strict time frames especially now that I have kids that I want to play and spend intimate time with. I have a management team that I hired in 2022 – this has helped alleviate a lot of the stress that comes with running a business.

How did you build your audience on social media?

How do you build a following on social media… This is one of the most common questions I am asked. My answer will always be the same, because although with the times things change, at the end of the day humans engage, follow, and support other humans who are authentically themselves. If I had to list three things to do to see growth it would be:
1. Be authentic. Create your own unique content and stick to that specific niche that is YOURS.
2. Be consistent. Posting consistently shows you take it seriously, you take your following seriously and shows them you are reliable.
3. Engage. Engage with the people who support you. Thank them, answer their questions and involve them. Without a following a successful account wouldn’t exist.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I was an open book. I shared what I was comfortable with sharing and over time the people who started to flood in expressed how much sharing my story helped them. Hearing that gave me so much fuel to continue on and help people. The motivation behind helping others is truly unmatched.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Www.gariannestable.com
• Instagram: @gariannestable
• Facebook: @gariannestable
• Linkedin: @gariannestable
• Other: TikTok: @gariannestable
  Pinterest: @gariannestable

Image Credits

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