Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Tanya Rose. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Tanya, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

I went to school for the culinary arts and graduated college with an associates degree in Baking & Pastry. I love cooking and being able to work with my hands.

After graduation, my career as a chef grew and I started working full time as a pastry chef for several restaurants in and around Seattle.

Then, when the pandemic struck in 2019, and restaurants began closing it changed how I looked at the food service industry. Millions of people now without jobs, no health care and no guarantee when our work force would be back to work. I took odd and end jobs, delivered groceries, sold flower arrangements, even worked as a postal carrier. I eventually found part time work at a local bakery and as a pastry chef for a small farm to table restaurant. But shortly after, I made the decision to leave my beautiful city, move back home to spend time with my family in Chicago and father who was undergoing chemo for his cancer treatments. I took this time to focus on my own health and creativity, learning a new skill, photography, taking my camera with me everywhere I went. In this, I found a renewed sense of purpose and direction.

Still, I missed being in the kitchen and 6 months later I found myself back in Seattle. This time, as pastry chef for a small expedition cruise company onboard the S.S. Legacy. We sailed in and out of Juneau, Glacier Bay and SE Alaska. It was the most incredible experience of my life. To see wildlife after 2 years untouched by cruise ships due to the pandemic. I met amazing people, and got to work with an amazingly hard working crew.

During that time, I was fortunate to meet some travel writers, who invited me to Puerto Rico and the Caribbean islands. Puerto Rico was still recovering from Hurricane Irma when the pandemic hit, devastating their economy a second time. Seeing the effects of the pandemic in the small towns in Alaska and Puerto Rico, travel, tourism and the food service industry changed how I saw and viewed my career.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Anthony Bourdain was a huge inspiration for me not only as a chef, but as an artist, who made the decision to hang up his chefs coat to pursue his passion of being a writer. If it’s my calling, I don’t want to live with any regret that I didn’t pursue it as a career.

My passion is music and film and here in Hawaii, I am pursuing my career as a photographer and producer. My photos from Alaska are on my website along with some of the dishes I served on board the S.S. Legacy, the crew and the amazing landscape and scenery. I am working on some creative projects here in Hawaii and can hopefully share some insight on my creative process as a beginner photographer, and as a chef.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

One month after returning from Alaska my father passed away from cancer. His diet was mostly processed and packaged food, a major culprit in cancer and cardiovascular disease. As a chef, I had an internal battle with my own health and what my involvement was in the food industry and sustainability. My mental and physical health became my priority. And In 2021, I relocated to Honolulu, as it has always been my dream to live in Hawaii. The sacred land and the ocean are healing forces of nature.

Since then, I have been studying nutrition, holistic medicine and yoga. Learning to surf has been the greatest blessing as it challenges your body and mind to practice patience, awareness, and nurtures you in ways only nature can.

I still cook everyday. I love good cheese, dark chocolate and breaking bread. I am enjoying eating my way around Hawaii, with the freshest fish and produce, but only take what I need to nourish my body and live the Aloha way.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

I’ve found a lot of informative resources through podcasts and YouTube channels in learning a new skill or hearing experiences of people who have faced similar challenges and how they have overcome them. Hopefully I can be of inspiration for creatives, entrepenuers and females who are the rocks in their families, while balancing a career and still finding time for your own mental and physical health.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.tanyarosephotography.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tanya_rose_photography/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tanya-rose-27547324b/