Today we’d like to introduce you to Nadia Aidi.
Nadia, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
In short, food has always been a big part of my life. When I was about 6-7 years old, I’d invite my little friends to dinner and would make them my take on croque monsieurs (which was wonder bread, whatever cheese my mom had on hand, garlic salt and ham if I found it). My point with the story is that I have been cooking and enjoying food since I can remember. I grew up in Mexico, to a Mexican mom and a Syrian dad (who grew up in Paris), needless to say, he was a major foodie, and I get a lot of my culinary point of view from growing up in such a mixed culture home. I also had the opportunity to travel quite a bit, and to live in France for almost a year, before moving to the US.
Fast forward a few years, and my dad got into the restaurant industry, and I followed suit. I cooked in restaurants for a few years and then retired (I know that sounds weird, given that I am barely 31) from food, or so I thought…
I got pregnant with my daughter and found the least foodie career in the world, real estate [insert emoji of monkey covering its eyes]. It wasn’t long until I started missing my creative outlet which has always been creating food; thus, Food My Muse was born.
At first, FMM was just an Instagram account where I would share recipes, but then it became a blog, and it started opening doors for me to cook at wine pairing events and as of recently, host pop-up dinners. I couldn’t be more excited about what the future brings for me and FMM.
Has it been a smooth road?
I can honestly say that it has been a rocky road with a lot of curves, detours, obstacles, booby traps, you name it and it has been there. The biggest hurdle I have to deal with so far and do not undermine this by any means has been my mindset.
When starting any type of venture where the path isn’t already laid out for you (heck, even then sometimes) mindset is key. I strongly believe that is what separates the people that succeed from those who don’t. So, working on your mindset is the biggest advice I have for young women who are starting out. Another advice I have is, truly believe that things are always working out for you and to not resist the obstacles, instead, to focus on what you can learn from overcoming them.
We’d love to hear more about Food My Muse.
I am a food blogger, recipe creator, and chef. A big part of my job nowadays is working with brands to create recipes and showcase their product on my socials. Although I love creating and photographing recipes for my socials, I would have to say my specialty is cooking for people. Nothing beats throwing together a dinner cooking from the heart and have people love it. I have been growing the cooking events portion of the business, and I couldn’t be happier about it.
I do believe what sets me aside from others is my insane passion for food, it truly is my muse.
Do you feel like there was something about the experiences you had growing up that played an outsized role in setting you up for success later in life?
I do believe that growing up in a home that was ran by two very different people played a key role in my personality and independence. My parents let me travel and have experiences outside of the norm that I am so thankful for because it truly opened my eyes to the world around me.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.foodmymuse.com
- Email: foodmymuse@gmail.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/foodmymuse
Image Credit:
Ricardo Mosso
Micah Samuelsen
Nadia Aidi
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