Life and Work with Marlee Brady

Today we’d like to introduce you to Marlee Brady.

Marlee, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Marlee was classically trained as a chef and has worked in the food industry for close to ten years before starting her food blogging journey. She was selected to be on a competition team while in culinary school to compete internationally in Austria.

After having their son and her husband starting pharmacy school, Marlee began I Just Make Sandwiches as a way to help home cooks transform their cooking habits into those of home chefs. She teaches tips and tricks that professional chefs use every day in professional kitchens that not only help foods taste better but to work more efficiently in the space given.

With close to 3 1/2 years of food blogging under her belt, she has begun to develop a true gourmet following with her blog readership and social media following. She enjoys hosting Facebook Live cooking videos as a way to connect with her audience in order to help them hone their cooking skills and confidence in their kitchens.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Food blogging has not been a smooth road in the least bit. I thought that I had done my “research” before starting out this journey and was sorely disappointed that I didn’t have the monumental success that I thought came within the first year. The first year of blogging was met with many bouts of depression, a three-month break from blogging, and many many tears.

What helped me shoot out of that slump, though, was surrounding myself with like-niched bloggers (gourmet and indulgent) because now I knew I wasn’t the only one trying to do this crazy, non-trendy niche. When I found my tribe, that’s when I began to really learn the things I needed to know to turn my blog around and develop it into the type of content I truly want to create.

Another thing that was absolutely essential to owning my business was attending a conference. I had heard many amazing things about Everything Food Conference and decided to go. It was Life. Changing. I was able to rub shoulders with some top food bloggers and get feedback and encouragement from them. I walked away from EFC 2018 feeling like I had been given permission to create food the way I had learned in culinary school.

The final thing that has helped me turn my mindset more business-oriented was finding an accountability partner. We have weekly calls to discuss the goals and growth of our blogs and help each other see when we need to refocus. I love my accountability partner because she is very business minded and she has rubbed off on me quite a bit and she has told me that I help her keep the passion of cooking alive within her when the blogging side of the job gets to be too draining.

Please tell us about what you do.
I run a food blog called I Just Make Sandwiches. The aim of my content is to help home cooks develop more confidence within themselves to create their own recipes. I teach them how simple it can be to create gourmet, restaurant-quality dishes at home without having access to the best equipment. I really hope to de-mystify cooking and creating in the kitchen because it really is simple as long as you know some basic tricks.

I specialize in from-scratch, gourmet, restaurant-quality cooking. I’m a huge proponent for seasonal cooking and supporting local farmers as that’s what I did for the majority of my professional cooking career and I love sharing that passion with my readers and followers.

What sets my blog apart from others is that I really hold the readers hand through the entire recipe. I answer almost any question that anyone might have on the subject. I try to be the friend that’s in the kitchen with you, helping you create a delicious recipe. You won’t see long anecdotes in my posts; if they’re long, it’s because I’m breaking down every single part of the recipe down so that you can’t mess it up. There is no “jump to recipe” button on my site. You need to read my content before doing the recipe.

I am really excited to be publishing a book, hopefully by the end of the year. Its self-help meets recipe book where I teach home cooks how to think more like a chef in the way that they set up their kitchens, which tools do they absolutely need, how to shop for seasonal produce, how to recipe develop like a chef, and much more. I have been working on this book off and on for about two years and am excited to provide this to my readers and know that it is going to help so many people!

There’s a wealth of academic research that suggests that a lack of mentors and networking opportunities for women has materially affected the number of women in leadership roles. Smart organizations and industry leaders are working to change this, but in the meantime, do you have any advice for finding a mentor and building a network?
What has worked for me is finding a tribe of people who do what you do. And if you can’t find one, create one! The main group that I check in on regularly on Facebook was created by a girl who noticed that there were a ton of diet bloggers and mommy bloggers but not a ton of gourmet bloggers. So, she asked in a massive Facebook Food Bloggers group if there was anyone that fit that niche and created a group out of it. She created this community and it was amazing to be a part of it from the beginning.

You also need a business coach. You need to do your homework and see who is top in their field. I was blessed to be mentored by Jenny Melrose for a time and she was phenomenal in helping me change my mindset in how I saw my business. She would always tell me “you’re not small, you’re GROWING.” I also met my accountability partner through her and it has been such a huge help to my business.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.ijustmakesandwiches.com/
• Email: ijustmakesandwiches@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ijustmakesandwiches/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ijustmakesandwiches/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ijustmakesandwi

Image Credit:
The picture of me is from Jennifer Lind Schutsky, on Instagram her handle is @jenniferlindschutsky

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