Meet Lisa Caldwell

We recently connected with Lisa Caldwell and have shared our conversation below.

Lisa, thank you so much for joining us today. Let’s jump right into something we’re really interested in hearing about from you – being the only one in the room. So many of us find ourselves as the only woman in the room, the only immigrant or the only artist in the room, etc. Can you talk to us about how you have learned to be effective and successful in situations where you are the only one in the room like you?

Fortunately for the energetic and curious child that I was, I learned by doing and was encouraged to do so. Which worked some of the time for my parents, and may have been why I was placed into a Montessori school around 3 years of age. I had a lot of energy (still do) and it needed to be channeled. What better place than in an open- plan atmosphere where a kid could learn when they’re ready, on their own and in whatever way worked for them? This may have lent to the independence streak and motivation that I displayed at home, in school and among my peers.

But more importantly, I grew up in Maine, surrounded by men at home, in my neighborhood and at school. I didn’t have a say when it came down to doing what needed to be done on a daily basis. If you were capable, you had to get up early, get going, contribute and help where you could, even if you were little. Perhaps that’s when my work ethic was instilled. I wasn’t given the opportunity to ‘bow out’ just because I was a girl. I learned what I could do and what was possible by doing while being instructed and doing it right, repeatedly (if necessary) until the task was completed. I had to be effective and produce a result because it was necessary. And the reward was knowing that you were helpful.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I work with clients who have diet-related or auto-immune compromised diseases find a balanced approach to maintaining a healthier diet. However, I never thought that one day I would need to rely on the very service that I provided my clients.

15 years ago, I learned I had hypothyroidism, but what I didn’t know was its parent condition was the true underlying cause. I rode the roller coaster for years thinking my hair falling out was normal and my weight gain was due to my not being able to rise off the couch to exercise. Existing in my foggy world of work, without a sense of time and reason, was a daily occurrence. After years of micro-adjustments, tests upon tests, and frustration, I was informed in December 2023 that I had Hashimoto’s disease. I took to the interwebs for solace and a deeper look. Along with some lifestyle, medication and supplementation modifications, I turned onto the same allergen-free road my clients were on. I knew I was making food safe to eat for my clients and now I am making food safe to eat for me.

My 30 years of work in the culinary world and personal health concerns enable me to teach and share my expertise, deep knowledge and increase awareness of how an allergen-free dietary lifestyle can be easily adopted and integrated into one’s life, regardless of one’s condition. I recently decided to focus on teaching instead of providing allergen-free meals. I have a new website (lisaecaldwell.com) dedicated to allergen-free recipes along with a full Fall-Winter schedule of in-person and online allergen-free classes ranging from three course meals to fine French pastries that I am looking forward to.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Area of Knowledge – hospitality and service training through The Freeman Group. Learning how to train my team, instilling what and how we do everything impacts the guest experience.

Characteristics/ Qualities – sitting down with myself and having an honest conversation. Asking myself a few questions that I might not want to hear the answers to : what do I want, and what do I need to do (or not do) to get it? What am I doing (or not) that is preventing me from moving forward in my life?

Characteristics/ Qualities – understanding what Emotional Intelligence (E.I.) is. Identifying my E.I. weaknesses/ strengths and dedicating time to working on them.

My advice to anyone who is just starting out is to be kind, however be very, very honest with yourself. Be honest about who you are (at the moment), take responsibility for it, determine what you want, what it looks like and make the necessary changes to get there.

Do not spend a lot of time with anyone who makes you feel less than, no matter who they are in your life.

Determine what success is to you, and no one else. If what you have to offer the world seems small, yet impactful in a positive way, know that is a gift and one you should be proud of.

We’ve all got limited resources, time, energy, focus etc – so if you had to choose between going all in on your strengths or working on areas where you aren’t as strong, what would you choose?

Personally and professionally speaking, it has always been important to me to be well rounded. Not all professions require one to be well rounded, I.e., sports, musicians, artist, craftsmen and women, etc., but as an individual or on a personal level, I know it would be immensely helpful.

Regardless of what, where, why, how and when my strengths helped me flourish at my profession, a chance encounter with one of my weaknesses would show up. And it always seemed (to me) to be for all the world to see. Sometimes I chose to shrug it off, but the ‘lesson du jour’ would show up again and again until I learned how to incorporate it and learn from it. Initially it seemed tumultuous to deal with, never ending and painful. Then it would be over and all was well.

But I started to realize it was much more painful to drag out the process by seeing the perceived weakness in a negative light. When I started appreciating the chance to make it a strength, I was able to turn it around faster and use it for something positive. Not necessarily taking it head on and fighting with it, but realizing that it was only presenting itself to make me a better version of myself personally and professionally. Recently, I learned that we can minimize the highs and lows of life lessons by keeping a keen eye on what worked, holding onto that and repeating it. Just don’t let it go to your head. Stay humble, focused and know when to make adjustments.

As an entrepreneur, you sign up to wear all the hats. Yes, you can delegate and should when and where possible. However, there will be times when the only person for the job is you, and it has to be done. Before the pandemic, I had the opportunity to teach classes online but disregarded it as it didn’t ‘fit’ into my business model. Once Covid shuttered the world in, my business had to pivot or it would be no more. I incorporated more tech, video and editing into my world than ever before. Note: I know nothing about the audio/video world nor have I owned a television in 15 years. I had to teach my well honed pastry skills and techniques that are hard to convey in person over Zoom. I met a wide range of people who “just wanted to bake” or “needed to master this” , 12 at a time from various parts of the world. As a pastry chef, I didn’t have much patience or tolerance for people who wanted a paycheck, let alone people who just wanted to bake. I had to become much more flexible in my thinking and my approach to teaching techniques, which has become instrumental now that the world has opened up again.

This helps when engaging with people who come in for my allergen-free classes. Some are at a complete loss, needing to make major changes to their diet and lifestyle and I need to be much more compassionate, patient and flexible. Some call it soft skills, I considerate as important as the skills and techniques shared in class. As a chef / nutritionist, I am here to share and teach, not show the world my idea of food and artistry. Developing people skills, teaching techniques and becoming more well rounded as an individual have taken a while, but it’s been worth it. And I am sincerely looking forward to teaching and sharing all that I know.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://lisaecaldwell.com
• Instagram: lisayourkitchenconfidant
• Facebook: Lisa Caldwell Your Kitchen Confidant
• Linkedin: Lisa Caldwell
• Youtube: Lisa Your Kitchen Confidant

Image Credits

Lisa Caldwell
Jessie Wyman Photography