We recently connected with Genelyn Cook and have shared our conversation below.
Genelyn, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?
Definitely my parents and my older siblings. We’re originally from the Philippines and immigrated to America on separate occasions. We were seperated for a little and reunited again many years later. My mom was a nail tech and my dad was a transportation driver. They worked for the wages they needed for that day and it was tough, especially since there seven children to feed. When we came to the U.S., my dad continued to remind me that this was the land of opportunity and that we could accomplish whatever we wanted. I constantly remind myself of the circumstances of my upbringing and use that to fuel my every day decisions. I also practice gratitude on the daily because every day is a gift that is never promised to us so why not do the hard work and put in my best effort.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
In 2020, right before the pandemic, I launched a small business creating grazing boards. I loved the ability to craft ingredients together to bring a work of art to life. It was an incredibly rewarding experience and I had the pleasure to meet so many wonderful people, especially my supportive clients. However, my husband had a medical scare in 2022 and I decided to pause my business to aide him during that time. Thankfully, he has since fully recovered! However, during my hiatus, I realized that I not only love bringing ingredients together to make something delicious, I also loved teaching people how to do the same. So, I pivoted my social media to recipe development with a focus on baking.
The Grazing Cook now has a blog with my very own recipes for you and your family to enjoy. You can visit it my blog at www.thegrazingcook.com
Since this transition, I’ve had the opportunity to host bread making classes and share recipes that have become family staples in our household. Food certainly brings people together and my hope is that I could encourage and reignite the love and passion for food creation in every home.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
1. Outward focus vs. Inward focus
Often, you will hear people of influence say that you must focus on you to find who you are. I did the opposite. I focused on how I can serve others through my talents and really thought about how what I offered could elevate their lives. When I made my focus to serve and bless those around me, naturally, my true self came to the surface and creating became who I was and I no longer had to battle with myself to be something I wasn’t.
2. Staying Faithful
I pray daily for the Lord to use me for His will and His purpose. Purpose can be found even in the simplest tasks, like baking a loaf of sourdough. The whole process takes at least 2 days, but in those 2 days, I’m reminded that all things of worth take time and energy to cultivate. The reward is in the process itself; the refining, the stretching and the practice of patience. The finished product is just the cherry on top. And an even better reward is knowing that I was able to share my knowledge and hopefully, readers/followers can use that knowledge to start their own creations.
3. Never Stop Learning
Each day is a new opportunity to absorb new knowledge, practice a skill or refine an old one. I still have much to learn as a baker and recipe developer and it continues to amaze me that the more I learn, I more I realize I know very little!
Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?
I’ve heard someone once say that overwhelm is everything that you’ve hoped and prayed for happening all that once. Meaning that sometimes when I am behind on my blog posts or recipe creating, I have to stop and pause and say, “I GET TO DO THIS!”. The privilege of creating and creating freely is a gift. Especially food creation because who doesn’t love food?!
When you are overwhelmed with all of the things happening all at once, take a moment, catch your breath and remember that you get to choose the next steps you take.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.thegrazingcook.
com - Instagram: @thegrazingcook
