Meet Mary Payne Moran

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Mary Payne Moran a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Mary Payne, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?
April 19th, 1995, I was sitting in a dark classroom with my peers. We were watching a movie about Anne Frank and World War II, and suddenly, the building I was in shook, windows rattled, doors rumbled, and it wasn’t an earthquake. When the movie ended, we walked into another classroom where we learned the Murrah Federal Building had been blown up by a car bomb. That day we watched heroic firefighters pulling adults and children out of the ruble, both dead and alive. I watched as our small city showed incredible resilience, in such a devastating event.

Over the years, I’ve faced many challenges in my career; a financial crash that killed my thriving catering business, back surgery that forced me out of my dream restaurant job, the pandemic stopped my cooking classes for over two years, and so many other smaller challenges along the way. Each and every time, I Iooked at these challenges as an opportunity to shift and grow as a chef and as a businesswoman.

Recently, I decided to self-publish my children’s book The Vita Gang Mysteries; Who Stole Vita D?. It’s a story that started in 2007 with the help of the many children I was teaching. I used Vitamin Superheroes to teach healthy eating and cooking. I completed my book in 2015, and yet without an enormous social media following I was turned down by dozens of publishers. It was devastating, but didn’t deter me. Thankfully these early lessons of resilience have helped push me to take matters into my own hands and publish it myself. It is now available on all major websites.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I’m a Los Angeles Chef with strong roots from Oklahoma City, I’m an expert in my field with 20 years of experience. I’ve embraced California cuisine; food inspires what I cook. I’ve been with Traditional Home Magazine since 2012. I create timeless, beautiful, and delicious menus with accompanying recipes. My recipes are a mix of classic favorites with a touch of what’s trending in today’s market. Cooking is more than putting food on a table, it’s a powerful way to connect and create relationships with both food and the people you’re feeding.

Recently I’ve embarked on a new adventure- I’ve opened my own cooking school for children and adults, The Silver Lake Kitchen, I’ve launched my children’s book; The Vita Gang Mysteries; Who Stole Vita D?, and brought my apron line to fruition for sale on Etsy.

I love teaching kids to cook at a young age. Cooking gives them independence, a sense of accomplishment, and self-confidence. Cooking isn’t a hobby, it’s a life skill.

As a mom, chef, home cook and food lover, sharing my passion for cooking with children brings me joy and satisfaction beyond words. At The Silver Lake Kitchen I’m teaching children how to feel confident in the kitchen. Not all parents can teach their children the basic skills. I find that parents tend to worry or doubt their children can accomplish hard things when they’re cooking and in The Silver Lake Kitchen, I give them the opportunities, the tools, and the permission with guidance to create amazing food.

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?
Looking back on my cooking journey the most important piece of advice was, finish what you start. When this nugget of information was given I didn’t understand the impact it would have on my life. Finishing projects gave me a sense of pride and most importantly it taught me the skills of how to start and finish anything.

The second piece of advice, show up when you say you’re going to. After years of running my own businesses, I’ve realized how much I depend on other people.  I’m only as strong as my weakest link. When you keep your word you’ll keep moving forward in your career. People will know they can depend on you, and you’ll earn their trust.

Be kind was the last piece of advice. Work circles are very small and word gets around quickly if you’re unprofessional, a bad worker or even worse a bad employer.

Okay, so before we go, is there anyone you’d like to shoutout for the role they’ve played in helping you develop the essential skills or overcome challenges along the way?
My husband James Moran and my mom and dad, they’ve been my backbone throughout my entire professional career. James has supported me with every new job, new business, and even when I pitched a YouTube culinary series to travel the world while exploring the food in each region. It was just the two of us treking all over Europe stumbling on food events and filming and uploading to You Tube before anyone was doing it, it was NUTS! He was always by my side, cheering me on.

Luckily for me he is an Assistant Director (AD) and Producer in the film world. As an AD he knew how to connect with people, and work in very stressful and demanding positions. He helped me jump major hurdles when I was just starting.

He also helped me get some of my first jobs. When I was in Culinary School at Le Cordon Bleu, he was working on Gilmore Girls. After school late at night I would go to set with all of my freshly baked pastries from class. Warm croissants, scones and breads gave everyone their second wind on set. From that encounter I was lucky enough to meet and assist the very talented Food Stylist April Falzone, she taught me to make food look camera ready, and so much more about set etiquette. I met Melissa McCarthy on set as well and launched my catering company in 2002 so I could cater her and Ben Falcone’s wedding. They were amazing first clients!

Without the love and support of my husband, mom and dad, none of my career would have happened.

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