Wildly Well with Tiffany Sage Swan
Welcome to our new “Wildly Well” series! Imagine if you could learn from the experts on how to create and live your most wildly healthy and joyful life. Every Friday we invite entrepreneurs, coaches, and creators in the culinary, wellness, fitness, and medical spaces that we think you NEED to know to have a chat. People who have wholeheartedly leaned into their wellness journeys to help you enhance your relationship with food, movement, self-care, and holistic well-being so you can live the most joyful life you want. We hope you enjoy our conversations with these amazing people and brands. We know they are going to enrich your lives.
We’re super excited to bring our first guest, Tiffany Sage Swan of Salt + Sage, to our stage. She’s an amazing expert chef, food scientist, health and nutrition coach, and entrepreneur dedicated to helping you find confidence in the kitchen. Follow along as we learn more about Tiffany.
Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you share your backstory with us?
Gosh, where to start! I guess it really all comes down to a complete and total passion for food. From the beginning, I loved it. And I can’t imagine doing anything else with my life and career.
One of my earliest memories is a food memory: I grew up in the Pacific Northwest with a fisherman for a grandfather. He would take a trip up to coast to Canada many summers, and I recall going with him when I was five. I learned how to row a boat, but I also learned how to eat fresh steamer clams, dipped in garlic butter.
I wanted to work in food from the beginning - dreaming up the bakery I would one-day operate while only 10. I got into my first restaurant at 15 and worked in one nearly every day since. Meanwhile, I was lucky enough to know a food scientist: she worked at Nabisco and Oreo was a brand she worked on. I couldn’t imagine anything more cool than that! So I decided to follow that path. I then went to culinary school to “put the food back in food science” as I liked to say.
Fast forward to today, I have been working in restaurants or product development labs for 25+ years, sometimes both at the same time. Three years ago I burned out (you’ve heard it all before: 70-80 hour work weeks are great when you are young and eager, but as you mature and move up the ladder, it becomes less and less sustainable). I left the only place I knew as home and had a minor identity crisis over it.
You wear many hats as a Business Owner – Private Chef, Food Scientist, Nutrition Coach, Cooking Instructor – can you tell us why you started your business/what made you get into all of this and what do you do in your work?
I get bored easily, so I like to keep things challenging and different from day-to-day. Shifting from being a chef, food scientist, instructor, etc. keeps things interesting and varied. My focus is on educating the home cook to feel confident in the kitchen, developing new products for the marketplace, and cooking for women’s health and wellness retreats.
The burn-out was a major reason I decided to start my own business. I never thought I would, honestly. My grandfather, mother, and father were all entrepreneurs and I saw how much it took of them. I always swore I would never do that, and would let someone else write my checks each month. But I guess that entrepreneurial blood runs deep!
Many around me say “I have never worked so hard as I have as an entrepreneur” and I think to myself “I got into it to work less hard!” Ultimately, I wanted more freedom in my life. Freedom to spend time with my family, freedom to have dinner at home with my husband, even freedom to get a dog.
What’s your mission/purpose statement?
I believe that food is a catalyst for connection, an expression of love, and it is my goal to share that with the cooking curious.
What is a typical day like for you?
I don’t have a typical day, but each day has cooking, creating, and physical movement of some kind. I also try to get outside for at least 30 minutes each day, even if it is broken up.
As a food scientist, I’d love to hear about the role food additives/chemicals/hydrocolloids play in your research and cooking, and how you feel about them.
I could talk about additives all day! There are certainly applications in which they make sense, but primarily for shelf-stable products. When I am formulating, I like to use ingredients that are like those you might have in your pantry. When I am cooking, I like to work with really fresh and amazing ingredients and let them showcase their own special flavors.
Any type of cooking and food preparation is, at its core, a bit of a science experiment. How can someone turn cooking into a food science experiment at home?
As you said, really everything in the kitchen can be a bit of a science experiment. I think baking is really the best way to play with our food and see how it is reacting. Change the sugars from granulated, to brown, to turbinado and see what happens. Double the eggs, or cut them in half. Melt the butter, soften it, or keep it cold. Small changes to ingredients can make big differences in the final product. I encourage those who are curious to just start playing! And don’t forget to take notes so you know what you have done!
What has been your most innovative idea/recipe as a food scientist?
Unfortunately, due to non-disclosure agreements and the etiquette of the industry, I am not able to share the products I have worked on. So many items were cutting-, or even bleeding- edge at the time; the things were really innovative 20 years ago, but may not seem that way now!
Where do find inspiration for your recipes?
Everywhere! There are so many talented chefs, cooks, and creators that inspire me every day!
You recently created an online course — tell us about Kitchen Confidence.
It is more of a club or cooking community in which we cook together live once a week for the fun of making food together, clinking virtual glasses, and coaching from a pro along the way. Members will have access to replays, as well as informational videos and a community for questions and answers!
What does wellness mean to you?
I feel like wellness has a lot to do with intuition and moderation. Moving in a way that feels good, eating in a way that supports your vitality with as much variety as possible.
Earth, fire, water, air… which one are you?
Earth—I’m grounded and look at things objectively.
Water—I go with the flow and get along with everyone.
Fire—I’m either all in or all out.
Air—I let go of control and let life do its thing.
What’s your biggest vice?
Wine. I love it. I studied it, received my sommelier certification, and worked in cellars across the world. My nutrition mind knows alcohol isn’t good for me, but my hedonist mind can’t miss it!
Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us, Tiffany! I’ve loved learning more about you and find it fascinating that you have so many skills and talents and truly want to use them to help home cooks build confidence and infuse wellness into their every day lives. If you want to learn more about Tiffany and her Kitchen Confidence Club or upcoming Flavor University, you can listen to our live chat, follow her on Instagram, and check out her website.
Key Takeaways:
Wellness has a lot to do with intuition and moderation.
Take notes when you’re cooking!
When I am cooking, I like to work with really fresh and amazing ingredients and let them showcase their own special flavors.
We want to hear from you! We’d love if you would so graciously leave a comment with your opinion below. Do you have someone in your life who is living WILDLY WELL? Have something you’re itching to learn more about? Tell us below.
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