Aubrey
“I had to remind myself I’m not getting a do-over at life after work, so I learned how to break free from my outdated, toxic habits.”
Hi! I’m Aubrey,
host & creator of the Golden Approach. For almost 10 years I had been dedicated solely to a career as a Pastry Chef. I attended the “world renowned” Culinary Institute of America & worked for Hospitality leaders such as Four Seasons, Montage International, Foreman Wolf, & NOHO. Eventually my own work was featured in publications such as Baltimore Magazine, The Baltimore Sun, & Forbes. I even got to try my hand at competing on Food Network in 2020. [see more media features here]
But despite all my so called “success,” when the pandemic hit, none of that mattered.
I was still furloughed. Even as one of the lucky few to find a new position briefly after there was no denying all the ugly parts of the industry had floated right to the surface, causing people to burn out fast & leave in massive waves. Then in August 2021 I reached full burn-out myself. I pushed myself so hard at work, determined to set everyone else up for success, that I passed out on my kitchen floor afterwards. Bonus I even sprained my ankle on the way down. After spending the night at the ER & the next few weeks on crutches,
I had to be brutally honest with myself about what I wanted for the future; what was most important to me?
To be the “best”? To be some famous Chef? Honestly no. It was the people I care about. I wanted it to be my health & well-being.
I had to remind myself I’m not getting a do-over at life after work, so I learned how to break free from my outdated, toxic habits. On this journey I became a teacher, first as an adjunct professor for an accredited culinary program, then for a small business teaching baking to everyday humans. The latter is the best job I have ever had. There I was able to reconnect with my community, as well as my inner-self, sparking a new purpose. I also discovered I had a knack for making complicated ideas very accessible. Combined with a wide-lens of exposure from a young age, my hospitality background, etc, it all culminated into becoming the Golden Approach.
In my attempt to make the world a bit better every day, I offer you my lessons-learned as tangible options to help support yourself, your family, your professional goals, & your community; despite the systems not being built to support.
I truly believe that together, we’ve got this.
Emmalyn
“To achieve a goal isn't the finish line, but a rest point on your exploration of life. It's the chance to reconsider where you've been, where you are, & where you want to be, so you can plan a path to get there.”
Hey there! My name is Emmalyn,
I'm the Associate Producer for the Golden Approach. I graduated in 2021 with a B.A. in Linguistics & Women's and Gender Studies (an absolute mouthful, I know). That means I learned how to meet people where they are & work together to address issues within my community. As a low-income student living below the poverty line, I was no stranger to food insecurity & I was intimately familiar with its effects on every area of a person's life. With that in mind, I spent two years working on a project to try & tackle food insecurity on campus.
Easily the most significant takeaway from my experience was recognizing how slow progress can be & how much is simply about educating people.
After graduating, I went into my first real job search amid the global pandemic with the sole career goal of doing something that made the world a better place, without sacrificing my own physical or mental health. I thought I had won the lottery when I finally found a job that spoke to me, in a place with amazing coworkers, & a mission that made me feel like I was sharing something valuable with the world. As the story often goes, that didn't work out. I had to accept that sometimes people have a different vision & you can't force change if they don't want it themselves.
Leading up to my departure I felt trapped in this cycle of hope, into frustration, into disappointment, & back again. The experience started to impact my mental & physical health, that's when I knew my path needed to change. This inspired me to take a leap of faith to start working on The Golden Approach.
When Aubrey & I first started working together this project was little more than an idea, yet it was everything I had been looking for; I couldn't say no. The Golden Approach felt like something positive I could contribute to the world, it also made me feel valuable & seen in a way I had never felt before.
I finally felt like I was enough. As though I was an asset to our small but mighty team, & that I was accomplishing what we set out to do. These days the biggest challenge I have to face when working to meet new goals, is having to set new goals in the first place. Not because I couldn't achieve the original goals, but because they have been accomplished. I have to challenge myself to find new ways to grow & progress. For me, that's the most powerful lesson that I can share with anyone from my journey. To achieve a goal isn't the finish line, but a rest point on your exploration of life. It's the chance to reconsider where you've been, where you are, & where you want to be, so you can plan a path to get there.