Hi there. I'm Jill Allen and this is find your fierce, the show designed for women to discover your fierce, unlock and unstoppable mindset. Build unbreakable courage and completely transform how you show up every single day. Each week I will bring ideas, methods and strategies that will inspire you to step into your greatness and live life on purpose. Let's be fit, fierce and unstoppable.
(00:34): Hey there. Welcome to find your fierce. This is episode 23 and super excited that you were here with us today. We have a special guest with us, my friend, Lauren lawless, chef Lauren lawless. She is actually going to be our private chef during the upcoming Deon stoppable retreat. This fall in LA Jolla, California. Yep. So pretty excited about that. And I tell you her journey as a TV personality, personal chef, I mean the list goes on and on author caterer, you know, it's allowed her to create such a unique global cooking style that is truly flawless. And I tell you, she has appeared on shows such as master chef travel channels best in food tons of new stations, radio stations, newspapers, magazines. And so she is for sure sought after. And that is why we were so blessed to have her here today with us. Welcome Lauren. Thanks for being here. How are you doing?
(01:25): I'm doing wonderful. How are you?
(01:27): Good. Good. I know you are so super busy and I'm just glad that you're here. Tell us a little bit about yourself. I mean, I gave the, you know, listeners let's have a little bit about you, but who are you?
(01:38): So I am a full time Private chef. I have two families I cook for every day. I also run a very high end catering company called flawless cuisine. We do corporate events, birthday parties, private cooking classes and everything in between. You name it. We do it. I focus on global cuisine. I'm actually, I have a different background. I'm German, Italian. My daughter is middle Eastern version. My son is Brazilian Portuguese, but I specialize in Asian cuisine. So I do a little bit of everything. You know, I don't like to limit myself. I love food. So I like to learn new things, but yeah, I'm a TV personality. I just actually want to show on food network last week, supermarket stakeout I'm winner of season two. So I won the $10,000 and that's what Alex Guarnaschelli, if you guys haven't seen it, it's a season two episode 11, it's troubled triple Decker.
(02:28): So anybody can watch it if they want to be excited about that's a big win for me. In master chef, I made top 40 out of, I think it was 23,000 people. I did travel channels best ensued. And I actually just filmed another show on a major network. It's going to air in the next few months. I'm waiting to announce it. So I'm really excited about that. I'm also opening a food truck here in the next 60 days. So you guys can keep a lookout for that. It's going to be flawless. It's going to be a topless truck. So small plates from around the world, all different types of the Xen. So I'm really excited about that. And I just released my first cookbook called false cuisine, inspiring the world, one plant at a time. So people can get that on Amazon or on my website at [inaudible] dot com. Just do a little bit of everything. I'm also, you know, a busy mom. I have two kids. I have a two year old and a 13 year old. So just trying to juggle my everyday life with having kids and being a mom. So
(03:24): Well, let's talk about all of that here. Okay. So wait first, tell us a little bit, how did you get started in cooking and has this always been a passion of yours or just kind of day one? Like it's definitely passion.
(03:38): Since I was a kid, I loved being around food. My family loved to eat, you know, it brings people together. It makes you happy. So those are all my good memories revolving around sued. My grandmother taught me a lot. Yeah. Everything that I know, I grew up cooking alongside her and you know, my mother always cooked really good seafood. She actually cooked a really good bouillabaisse, which is actually in my cookbook. But you know, I grew up watching iron chef, like the old school, iron chef, two fat ladies, Julia child. I mean, I watched all those shows growing up and I always wanted to be on a cooking show, but I actually did sales my whole life until about a couple of years ago. And I saw a casting for master chef on the screen on I'm on my break while I was at work. And I said, you know what? This is the time I'm going to do it. It was like calling out to me. [inaudible]
(04:26): My job. Okay. What was your job at that time? Did I miss that?
(04:29): I sold technology. I sold software. So default, if I still love, I felt dogs, cars. I mean, you name it. I sold it, but yeah, my now fiance, he was like, you know what, just do it, chase your dream, quit your job. We were broke for awhile or, you know, we struggled. But from that, I became a private chef and I'm very grateful for that experience taught me a lot. I got to meet, you know, some amazing people and you know, it really started my career. Wow. Yeah. So sometimes you take risk, you know, cause if I didn't take that risk, I probably wouldn't be here today, so,
(05:00): Oh yeah. And just last week we talked about courage and taking the risk and you know, it can be scary and all of that,
(05:08): You know, with where they're at and they're scared to take chances and take risks, but if you really want to be successful and get to where you want to be, you have to do that.
(05:15): Oh, you're firing me up. This is good. This is really, really good. So you were in sales, you quit your career. Yes. And you are a mom and you just took that leap of faith and you just think that, so you auditioned and you got it.
(05:35): It's about 40. So I made it too played the show. But I didn't get my apron and they didn't show my episode. So it was kind of disappointing a few of us, we actually made it onto the show, but they didn't show her episode. So I happen to really come back from that. And you know, you have a name for myself, you know, I sometimes you gotta fake it till you make it. So I told everybody, Hey, I'm a celebrity chef. I did the, and you know, and from there I really created a name for myself. You know, I, everything that I've done it pretty much done on my own. I'm my own manager and my own publicist. I do everything. So I talked to a lot of people. I found a lot of emails and make a lot of phone calls. You know, I, I go after what I want and I get it. So
(06:13): Yeah, you just have, I mean, I can just tell you have so much grit and passion. You're excited about, you know, what you do, you know, tell us a little about, about those times. I mean, what did you do? I mean, okay, so you became a private chef. How did you get that started? Because there's a lot of women here that do have their dreams. They're buried. And we talked about the risks. I mean, so what did you, you did what you had to do and you got very, very creative. So how did you take that first step of being a private chef?
(06:44): I actually found a family. I found a family that needed a private chef or a friend of mine, my business partner. And I went out and applied and I think I was competing against Michael Jackson chefs and they decided to hire me over over them. And I've been with them three years now. So they, they love me. They take great care of me. And I'm also a private chef for an office every morning of 12 people downtown. And then I have my catering company. So I'm always doing private dinner for people, private cooking classes. So I'm very busy. I'm always on the go.
(07:13): Speaking of cooking classes, I know we're excited at our retreat. You're going exactly going to give us a cooking class on one of the nights. So that's going to be excited.
(07:24): I just sent off to class a couple weeks ago for some friends. So we had a lot of fun, homemade Papa deli. We ended up, we made a bowl and gaze, I started wine. So
(07:33): It was really fun. Oh, it does. Yeah, it does sound fun. I mean, I think too, let's kind of shift gears, you know, with your family because you're chasing your dreams and you're going after the things that you liked me that is so inspiring, especially when you have children that are watching you tell us a little bit about your kids and you know, how they been a part of this cause being a mom, too, taking risks, what have you heard
(07:55): Story? Do you have you, you haven't have, you know, did I tell you a little bit about where I come from? My background? Well, it's all in my book. My book is actually an autobiography slash foot book.
(08:05): Okay.
(08:07): So my mom actually shot and killed my dad when I was 10. I had a very hard childhood growing up, very verbally abusive, physically abusive, some sexually abusive. I had a very hard time growing up. And I ended up moving out, moving in with my grandmother, but then I moved out when I was 15. I got emancipated at 16, married to, in a very abusive man at 17 and then had my daughter 18. So I was stuck in a very domestic violence relationship. So I'm a survivor of that. He was a drug dealer and very, very physically abusive. So he actually went to prison four or five years. So that's pretty much how I got out of that relationship. Otherwise I may still be in it. I don't know, but you know, I've, I've come a long way. I've had a lot of trauma, my sister right now with stage four cancer, you know, I've lost friends and family, drugs and alcohol and you know, it's been hard, but I have taken that and create a stirrings from that.
(09:01): It's really made me who I am hard ass, you know, worker. I wear my heart on my sleeve. I'm very straightforward. I don't let people put me down or walk all over me. And I think that's because of what I've been through. I created a very strong person. That's why they call me, it's lawless lawless. So, you know, because of everything I've been through, I'm really strong person and I know what I want and I'm get it. And I want to make my children proud and show them, Hey, even though I've gone through all of this, all these struggles and everything, you know, I've overcome all these problems and I've really made something of myself in my career. And it's something that my children can look up to. I want to leave a legacy behind. So that's what I'm going to do. Wow. In my book, it's, there's a lot more in there.
(09:42): You know, I used to be a cutter and a lot of other things. So, you know, I can really relate to my audience. I really wanted to show them that I'm a real person. I'm not perfect. Just because what you see on TV, you see, I don't see the behind the scenes. This is my real life. And I want to, you know, relate to my audience and maybe yours and be able to touch people, fire them through my food one plate at a time, which is my motto. So I live by that and I'm trying to help as many people as I can along the way. And I do as much as I can with the time that I have. So. Wow. Thank you for sharing. Yeah. My book, you guys can read it definitely. Well, I was planning on getting that for yeah. Oh my gosh.
(10:24): Wow. And email. It definitely has. I'm sure. Just, I mean, I can't even imagine of, of what you have gone through and you got to keep pushing. No, you know, no, one's going to feel sorry for you. You have to keep, keep moving on. And it is what it is. You can't pick and choose your family or, you know, sometimes things happen that you can't control, but you know, you gotta, you gotta be strong and even moving when you're definitely doing that, I'm trying art and our 10 year old and two year old. Yeah. That's fun. Right. 13 year olds are fun. We did it all over again. Oh yeah. 13 hours are lovely. Especially girls. Yeah. Yeah. My daughter's turning 13 in July, so yeah. So it's been good for you. I'm going to go have a glass of wine after this, so yeah, there you go.
(11:17): I love it. You know, tell us, okay. So in your cookbook and you have a lot of ideas, I know a lot of people are looking for some simplicity. Okay. I know we can probably relate being moms and you know, on the go all the time. I mean, what suggestions do you have, you know, for people who are super busy and how can they eat healthy? And I mean, why book book actually has a lot of easy recipes in it, lots of salads in there, lots of soups because you know, I'm a busy, busy person too. You know, I have two jobs, catering company, two kids. I have to feed everybody. So I'm always on the go. I like to make sure I have a lot of ingredients. Maybe not shopping every day. I try to shop maybe once a week, you can freeze so much stuff.
(12:00): You can freeze 'em you can put things in ice, trays and seeds, you know, leftover herbs. If you have them and pop them into your food. I love seasonings like pieces, but I mean, you really want to elevate a dish. I would say having fresh herbs, heavy, good proteins. I don't like to use frozen vegetables. Honestly. I like to use fresh ingredients. I'm going to, you know, market or farmer's markets around here. You can get, you know, great produce for a reasonable price. I actually have a garden in my backyard. I'm growing everything right now with that squash, I've got green beans, you name it, I've got it. But just trying to, you know, eat healthy food stuff with low sugar, not all the preservatives and you know, all that kind of crap that you find in like box stuff, try to do more fresh ingredients, just elevating those dishes by adding, you know, some great flavors, citrus, some fresh herbs, you know, that really will make that dish stand out and pop.
(12:50): Oh yeah. Tell us a little bit about, I'm all about hacks, about freezing and ice cubes. What are you? Oh yeah. So I did, I was on the news not too long ago. I did the what was the festival? I did no food wasted. So how to obviously not waste food. And I'm a private chef. My clients do not eat leftovers. I have three fridges full of food and I don't like the wasting. So you can freeze bread, you can freeze cheese. Like I said, take those herbs. You have put them in olive oil, ice trays, and you can make little garlic or a little cubes that you can just pop into your skillet before you add your, you know, your vegetables or your protein. I mean, just really being conservative. And like I said, not shopping so much, getting so much stuff. If you need something, go to the store that day don't overbuy suit people, overbuy.
(13:40): That's a problem. That's why food does waste over by. Yeah. It's so true. If people would have questions on what they can freeze, they can definitely, you know, message me or ask questions. So, but I mean, you can freeze so many different things, just making sure you store it properly and in the correct containers or cheese. Oh yeah. Oh yeah, for sure. And even using like the leftover, like the rinds from your Parmesan, you can put that into like pasta or soups and it gives a great flavor. So, Oh my gosh. Yeah. I love that. I learned that from Giada de Laurentiis actually. So I'm not going to take credit for that one. No, that's good stuff. No, thanks for sharing. I mean, what is your favorite dinner to cook or meal? Yeah, that's a hard question. Definitely Asian cuisine is my favorite. I do a lot of Asian.
(14:26): One of my favorites is my herb Crested Raca lamb. I do these lamb lollipops and they are divine. I also do an amazing cream corn with it's in my book. I love seafood, anything seafood. I'm from California, from San Diego. I grew up at the beach eating fresh seafood. My, my cousin's a fisherman, so he catches fish. So I mean, I love seafood even well fried fish. I love doing that. Anything Asian don't know. I do lots of low, main. I do an amazing Kravitz and cheddar fried rice. I may have crispy Korean chicken that are dressed in honey Serratia. I mean, you name it. I can't really pick one dish. I have too many good. And for the dinner, I know you had said that you also cater in the morning for breakfast. I do lunch. I do lunch for an office at 12 in the morning.
(15:15): So I get there about 10 o'clock. Okay. I started that 1230 and then I'm a private chef. My other clients I've been with for three years. They're up at Poway. So I cook them dinner five days a week in terms of scheduling all of this. I mean, obviously you have to schedule your day. Yeah. My day is crazy changes. As you can see, it changes all the time. So yeah. I mean, do you run, like how do you guys, I mean, cause I know women here, I, we always talk about time management and scheduling and taking time for you. I don't see my kids very often now. I feel bad. My two year old wants mommy and I have to work. Mommy's, you know, I'm, I'm building a business right now. You don't have a food truck that I'm opening here in the next 90 days.
(15:58): So that's going to take a lot of time out of my schedule, but you know, it's finding time in the morning. Sometimes when my son, I go to work, I come and spend time with him, then go back to work. So just trying to make that time it's hard because I have calls in between. I have meetings in between. So, you know, unfortunately that's kind of how it is right now, but I won't be like that forever. So yeah. It's just the season that you're in. What do you do for you? Like yeah. Like any type of care, what do you do to relax? Well, I, I have to get my nails done. I'm like a big nail girl. They only staff you seen with like pink sales. I love it. I love to get massage. Doesn't have a good massage lady. I love to go out to eat.
(16:41): Obviously I'm a big foodie. So restaurants are my things. So I'm really, I'm really happy. Things are opening back up, actually went to STK and their night. It was awesome. But I mean, I let them go in and do outdoor outdoor activities with my kids. We go hiking, go camping. We'd like to read jets. We liked to do outdoor stuff, but going to the beach, hanging out with my friends, drinking wine and eating probably. Yeah, that sounds like the life to me. That's amazing. I know we would be in Southern California. We just fell in love with it. Beautiful. Yeah. I can't be playing. Yeah. We're in Ohio. Oh wow. We are like nowhere near ah, any ocean.
(17:22): California's great. I'm not going to lie. We have great weather year round, so great food, great weather. I love it. Okay. So I know you are headed to work here. And so I am we'll answer. We'll ask one more question. What is one tip that you would share with the women listening today? When it comes to maybe going after their dreams or you know, maybe they want to start something brand new and they're scared what you share with them, all their things. I actually made a post today on my Facebook and my Instagram. You guys can read it. He gave you 10 tips to be a successful business woman. I actually posted it today. And those are my go to I live by those rurals. I would say never take no for an answer because there's always somebody that's willing to give you a yes.
(18:10): So never take no believe in yourself. Never stop, stop trying. If you believe in something and you want something go after it. Cause you're the only person that can do it. I remember where I was 40 years ago, I was making like $18 an hour and comparing to what I make I make now. You know what I mean? Really good money. I'm very successful, very happy. I love my job. I hated my job before. So don't be scared to take chances, but you know, just work hard. Take pride in what you do. No your value. Never let anybody put you down, stand up for yourself and what you believe in and never take no for I answer. I don't take no. I find somebody that's willing to say yes,
(18:47): Just absolutely love you. I really do. I cannot thank you enough for taking the time out of your busy schedule and you know, pouring out your heart and being so transparent and vulnerable with each and every one of us. And I just, I love that you are living your life with such passion.
(19:03): It's separate me. You know, this is me. I do, like I said, I wear my heart on my sleeve. If you, if you don't like me, I'm sorry. If you love me, great, I'll give it right back. But you know, I'm not worried what people think of me and you know, I live my life how I want to, and I'm not scary. But you say there's so much freedom in that. You should, you should live by that rule. You know, so scared and you know, not everyone's gonna like you. And I'm fine with that. Trust me. I got a lot of hate from the show that I won and it's fine. You know, you're always gonna have haters and let them motivate you. So it's totally true. Hey, motivate you to, to be better, to be better you and yeah, just believe in yourself and work hard. And I'm really excited for the retreat. I'm really excited to talk to this lady to teach us some amazing recipes, really get involved and everyone tastes my food. So yeah, that's my dream. My goal, my passion is just sharing my food with the world. And as far as people, one thing at a time, so that's what I'm going to do.
(19:57): That's fantastic. So we can find you on Instagram, Facebook under Chef underscore lawless is my Instagram. So make sure you guys follow me there. I have daily recipes and pictures and like self motivation. My Facebook is Lauren lawless. And then I have my flawless cuisine, which is my fan page on Facebook. And my website is flawless cuisine.com. Again, you guys can get my cookbook on there. You can get tips tricks in the kitchen, recipes, pictures of events that I'm doing. Really follow me there. See what's going on. I usually do all the food and wine festivals. Unfortunately, they're not happening right now, but there's always opportunities and things coming up. So just stay tuned again. I have another show coming up. So you guys continue for that. It's a big one to be sharing that. But yeah. And then if you want to get my book, my book is on my website and that's, that's
(20:49): Inspiring. The world will fit at a time. Okay. That is absolutely amazing. Thanks everyone. I want to give you a heads up here. If you want to be surrounded by strong unstoppable women and you have zero energy to focus on yourself and need extra support and accountability from women who know what it's like to juggle a crazy busy life, then head on over to be fit and fierce.com and become unstoppable with us. Or if you want to join a sisterhood dedicated to growing our faith, join our, just breathe. Facebook group heads up on the next episode, we are going to talk about entrepreneurship and having your own business. And if you have one or if you want to run your own business, join us next week. Thanks so much for joining us today. Please subscribe, share this episode, link on your social media. As we all know, someone that can benefit and I would love it. If you would give some feedback and a review as well, talk with you next time, be fit be fierce be unstoppable. See ya.
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