Alison Roman on Her Pregnancy, TikTok, and Being ‘Iconic’
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During Alison Roman’s first trimester of pregnancy, she stopped cooking. “I completely lost the desire and urge,” the New York Times bestselling cookbook author says. It was “very scary,” and she remembers thinking to herself: “Am I going to have to find a new career? I don’t have a backup plan. This is the only thing that I have ever cared about.”
Fortunately, Roman eventually returned to the kitchen, but only after a three-month-long hiatus helped her fall back in love with making food. “The more I felt like I had to keep up with other people or the news cycle or trends—that’s what caused burnout, and slowing down was the best way to make sure that I can [keep doing] this for a very long time,” she says.
Taking breaks and prioritizing her mental health is now a key ingredient to sustaining her career. “I’m not trying to be the most popular every day,” she explains, “but I want to be iconic over a very long period of time.”
Knowing Roman, that shouldn’t be a problem. She rebounded from a slew of controversies back in 2020, which she says helped her develop “resilience by messing up a lot and realizing that you’re still alive afterwards.” Since then, her Substack, cheekily called a newsletter, has gained more than 308,000 subscribers. First Bloom, the grocery store she runs in upstate New York, is thriving. And she is currently working on a fourth cookbook, due out next fall.
As if all that wasn’t enough, Roman’s beloved YouTube series, Home Movies, is now streaming on Tastemade, which will bring her culinary content to even more people. “Anyone who makes something, whether they’re a writer or videomaker or cookbook author, hopes that as many people see it and enjoy it as possible,” she says. “The idea that people can actively watch it on their TV is truly thrilling.”
In an exclusive new interview with ELLE.com, Roman discusses her pregnancy (she’s 28 weeks along), the art of being iconic, and why it was finally time for an “intense recalibration” of her work-life balance.
On whether motherhood will impact her work
My career is going through a metamorphosis. Hopefully it all still feels familiar and I stay true to myself creatively [after giving birth]. Everything I do is so personal. It’s very difficult to pretend that [motherhood] is not going to impact my work.
On making her own baby food
A lot of parents, before they actually have the baby, think, Of course I’m going to make all my own baby food. Then they’re hit with reality [of what new parenthood is like]. I’m open to it—it’s not like I would have to learn how to do something. You blanch this vegetable, and you purée it. That feels almost like a dream assignment, because I don’t have to be creative. I just have to buy the vegetables and process them. I’m looking forward to that, if I have the energy to do it.
On the “personality and soul” of a small business
Treating businesses the same when it comes to taxation is pretty ludicrous, because a business barely making a profit is so different from a business starting with huge capital. There’s so much potential for people who want to do things that are impactful—for people who create joy and jobs. But seed money is sometimes really hard to come by. I’d love to see more programs dedicated to helping people pursue things that better their community. You need small businesses to inject personality and soul into a place.
On opening First Bloom, her grocery store in upstate New York
I didn’t want to make a grocery store that felt like you were in Brooklyn in the middle of the Catskills. I wanted it to feel like a grocery store in the Catskills. It’s not about homogenization; it’s about embracing where you are. That becomes really hard when everything is a Starbucks or a Chipotle. Bloomville [where First Bloom is located] has such a robust community of people that make or help produce things, like dairy, beer, and cider. It’s really cool to be able to source as much stuff from them as possible and draw attention to what they’re doing.
At First Bloom, we get our yogurt from the yogurt guy, and that’s the one kind we offer. It’s not about having 42 options. We’re so used to being able to get anything we want, whenever we want—no matter where it’s from or what season it is. There’s something really nice about shopping from a limited selection. Hopefully you discover brands or types of apples you aren’t familiar with, because this is where they grow.
On normalizing imperfection
I developed resilience by messing up a lot and realizing that you’re still alive afterwards. People live with a lot of shame—of not being perfect, not delivering, or of messing something up. The more we can normalize things not being perfect, there’s a lot less heaviness on us collectively. I would be doing everybody a disservice if I only showed the stuff that worked out or the best version of something. That sets up really unrealistic expectations and standards.
I don’t feel ashamed about messing up in the kitchen. I feel really confident in my abilities. I’ve been doing this for 20 years, and I still mess up. I still use the wrong size bowl. I still leave something in the oven for too long. I still burn my nuts. I still buy the wrong size chicken. That stuff still happens to me. I think humanizing any sort of creative endeavor can only do good.
On separating career achievements from self-worth
I am doing some really intense recalibration, because for the first time in my life, I feel like I’m prioritizing my health and my personal life. Before, I was always all about my career and job, and a lot of my identity came from my self-worth and happiness. Now, I’m feeling a bit more connected to taking care of myself and my family.
On retiring words like “lemony” and “garlicky”
I am trying to creatively resist using those words and only do so when absolutely necessary. I have a recipe called “Baked Pasta.” It has tomato sauce, mozzarella, and ricotta, but baked pasta with tomato and cheese is somehow less interesting to me than “Baked Pasta,” which has a little mystery to it. We’re assuming there are photos attached and a video perhaps, and it makes the whole thing a part of the same story.
Right now, as I write another book, I’m trying to figure out, what is the 2.0 or the 3.0 of what I used to do? I feel pressure to constantly evolve, because when I do something and it becomes popular and part of the cultural fabric, my immediate impulse is to stop doing that and to figure out something new.
On staying off TikTok
TikTok is creating a lot of opportunities for a lot of people who feel passionate about cooking, which is great. But beyond that, I am an older demo for the TikTok crowd. If I decide to have a TikTok, then that becomes my career. That means I’m writing less. That means I’m doing less business-minded endeavors, and I become a cog in the wheel. I’m competing with people who are much better at it than I am with more time on their hands. If I can’t do something really well, I don’t want to do it at all.
I’m not a consumer of TikTok, so I was like, You know what, this isn’t my medium. I feel like I made the right choice for me, but it’s arguably a huge part of entertainment and cooking. Instead, I’m trying to do more narrative education, teaching moments, and walking you through something. That takes longer than a few minutes or seconds. I like taking the time. It’s like reading a novel versus a short story. There’s room for both, but I’m a novelist.
On celebrating other female chefs
There are a lot of people doing really wonderful things, especially in the restaurant space. My friend Zoë Kanan is opening Elbow Bread on New York’s Lower East Side. She is such a hard worker and so creative. My friend Sadie Mae Burns is opening a restaurant with her husband, Anthony Ha. They have a pop-up, Ha’s Đặc Biệt, which has finally got a brick-and-mortar space. My friend Susan Kim does this pop-up called Doshi, and she’s been traveling the world and basically taking up residence at these cool restaurants in Europe.
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.
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This story is part of our Chef’s Kiss series. Click the link below for all the stories.
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