Keeping a sense of well-being and balance in the midst of a fast-paced life and career can be difficult. So we’re looking to two women who are not only successful in the food scene, but stay grounded along the way. We spoke with Carol Han, creator of popular food blog “Milk & Mode,” and Melanie Dunea, of My Last Supper and My Last Supper: The Next Course. Here’s how they own their everyday rituals.
I started off as a fashion editor — I went to Lucky when I graduated, then I was the fashion market editor at Elle online for several years; then the executive fashion director at StyleCaster*,* as part of their launch team. My own agency, CA Creative, started off in 2009. The social media landscape was really getting going, and suddenly fashion brands understood that they had to get in the social media game, but had no idea how. So I started an agency — one that could help a brand create content on par with what a publication could do. And now we’ve evolved and grown, encompassing all kinds of operations that help brands bring their stories to life online.
My mom owned restaurants when I was growing up, so I’ve always had a deep and abiding love of cooking. The blog is a project that I love, and carve out time to dedicate to it; I get to cook with such exciting people.
When I was first starting out, my career was a nonstop whirlwind, at Elle all day and then at fashion events after-hours… It was great, but as I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized the importance of maintaining balance in my personal life.
It’s so important to prioritize that, whether it’s a 20-minute meditation to start your day on the right foot, or leaving the office a few minutes early to hit the farmers’ market before it closes. Those are details in life that keep you balanced and happy, and at your most productive. And I think, as a business owner, which is such a privilege but also comes with its own set of stresses, it’s even more important to make sure your time is balanced.
I have a standing yoga appointment at noon, Monday through Friday — every day at 11:45 I’m out the door. I treat it like a client meeting, really prioritizing it; and now I’m in teacher training to take it to a deeper level.
I love roasts. Most weekends on Saturday or Sunday, I throw a beautiful roast bird into the oven, with potatoes from the farmers’ market. There’s a recipe from Simon Hopkinson’s Roast Chicken And Other Stories that’s the best ever: it has an insane amount of butter but it’s amazing! I love the ritual of it because a roast is something that you have to share with people — I’ve brought a lot of people around the table with various roasts throughout my life. And it’s kind of a cozy feeling — I know it like the back of my hand. I am a very experimental cook, with literally hundreds of cookbooks, and I cook a lot out of food magazines. But when it comes to roast chicken, I know the recipe like the back of my hand. It’s really comfortable, and even kind of meditative, to cook this way.
When I fill out the form they give you on airplanes, I call myself a “portrait photographer,” but I’m a bit of a split personality. I have my celebrity portrait world, portraits of well-known people, those in the news — and then I have my other life, which is My Last Supper, which started as portraits of chefs but morphed into pictures of food as I got greedier and hungrier!
I like the whole story of food, the whole picture of it, from the ingredients to the person who creates it. To me, food is such an incredible way to communicate and to show respect, a time when we stop and legitimately allow ourselves to relax and exchange. It’s a bridge of communication.
My Last Supper is my tribute to chefs. The moment I started photographing them, I was intrigued—I noticed a great similarity in our fields. Photography and cooking both look glamorous on the surface, while the reality of logistics, planning, and long hours standing on hard floors goes unseen.
In the book, I asked 100 chefs six simple questions about their hypothetical "last meals," because I wanted to give them a chance to share their passion but also share their wants "off duty." (I wasn't really thinking about killing any of them!) I followed the book with My Last Supper, the Next Course and then created a website just so I could keep hearing chefs tell me their stories—also because I am always hungry and greedy!
I was in Afghanistan recently, and I was with a chef who didn’t speak a word of English. But there was a moment when he brought me a cup of tea, and nodded — and the exchange and the sharing made that such a real moment.
It’s hard, because I’m on the road so much! But I try to have a cup of tea every morning; whenever I can, I like to create a little discipline and routine and have that warm drink.
I’m absolutely crazy about traditions around holidays. There is absolutely no question that for Christmas, say, you’ll find three kinds of potatoes, at least two vegetable dishes, and a turkey at my table. I love the tradition of it—I want to eat the thing you’re meant to eat on the holiday! Don’t give me some elaborate pumpkin crumble, I want the pumpkin pie!
And I do have a huge sweet tooth (I really do love dark chocolate in particular) but try to keep it in check. I would say that I’m disciplined, and undisciplined, at the same time!