In this flavorful and fearless episode, Tracy Spears sits down with culinary entrepreneur Makenna Held, the powerhouse behind the Courageous Cooking School and the bold new platform Recipe Kick. Makenna opens up about her extraordinary leap of faith—buying Julia Child’s summer home, La Pitchoune, sight unseen—and the revolutionary path she’s carved in the world of food since.
From embracing recipe-free cooking to redefining the culinary classroom, Makenna shares how creativity, courage, and criticism have shaped her journey. She reveals the magic (and madness) behind running an immersive cooking school in the South of France, the challenges of building a sustainable food business, and the pressure of being tethered to Julia Child’s legacy.
Get ready for a refreshingly honest conversation about what it takes to cook, live, and lead on your own terms.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
- Why Makenna bought Julia Child’s home without ever seeing it
- How a movie (The Hundred-Foot Journey) inspired her life-altering move to France
- The philosophy behind her recipe-free approach to cooking
- What it’s like to run a cooking school inside a culinary icon’s home
- The deeper meaning behind The Courageous Cooking School
- How Recipe Kick is shifting the future of food education
- The unexpected impact (and pitfalls) of fame and TV exposure
- Why sustainable business models are essential
- How Makenna is building a legacy of culinary creativity and personal empowerment
00:00 Introduction to Makenna Held and La Pitchoune
02:52 The Journey to France and Buying Julia Child's Home
06:01 Risk-Taking and Culinary Aspirations
08:57 The Courageous Cooking School Experience
11:53 Immersive Culinary Experiences and Cooking Philosophy
14:51 Recipe-Free Cooking and Creativity
17:58 The Evolution of Recipe Kick
20:47 The Cookbook and Culinary Education
29:24 The Spirit of Julia Child
30:43 Sustainable Business Models in Culinary Education
31:51 The Journey to Television Stardom
32:49 Navigating Fame and Criticism
40:03 Future Aspirations and Business Shifts
47:04 Defining Legacy Beyond Julia Child
51:54 Looking Ahead: New Ventures and Opportunities
Connect with Makenna
Instagram
@makennaheld @recipekick.tv @lapeetchfr
See Makenna on Tour: MakennaHeld.com
Connect with Tracy
Instagram @tracylspears
TikTok @tracyspearsspeaker
Discover your tactical leadership toolkit: www.theleaderlab.com
Interested in working with me or having me speak at your event? Find more information at http://www.tracyspears.com
For insights that will help you play bigger in your life, work, and community, visit my blog: https://tracyspears.com/blog-2/
Popular Podcasts
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
The Brothers Ortiz
The Brothers Ortiz is the story of two brothers–both successful, but in very different ways. Gabe Ortiz becomes a third-highest ranking officer in all of Texas while his younger brother Larry climbs the ranks in Puro Tango Blast, a notorious Texas Prison gang. Gabe doesn’t know all the details of his brother’s nefarious dealings, and he’s made a point not to ask, to protect their relationship. But when Larry is murdered during a home invasion in a rented beach house, Gabe has no choice but to look into what happened that night. To solve Larry’s murder, Gabe, and the whole Ortiz family, must ask each other tough questions.