August 7, 2025 • 29 mins
“We found David Chilton’s phone number on the back of The Wealthy Barber, picked up the phone, and just called. He answered. That one call changed everything.”
They had cushy jobs and no culinary credentials—just a shared dream between two sisters to write a cookbook that combined truly healthy recipes with laugh-out-loud humour. It was bold. It was different. And it was rejected by publishers. Seven times.
But Greta and Janet Podleski didn’t give up. They poured themselves into the work—testing every recipe, writing every pun, designing every page. And then they took one last shot. On the back of The Wealthy Barber, they found David Chilton’s phone number. They called. He answered. His Mom loved the recipes, so he went all in.
Together, they formed their own publishing company and launched Looneyspoons, a cookbook that would go on to become a national sensation. It wasn’t just a one-hit wonder. They followed it up with Crazy Plates and Eat, Shrink & Be Merry, creating a Canadian cookbook empire defined by heart, humour, and health. Millions of copies sold. A Food Network show. A movement.
The sisters went their way, but Greta wasn't done. What came next was a stunning solo debut, Yum & Yummer—a runaway bestseller, and now, a triumphant follow-up: Every Salad Ever. Sold exclusively at Indigo, it has topped the charts since its debut, proving Greta’s recipes—and her voice—resonate as strongly as ever.
You will be hooked from the first few seconds as Greta shares the full journey: the hustle, the heartbreak, the humour, and the healing. It’s a masterclass in perseverance, creativity, and chasing and realizing a dream—even when the world says no.
And my biggest takeaway - Sometimes the difference between a dream that fades and one that flies is one phone call—and someone who believes in you.
To buy Greta's book: https://www.indigo.ca/en-ca/every-salad-ever-from-grains-to-greens-and-pasta-to-beans-plus-every-salad-in-betweens-indigo-exclusive/9781775047018.html
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:03):
There was just something inside of us saying, this is going to work. We're going
to make it work. People are going to like this. We aren't crazy.
This show came about through a suggestion by David Chilton, the wealthy
barber. I know David. I've had him on my
podcast. I've interviewed him on stage. In one of our conversations,
he mentioned that one of the things he got involved with early on in his
(00:25):
career was starting a publishing company for
cookbooks. As David likes to say, he doesn't even know how to make
tea. But he was enchanted by these two sisters.
Greta and Janet Podlesky from Ottawa. Both
quit their jobs to create a cookbook that had never been done
before, one that combined humor with
(00:46):
extraordinary recipes called Looney Spoons. We
wanted to write a book that was fun, that was easy to understand with
normal ingredients you buy at your local grocery store, stuff that people would actually want
to make and eat. They took the train to Waterloo and they met up with
David. David had no idea what was in front of him, so he
turned it over to his mom, who loved to cook. And within a week, his
(01:08):
mom was raving about the recipes, talking about how her book club was
falling in love with what they offered and said, you have to make this book
come to life. So David created a publishing company with the two of them, and
off they went. I get that feedback a lot. I hated cooking until I got
your cookbook. I taught my kids how to cook. From your cookbooks,
and they created four bestsellers. Janet and Greta
(01:30):
went their own way, and Greta continued. She has a new bestseller,
Every Salad Ever, which is wildly successful.
I think you're going to love this story with Greta. I'm accessible,
I'm casual, I'm the farthest thing from a food
snob. She's just authentic, she's human, she's funny.
But she also has some extraordinary lessons on
(01:53):
manifestation. I think you have to be able to envision your
success in order to get there. And if you can't
imagine yourself being successful, you probably won't be.
Dream it, build it, and they will come. It's very satisfying.
Mentors will come, A community will come. And instead
of just dreaming and wondering what happens, you
(02:15):
can find ways to make it happen.
Hi, it's Tony Chapman. Thank you for listening to Chatter that Matters, presented by
rbc. If you can please subscribe to the podcast and
ratings and reviews, well, they're always welcome and they're always appreciated.
(02:37):
Greta, welcome to Chatter that Matters. Thanks. I've been looking
forward to talking to. You well, we're going to talk about how you've become
this best selling author, that your
cookbooks are coveted. Millions of people have bought them.
But before we get into this journey, sharing these recipes
with the world, I want you to share a story about your mom,
(02:59):
Alfreda. How important she was in
your life and giving you a sense of
purpose, even though you were surrounded with many older siblings. You
know, my mother, Alfreda, has been so influential in so many
ways, not just in my cooking career by teaching me how to cook,
but just, you know, she was the most hardworking person you could ever meet. And
(03:21):
she never complained about working. You know, she was an immigrant that came
during the wartime with nothing but the clothes on her back.
And she really taught me and my sisters a lot about sort of the
right way to live and to appreciate what you have. She
cooked every day for us, all six girls. I'm the
spoiled baby on the group, and I admired that and I watched it.
(03:44):
Even as a young child, I was curious about what she was doing. So by
the time I was tall enough to see the kitchen countertop, I would put my
stool or chair up there and help her to chop and slice and dice
and make dinner. She cooked mostly from her head, not from recipes.
She had great taste buds. She knew what to do. And I think that I
inherited that cooking gene from her. And that's why I'm able to
(04:06):
develop recipes from scratch. People always say to me, how do you just dream up
a recipe? I don't get it. And to me it just seems natural, like a
natural thing to know how to do. I guess it's like some people are musically
talented and some aren't. She passed away. I think it's
almost six years ago now. And I would do anything to have her back, even
for one day. I miss her so much. I'd love to talk to her again.
Did you ever find early in that time in your life that when you were
(04:29):
presenting food to your sisters or your dad, that smile that you got
back was really formative in terms of saying, I might be the baby
in this family, but I still have a role. It's funny that you mentioned that
about getting the smile from the food, because that's really a big part of it
is when you cook from scratch and you feed your friends
and family, and it's really a symbol of love.
(04:51):
I wish I could encourage people to cook more. A lot of people say they
don't like it, but trust me, when you make a recipe and you serve people
around the table and Everybody smiles and says, this is so delicious. Thank you.
That's all the feedback you need. I remember when I
was 12, making a recipe that I cut out of Seventeen
magazine and I wanted it to look exactly like
(05:12):
the photo with the little garnishes and the way it was arranged on the
plate. And my mom got all the ingredients. Remember, I'm like, what, in like
the fifth grade or something at this time? And she encouraged me. She's like, well,
you do that. And I think the person that was most
impressed was my dad. He was like, this is
unbelievable that you made this because I was so young. And I
(05:33):
remember getting that feedback and thinking, cooking is the best.
Like, you can make people so happy when you do it. And,
you know, I'm a lot older now and I have the six bestselling
cookbooks and I still think cooking is the best and I still love
cooking for people. Now you strike me as a free spirit, but this free
spirit seemed to blow into your sister's basement
(05:55):
after she just got married. So I don't know if the husband was wondering
if the sisters came as a package, but tell me how that all evolved and
how eating lasagna one day became this spark for
you to set off on this wonderful journey. My sister Janet
got married. We all lived in Ottawa at the time. And for some
reason, to this day, I still don't know what motivated me.
(06:19):
I said to them, I think I should move into your basement, make a little
apartment down there. I mean, I had a safe, secure, well paying job. I wasn't
in financial trouble. I wasn't making a ton of money by any means. But you
know, I was young then too, and I moved into their basement and I
took over the cooking duties because they were both terrible cooks.
I have always been into healthy eating. Healthy cooking had been doing it forever.
(06:40):
So I just took over the cooking duties. We were around the dinner table one
night eating my Mexican lasagna. My brother in law
says to me, this is the best food I've ever eaten in a house.
And I knew he meant like versus a restaurant meal. It was
a strange compliment, but I said, it's a good thing everything I make is
healthy or you would weigh 300 pounds for the quantities you've been eating. And
(07:03):
he looked at me kind of sarcastically said, oh yeah, this is healthy food.
As if. And I said, no, really it is. I always pay attention to health
when I'm. When I'm cooking and the ingredients that I'm using. And I
don't use the bad fats. Et cetera, et cetera. And he said as he was
scarfing back this Mexican lasagna, if this is healthy, you should write a cookbook.
That's truly sparked the idea for Looney Spoons was maybe I
(07:26):
should write a cookbook. And Janet, while was the terrible cook at
the time. In fact, her famous line is, all I know about cooking is how
to bring my husband to a boil. Was into health, fitness, nutrition.
She's funny, she's a good writer. And so between the two of us,
like, let's do this. And we started working on it nights and
weekends. We're so passionate about it, thinking that Celine
(07:47):
Dijon chicken and Jurassic Pork were hilarious ideas, that
we quit our jobs on the same day. We had no money. Like, we were
so broke, you have no idea. We used to get bills and put. Not open
them and put them in a drawer and close the drawer. And I remember somebody
once said to us, you don't open your bills. And we're like, why would we
open them if we can't pay them? So what's the difference between people that
(08:09):
dream? I mean, there's so many people that sit and have that idea, whether it's
with their sibling, your case, your sister, or their best friend. Like,
we could do this together. And it never goes beyond that.
If anything, it might manifest into disappointment. When you look back in your life
saying, we should have done it. But you were willing to take this risk. You
quit your jobs, you couldn't pay your bills. You were doing garage sales
(08:31):
to raise money. What kept you going? As opposed to saying,
you know, Matt, this isn't working out. Maybe we should just get back to reality.
To us, it was kind of like the Kevin Costner Field of Dreams movie.
It's like, if you build it, they will come. There was just something inside of
us saying, this is going to work. We're going to make it work. People are
going to like this. We aren't crazy. We thought we were onto something,
(08:53):
and we were really motivated by going to the bookstore
and seeing all the other healthy cookbooks out there. Remember, this is. We're talking about
1995 here. So everything was about low fat. Low fat,
was it? All the experts were saying low fat, but all the books were the
same. They were a little bit dry, boring, intimidating, written by
doctors and dietitians. And we wanted to write a book that was
(09:14):
fun, that was easy to understand with normal ingredients you buy at your
local grocery store, stuff that people would actually want to make and eat, like
that Mexican lasagna. That sparked the whole idea. And so
going to the store, even though it's intimidating to see the number of other
cookbooks, there was nothing like what we envisioned.
So that combined with our if you build it, they will come,
(09:37):
combined with taking the Globe and Mail national bestseller list,
we cut it with scissors out of the paper. And because we, we were not
very high tech, you know, technology wasn't what it is now. We used
liquid paper to white out the name at the top. And we wrote in
Looney Spoons by Janet and Greta Podlesky. And there we were ahead of Chicken Soup
for the Soul. Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus. And we would
(09:59):
stare at that every day and believe it to be true. I think
you have to be able to envision your success in order to
get there. You talk about build it and they will come. Someone that came to
your help or mentorship is David Chilton, the
wealthy barber. How did that all come about? Because I think often
as entrepreneurs, when we feel our backs against the wall,
(10:22):
that's the best time to reach out versus being embarrassed to. I don't think
people should be hesitant to ask for help from
people that have succeeded doing what they want to do. We were rejected
by every single publisher we eventually sent our manuscript to. They're like, don't quit your
day jobs. We're like, it's too late. This is never going to work.
Food and humor don't go together. But instead of giving up,
(10:44):
we just kept forging ahead and realized we needed some help. And we
had heard that David Chilton had originally self published the Wealthy
Barber. We're like, hey, if he can do it, maybe we can do it. But
really we just need some advice from him. So my sister had the
wealthy barber in our little tiny house in Ottawa and said, I'm
going to call the number in the back of the book. And I said, oh,
(11:05):
yeah, right. Like he's. If he's going to answer the phone, you're going to talk
to Dave Chilton. And so she called the number and believe it or not, he
picked up the phone. She talked to him for something like 40, 45
minutes. Told him we were two soon to be famous cookbook
authors from Ottawa, Ontario, with this fabulous
cookbook called Looney Spoons that was soon going to be the number one best selling
cookbook in Canada. And I think he was just so
(11:29):
intrigued by her confidence and craziness that he
invited us to come and meet with him in Waterloo. But we had sold the
car that we had at the yard sale. To raise money. So we had to
take the train from Ottawa to Waterloo. And we met him
and explained what Looney Spoons was all about. And he left
the meeting saying, you know, you guys are so impressive, but
(11:50):
I don't know anything about cooking. And I remember him saying, I don't even know
how to cook tea. And I said, well, you don't cook tea. And he said,
exactly. But he took the sample pages to his parents
house to give to his mom because she was an avid cook and cookbook collector.
Can you just look at it and tell me what you think? Marjorie, his
mother, called him a week later and said, david, you have to help these
(12:11):
girls. I love this book. I've cooked several recipes. They're
all amazing. I took it to the bridge club. All of the ladies there want
a copy. They think it's gonna be amazing. And he said that's the
only feedback he needed and the only market testing he needed.
And the three of us decided to form our own publishing company
to self publish Looney Spoons. Even though Janet and I still didn't
(12:34):
know what self publishing was. But Dave did, and he led the.
And honestly, we've just worked harder than we've ever worked in our lives to make
it the success that it was. But it was because of him that we got
off the ground for sure. I mean, maybe we would have eventually
cracked the door open of a publisher, but I still think without him, we would
have been back at those day jobs. Take me back to those early days. Cause
(12:56):
you and Janet partnered, I think, on four books. Although you're
incredibly funny as well. You both brought your own styles and then you had David.
How did you work out? Sort of who had influence and who had
authority? Because often you start this thing together and
just imagine, as you said, manifest the best seller and everything.
But the reality is there's a lot of speed bumps along the road. Not everything
(13:17):
goes the way it should be. How did you sort of look at each other
and say, this is what you do best? This is what I do best. The
cooking, recipe development, food responsibility was
mine. And then Janet had the nutritional
knowledge and the crazy sense of humor, and she
was a great writer. There was a clear division there when it came to
(13:39):
the business aspect of it. That's where I'd say that it was
a little bit more challenging because Dave, obviously, he was the president
of our publishing company. And at the beginning, he
led the way. We just did like, literally whatever he wanted us to do to
make the book a success. But as time went on. And
I'm going to blame myself here, particularly me. Gained
(14:01):
more experience and kind of got the groove of it all. I would
challenge him a little bit on some things. So working together
wasn't always easy, but we made it work for many,
many, many years. And when Dave eventually left our business, he
said it was because we didn't need him anymore. He actually left being the president
of our company, and I took over. So as far as
(14:23):
conflict goes, Janet and I really didn't have any because
we're so bonded as sisters that even if we had a
little blow up, I mean, honestly, even if we had a big blowup within 24
hours, she's like, hey, want some licorice? Like, we would just make up
and the fight would be over and we'd forget about it because we were so
focused on the goal that we wanted to achieve that,
(14:45):
like, literally nothing was going to get in our way. You and
Janet, after this great success, go your separate ways. And I'm just
curious how that came about. And then we're going to move into
Greta, the solo artist. You know, after the Looney Spoons
collection was our fourth book, which was kind of like all
the greatest hits from the first three, plus a hundred new recipes. That is a
(15:08):
huge book. There really wasn't a fifth book in that style,
you know, with the jokes and the puns and the kind of sense of humor
in it that was like, plays on words and all the nutritional
little tidbits. I think that was kind of the closing chapter.
And Janet had some other passions in the background that she wanted to pursue,
(15:28):
and so I encouraged her to do that. But I still
loved books, cooking recipes. The
creative process is what I love the most. The business side of it, I
do because I have to. It's the creative process that
motivates me. I love dreaming up what a book can
be because it's like all these blank white pages, and you get
(15:50):
to determine exactly what goes on every page. So I
decided to branch out on my own with my new publishing
company. And then I wrote the book called Yum and Yummer, which I
was a nervous wreck about launching because it was my
first book without Janet, and I didn't want to disappoint people.
It won an award. It's done really well. I say it has a different flavor,
(16:13):
it's a different personality, a different style. It still has funny
bits in it. I'm really proud of that book.
When we return, Gret and I dive into the simple ingredients to her
success. The digital dangers that Come with it. And
what's next for this emotionally charged chef?
(16:36):
Hi, it's Tony Chapman, host of the podcast Chatter that Matters. And
I'm here to give a big shout out to a long standing partner of rbc,
Women of Influence. Plus, this is an organization that isn't here
to change the narrative. It is here to. To rewrite it, to create a more
inclusive tomorrow. And one of their biggest initiatives is the RBC
Canadian Women Entrepreneur Awards. For over three decades, they've
(16:57):
recognized and celebrated the strides of Canada's most accomplished,
influential and impactful women. It is a leading women's awards program
in the nation, working to elevate their important contributions from
economic growth to social change across sectors, across industries
and across Canada. Women of Influence and the RBC
Canadian Women Entrepreneur Awards. Well, that matters to you, to me,
(17:19):
and to rbc.
People shouldn't be insulted when someone gives them a cookbook as a gift. It
doesn't mean happy birthday. You can't cook, so here's a book.
Cookbooks are for you to get fired up again about cooking, to
give you some new ideas to at least try it.
(17:40):
My guest today is Greta Podlesky. She's a best selling author of cookbooks. I
mean, wildly successful. But what you'll hear in this
show is also a recipe for anybody who's looking to
dream and do. The
chord you play from your early days to now as a
solo artist, though, is where I think is a consistent chord is this
(18:02):
relationship you have with the reader. And I think digital
world has only made it easier for you, but it's almost like you're
in the kitchen with somebody that's bought your book. Was that intentional? Is
that just your personality? Was that you, the young girl with your mom, that
you've now manifested in terms of the relationships you have out there? Because
you're not just somebody that's authoring a cookbook. You're inspiring, you're
(18:24):
motivating, you're encouraging, you're. You're saying it's okay to make
mistakes and get messy. I think that's one of the reasons
why my newer books have done so well, to be honest, is
because people ask me that question, how do you sell so many
books? The publishers asked me that. I think they think my numbers are fake
because they can't believe it. It's my relationship with people that
(18:47):
buy the book. I'm accessible, I'm casual.
I'm the farthest thing from a food snob. I answer
questions, they email me. I don't have whole wheat flour what should I do? I
reply. They comment on Facebook and Instagram. I reply,
it's always me. I don't have staff. They see me in interviews
and go, she seems really normal. I'm not, by the way.
(19:10):
I love that, that people feel like I'm their friend. They feel
like I'm their next door neighbor, that they can come over and talk to me.
With Yum and Yummer being so afraid to launch it without
Janet and without that same style, I added a
visual element to it that had never been done before in the cookbook world, and
that is video scannable QR codes on every page that link to
(19:32):
a video of how to make the recipe 60 seconds. And to me,
it was more about getting people to cook right. It's like, you see those
hands, you see the way things are chopped, you see the bowls, you know how
to do it. A lot of moms have said to me, my kids learned to
cook from that book because everything's so visual now, right? And kids are on their
phone and iPads and they can see all the steps. And
(19:52):
I was really glad that that element of Yum and Yummer went
over so well. Even better than that, I think in
my newest cookbook, the Salad Cookbook, I decided to use my own
voice because people said to me, does every salad ever had those
videos? You had Yum and Yummer? And I said, no, it has me.
And I put the QR codes back in there, but they link to almost like
(20:14):
a mini podcast. It's like 90 seconds long. And it's me talking.
And I'm talking to you about the recipe. I'm giving you a background story. Maybe
I'm giving you ingredient substitutions tips. I might tell a stupid
story, which I'm known to do. So it's almost like I am in the kitchen
with you. Really, Tony, the sales are all about
connecting with people, and that's how you sell books. Let's build on that,
(20:37):
because it's a great lesson in life, is an abundance of choice
within arm's reach of desire. I could go to YouTube and find more
recipes than I could cook in my entire life. But you
still finding a way to put a hardcover book, and
thank you for printing it in Canada and not China and
putting it in the hands of people. Seeing these incredible sales,
(20:59):
there's so many other people that are struggling to be heard with
their content. Not necessarily a book, but just their content. Whether I'm a
songwriter or I'm a film filmmaker. And you're finding a way to not
only Be heard. But to deliver these. These incredible results, the
buyer I deal. With, who is probably the best
relationship I've ever had with any retailer in 30 years.
(21:21):
Because I said to her, we should be so proud of this, what we've accomplished.
I always say, we. And she said, no, you should. It's you.
And she said, it's the way you connect with your followers.
It's the way you've connected with the people at our head office who are
all cheering for you. It's the relationships that You've formed
over 29 years with people that is leading to this success.
(21:44):
And I think it's because I'm always communicating with people
and I work so hard. You wouldn't believe how
many people said to me, you must be so glad your new cookbook's done, so
you can just hand it over. I'm like, hand it over to who? Who am
I handing it over to? I am the publisher. I've always been the
publisher. Writing the book is the first part. Selling the book is the
(22:06):
second part. I just do it all myself. And I think
people see that and they realize it and they feel it. And
so when people open my book, whether they already bought it and it's at home
or it's at one of the Indigo stores, it's a vibe that
they get. It's the energy of the book. Kind of sounds
woo woo. But people are drawn to it. And what's happening now is
(22:28):
people get at home and look at it. I want two more. I want three.
I want this for my sister. I want one for my aunt. I like, Mother's
Day was like a blowout at Indigo. They were selling out left and right. Cause
people like, I want my mom to have this. The
authenticness. I'm an authentic person. I'm
never fake. Sometimes I think I'm too honest in
(22:48):
my real life because I tell it like it is. But I think that's a
good quality to have. So speaking of fake, you just were
scammed on Amazon. And I think it's important to share this because
this is the world we live in. That success doesn't just
breed success, it also breeds criminal activity.
The expression is that imitation is the sincerest form of
(23:10):
flattery until it isn't and someone tries to take
advantage of your hard work. So I was alerted to the fact that there
was a book being sold on Amazon with my title and my name on it,
but it wasn't my book. Sadly, people were duped into buying
it. It was just an AI generated thing with black and white pages
with no photos. This fake book actually rose to number 60
(23:32):
overall on Amazon, which when you think about them selling
millions of titles, that's pretty impressive.
But people got scammed by that. And then people
started posting negative reviews about it. A lot of them
saying, not Greta's book. This is fake. This is fraud, imitation, don't buy.
But the occasional person saying things like, I'll give you an
(23:54):
example, one that, like, truly broke my heart. Saw
her on the Social, cooking her recipes. I thought
this book looked like it would be full of good stuff. And I ordered it
and so disappointed. It's like, not even any pictures.
There's no way this is the bestseller. And they posted that.
What upset me is that even after they received the book, they didn't
(24:17):
realize it was a scam book. This is somebody that obviously doesn't
know me from the past because they would have known right away that it's nothing
that I would create. So I lodged a formal complaint with
Amazon. I didn't get any response from that, unfortunately.
Eventually talked to a customer service rep who just took notes
and said she would try to put it to the right department. I talked to
(24:39):
the news media about it. I think that really helped, to be honest with you.
But mostly I posted about the scam on my Facebook page to warn
people, and they took action. They were
going to that site, they were lodging complaints. They
were posting reviews saying, this has to be taken down. It was like
an army of people just started attacking this
(25:01):
fake post on Amazon. It's finally down. As well as the
other books from the same sort of scam company person. What happens to all the
profit that Amazon makes selling that fake book? They make profit
from it and the scammers made profit from it. I don't know how much. I
don't know how many copies they sold. They'll never tell me. I'll never find out.
I'll never find out who did it. I mean, I suppose I could seek legal
(25:22):
action. It's really not my style. My goal there was to stop
people from getting scammed. It really wasn't to make the profits from those sales.
But they shouldn't have the profits, that's for sure. If they would donate
those profits, I would be happy to pick a charity that they could donate
those profits to. I don't need it. I just want people to stop being scammed.
But it just goes to show you that there's a lot of fraud out there.
(25:44):
And now that we have AI, it's going to get even worse. And when you're
shopping online. You gotta make sure things are legit. You can see
how it would happen. Add to cart. My friend told me to buy that book.
Add to cart. Checkout. They didn't read the description, they didn't
read the reviews. So that's how it happened. I
always say to people, you don't want to be scammed on a fake book. Buy
(26:05):
it at a bookstore. Great lesson in life. You talk about, you're
constantly thinking of recipes. Every salad ever is obviously needs
your love and your attention. But how do you stay focused on the present, which
is a runaway bestseller? Let's describe it once again as a wild
results. And you must also be thinking about what's
next. How about a vacation last year? I know this is going to
(26:28):
seem impossible, but I wrote that book, really in record
time. Most cookbook authors take two to three years to put together a book.
And I did every salad ever in 10 months. How did I do
it? I had two days off last year. And I'm not making that up. One
was for a wedding and the other one, I think was to cry so that
I wouldn't, you know, to prevent myself from having a nervous breakdown. I stayed in
(26:49):
bed all day. So I would like a vacation
also, being the publisher, it's. I'm working really hard right now,
and I'm also doing a lot of traveling, book promotions, television shows,
media interviews. So my first goal would be to have a break.
People are already starting to ask me to start working on another book. I'm like,
people like, I just did one. I'm only one human. I can't do it. All
(27:10):
right? So they're like, but you need to do a soup book because soup goes
with salad. Would it be called Ladle Gaga? Because that would be a good
name. Everything was a ladle. So it would be soup, chili, stew. And then I
said, greta, stop it. You know, I'm just going to call BS on you. You're
already manifesting the next book. You're probably imagining the
COVID of the book. You know, here's the interesting thing. I always end my interviews
(27:32):
with my three takeaways. There's really one takeaway that
you've expressed in so many different ways. And I think it began with
Elfrida taking that young girl. And that is the sense of
build it and they will come and this sense of manifestation.
And it began with, with you as a young girl and then finding your way
into your. Into your sister's basement when she just got married. Cutting
(27:55):
out. You're going to be a bestseller, which I think is such a great, important
piece of advice for people, is that put that ultimate goal out, that
desired outcome, because even if you don't get there, you're going to go a lot
further. Instead of having modest expectations, the sense of
mentorship and inviting people into your energy, but more
importantly your energy and how you you find a way to invite yourself
(28:15):
into not only the readers homes and kitchens, but what
I thought was magical advice is even my buyer at
Indigo, the people at head office are cheering for me because they know you're
authentic, you care and you're committed. And
I think that's just such important advice for entrepreneurs is build
it, they will come. Put out that goal, make it audacious, make it
(28:37):
magical. Find people to help you. You get there, take the day off
and cry when things get overpowered, but come back and at the end of it,
just make sure that you don't surrender it. But you're part of a community.
You're just a phenomenal entrepreneur. I'm so
happy that Chilton said bring her on and I can understand why.
Thank you. I really appreciate it. And I would just say to people,
(29:00):
the experts aren't always right. Trust your gut
in work and in life and also don't be afraid to
ask for help. And finally, I would say just be
nice.
Once again, a special thanks to RBC for supporting Chatter that Matters.
It's Tony Chapman. Thanks for listening and let's chat soon.
There was just something inside of us saying, this is going to work. We're going
to make it work. People are going to like this. We aren't crazy.
This show came about through a suggestion by David Chilton, the wealthy
barber. I know David. I've had him on my
podcast. I've interviewed him on stage. In one of our conversations,
he mentioned that one of the things he got involved with early on in his
(00:25):
career was starting a publishing company for
cookbooks. As David likes to say, he doesn't even know how to make
tea. But he was enchanted by these two sisters.
Greta and Janet Podlesky from Ottawa. Both
quit their jobs to create a cookbook that had never been done
before, one that combined humor with
(00:46):
extraordinary recipes called Looney Spoons. We
wanted to write a book that was fun, that was easy to understand with
normal ingredients you buy at your local grocery store, stuff that people would actually want
to make and eat. They took the train to Waterloo and they met up with
David. David had no idea what was in front of him, so he
turned it over to his mom, who loved to cook. And within a week, his
(01:08):
mom was raving about the recipes, talking about how her book club was
falling in love with what they offered and said, you have to make this book
come to life. So David created a publishing company with the two of them, and
off they went. I get that feedback a lot. I hated cooking until I got
your cookbook. I taught my kids how to cook. From your cookbooks,
and they created four bestsellers. Janet and Greta
(01:30):
went their own way, and Greta continued. She has a new bestseller,
Every Salad Ever, which is wildly successful.
I think you're going to love this story with Greta. I'm accessible,
I'm casual, I'm the farthest thing from a food
snob. She's just authentic, she's human, she's funny.
But she also has some extraordinary lessons on
(01:53):
manifestation. I think you have to be able to envision your
success in order to get there. And if you can't
imagine yourself being successful, you probably won't be.
Dream it, build it, and they will come. It's very satisfying.
Mentors will come, A community will come. And instead
of just dreaming and wondering what happens, you
(02:15):
can find ways to make it happen.
Hi, it's Tony Chapman. Thank you for listening to Chatter that Matters, presented by
rbc. If you can please subscribe to the podcast and
ratings and reviews, well, they're always welcome and they're always appreciated.
(02:37):
Greta, welcome to Chatter that Matters. Thanks. I've been looking
forward to talking to. You well, we're going to talk about how you've become
this best selling author, that your
cookbooks are coveted. Millions of people have bought them.
But before we get into this journey, sharing these recipes
with the world, I want you to share a story about your mom,
(02:59):
Alfreda. How important she was in
your life and giving you a sense of
purpose, even though you were surrounded with many older siblings. You
know, my mother, Alfreda, has been so influential in so many
ways, not just in my cooking career by teaching me how to cook,
but just, you know, she was the most hardworking person you could ever meet. And
(03:21):
she never complained about working. You know, she was an immigrant that came
during the wartime with nothing but the clothes on her back.
And she really taught me and my sisters a lot about sort of the
right way to live and to appreciate what you have. She
cooked every day for us, all six girls. I'm the
spoiled baby on the group, and I admired that and I watched it.
(03:44):
Even as a young child, I was curious about what she was doing. So by
the time I was tall enough to see the kitchen countertop, I would put my
stool or chair up there and help her to chop and slice and dice
and make dinner. She cooked mostly from her head, not from recipes.
She had great taste buds. She knew what to do. And I think that I
inherited that cooking gene from her. And that's why I'm able to
(04:06):
develop recipes from scratch. People always say to me, how do you just dream up
a recipe? I don't get it. And to me it just seems natural, like a
natural thing to know how to do. I guess it's like some people are musically
talented and some aren't. She passed away. I think it's
almost six years ago now. And I would do anything to have her back, even
for one day. I miss her so much. I'd love to talk to her again.
Did you ever find early in that time in your life that when you were
(04:29):
presenting food to your sisters or your dad, that smile that you got
back was really formative in terms of saying, I might be the baby
in this family, but I still have a role. It's funny that you mentioned that
about getting the smile from the food, because that's really a big part of it
is when you cook from scratch and you feed your friends
and family, and it's really a symbol of love.
(04:51):
I wish I could encourage people to cook more. A lot of people say they
don't like it, but trust me, when you make a recipe and you serve people
around the table and Everybody smiles and says, this is so delicious. Thank you.
That's all the feedback you need. I remember when I
was 12, making a recipe that I cut out of Seventeen
magazine and I wanted it to look exactly like
(05:12):
the photo with the little garnishes and the way it was arranged on the
plate. And my mom got all the ingredients. Remember, I'm like, what, in like
the fifth grade or something at this time? And she encouraged me. She's like, well,
you do that. And I think the person that was most
impressed was my dad. He was like, this is
unbelievable that you made this because I was so young. And I
(05:33):
remember getting that feedback and thinking, cooking is the best.
Like, you can make people so happy when you do it. And,
you know, I'm a lot older now and I have the six bestselling
cookbooks and I still think cooking is the best and I still love
cooking for people. Now you strike me as a free spirit, but this free
spirit seemed to blow into your sister's basement
(05:55):
after she just got married. So I don't know if the husband was wondering
if the sisters came as a package, but tell me how that all evolved and
how eating lasagna one day became this spark for
you to set off on this wonderful journey. My sister Janet
got married. We all lived in Ottawa at the time. And for some
reason, to this day, I still don't know what motivated me.
(06:19):
I said to them, I think I should move into your basement, make a little
apartment down there. I mean, I had a safe, secure, well paying job. I wasn't
in financial trouble. I wasn't making a ton of money by any means. But you
know, I was young then too, and I moved into their basement and I
took over the cooking duties because they were both terrible cooks.
I have always been into healthy eating. Healthy cooking had been doing it forever.
(06:40):
So I just took over the cooking duties. We were around the dinner table one
night eating my Mexican lasagna. My brother in law
says to me, this is the best food I've ever eaten in a house.
And I knew he meant like versus a restaurant meal. It was
a strange compliment, but I said, it's a good thing everything I make is
healthy or you would weigh 300 pounds for the quantities you've been eating. And
(07:03):
he looked at me kind of sarcastically said, oh yeah, this is healthy food.
As if. And I said, no, really it is. I always pay attention to health
when I'm. When I'm cooking and the ingredients that I'm using. And I
don't use the bad fats. Et cetera, et cetera. And he said as he was
scarfing back this Mexican lasagna, if this is healthy, you should write a cookbook.
That's truly sparked the idea for Looney Spoons was maybe I
(07:26):
should write a cookbook. And Janet, while was the terrible cook at
the time. In fact, her famous line is, all I know about cooking is how
to bring my husband to a boil. Was into health, fitness, nutrition.
She's funny, she's a good writer. And so between the two of us,
like, let's do this. And we started working on it nights and
weekends. We're so passionate about it, thinking that Celine
(07:47):
Dijon chicken and Jurassic Pork were hilarious ideas, that
we quit our jobs on the same day. We had no money. Like, we were
so broke, you have no idea. We used to get bills and put. Not open
them and put them in a drawer and close the drawer. And I remember somebody
once said to us, you don't open your bills. And we're like, why would we
open them if we can't pay them? So what's the difference between people that
(08:09):
dream? I mean, there's so many people that sit and have that idea, whether it's
with their sibling, your case, your sister, or their best friend. Like,
we could do this together. And it never goes beyond that.
If anything, it might manifest into disappointment. When you look back in your life
saying, we should have done it. But you were willing to take this risk. You
quit your jobs, you couldn't pay your bills. You were doing garage sales
(08:31):
to raise money. What kept you going? As opposed to saying,
you know, Matt, this isn't working out. Maybe we should just get back to reality.
To us, it was kind of like the Kevin Costner Field of Dreams movie.
It's like, if you build it, they will come. There was just something inside of
us saying, this is going to work. We're going to make it work. People are
going to like this. We aren't crazy. We thought we were onto something,
(08:53):
and we were really motivated by going to the bookstore
and seeing all the other healthy cookbooks out there. Remember, this is. We're talking about
1995 here. So everything was about low fat. Low fat,
was it? All the experts were saying low fat, but all the books were the
same. They were a little bit dry, boring, intimidating, written by
doctors and dietitians. And we wanted to write a book that was
(09:14):
fun, that was easy to understand with normal ingredients you buy at your
local grocery store, stuff that people would actually want to make and eat, like
that Mexican lasagna. That sparked the whole idea. And so
going to the store, even though it's intimidating to see the number of other
cookbooks, there was nothing like what we envisioned.
So that combined with our if you build it, they will come,
(09:37):
combined with taking the Globe and Mail national bestseller list,
we cut it with scissors out of the paper. And because we, we were not
very high tech, you know, technology wasn't what it is now. We used
liquid paper to white out the name at the top. And we wrote in
Looney Spoons by Janet and Greta Podlesky. And there we were ahead of Chicken Soup
for the Soul. Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus. And we would
(09:59):
stare at that every day and believe it to be true. I think
you have to be able to envision your success in order to
get there. You talk about build it and they will come. Someone that came to
your help or mentorship is David Chilton, the
wealthy barber. How did that all come about? Because I think often
as entrepreneurs, when we feel our backs against the wall,
(10:22):
that's the best time to reach out versus being embarrassed to. I don't think
people should be hesitant to ask for help from
people that have succeeded doing what they want to do. We were rejected
by every single publisher we eventually sent our manuscript to. They're like, don't quit your
day jobs. We're like, it's too late. This is never going to work.
Food and humor don't go together. But instead of giving up,
(10:44):
we just kept forging ahead and realized we needed some help. And we
had heard that David Chilton had originally self published the Wealthy
Barber. We're like, hey, if he can do it, maybe we can do it. But
really we just need some advice from him. So my sister had the
wealthy barber in our little tiny house in Ottawa and said, I'm
going to call the number in the back of the book. And I said, oh,
(11:05):
yeah, right. Like he's. If he's going to answer the phone, you're going to talk
to Dave Chilton. And so she called the number and believe it or not, he
picked up the phone. She talked to him for something like 40, 45
minutes. Told him we were two soon to be famous cookbook
authors from Ottawa, Ontario, with this fabulous
cookbook called Looney Spoons that was soon going to be the number one best selling
cookbook in Canada. And I think he was just so
(11:29):
intrigued by her confidence and craziness that he
invited us to come and meet with him in Waterloo. But we had sold the
car that we had at the yard sale. To raise money. So we had to
take the train from Ottawa to Waterloo. And we met him
and explained what Looney Spoons was all about. And he left
the meeting saying, you know, you guys are so impressive, but
(11:50):
I don't know anything about cooking. And I remember him saying, I don't even know
how to cook tea. And I said, well, you don't cook tea. And he said,
exactly. But he took the sample pages to his parents
house to give to his mom because she was an avid cook and cookbook collector.
Can you just look at it and tell me what you think? Marjorie, his
mother, called him a week later and said, david, you have to help these
(12:11):
girls. I love this book. I've cooked several recipes. They're
all amazing. I took it to the bridge club. All of the ladies there want
a copy. They think it's gonna be amazing. And he said that's the
only feedback he needed and the only market testing he needed.
And the three of us decided to form our own publishing company
to self publish Looney Spoons. Even though Janet and I still didn't
(12:34):
know what self publishing was. But Dave did, and he led the.
And honestly, we've just worked harder than we've ever worked in our lives to make
it the success that it was. But it was because of him that we got
off the ground for sure. I mean, maybe we would have eventually
cracked the door open of a publisher, but I still think without him, we would
have been back at those day jobs. Take me back to those early days. Cause
(12:56):
you and Janet partnered, I think, on four books. Although you're
incredibly funny as well. You both brought your own styles and then you had David.
How did you work out? Sort of who had influence and who had
authority? Because often you start this thing together and
just imagine, as you said, manifest the best seller and everything.
But the reality is there's a lot of speed bumps along the road. Not everything
(13:17):
goes the way it should be. How did you sort of look at each other
and say, this is what you do best? This is what I do best. The
cooking, recipe development, food responsibility was
mine. And then Janet had the nutritional
knowledge and the crazy sense of humor, and she
was a great writer. There was a clear division there when it came to
(13:39):
the business aspect of it. That's where I'd say that it was
a little bit more challenging because Dave, obviously, he was the president
of our publishing company. And at the beginning, he
led the way. We just did like, literally whatever he wanted us to do to
make the book a success. But as time went on. And
I'm going to blame myself here, particularly me. Gained
(14:01):
more experience and kind of got the groove of it all. I would
challenge him a little bit on some things. So working together
wasn't always easy, but we made it work for many,
many, many years. And when Dave eventually left our business, he
said it was because we didn't need him anymore. He actually left being the president
of our company, and I took over. So as far as
(14:23):
conflict goes, Janet and I really didn't have any because
we're so bonded as sisters that even if we had a
little blow up, I mean, honestly, even if we had a big blowup within 24
hours, she's like, hey, want some licorice? Like, we would just make up
and the fight would be over and we'd forget about it because we were so
focused on the goal that we wanted to achieve that,
(14:45):
like, literally nothing was going to get in our way. You and
Janet, after this great success, go your separate ways. And I'm just
curious how that came about. And then we're going to move into
Greta, the solo artist. You know, after the Looney Spoons
collection was our fourth book, which was kind of like all
the greatest hits from the first three, plus a hundred new recipes. That is a
(15:08):
huge book. There really wasn't a fifth book in that style,
you know, with the jokes and the puns and the kind of sense of humor
in it that was like, plays on words and all the nutritional
little tidbits. I think that was kind of the closing chapter.
And Janet had some other passions in the background that she wanted to pursue,
(15:28):
and so I encouraged her to do that. But I still
loved books, cooking recipes. The
creative process is what I love the most. The business side of it, I
do because I have to. It's the creative process that
motivates me. I love dreaming up what a book can
be because it's like all these blank white pages, and you get
(15:50):
to determine exactly what goes on every page. So I
decided to branch out on my own with my new publishing
company. And then I wrote the book called Yum and Yummer, which I
was a nervous wreck about launching because it was my
first book without Janet, and I didn't want to disappoint people.
It won an award. It's done really well. I say it has a different flavor,
(16:13):
it's a different personality, a different style. It still has funny
bits in it. I'm really proud of that book.
When we return, Gret and I dive into the simple ingredients to her
success. The digital dangers that Come with it. And
what's next for this emotionally charged chef?
(16:36):
Hi, it's Tony Chapman, host of the podcast Chatter that Matters. And
I'm here to give a big shout out to a long standing partner of rbc,
Women of Influence. Plus, this is an organization that isn't here
to change the narrative. It is here to. To rewrite it, to create a more
inclusive tomorrow. And one of their biggest initiatives is the RBC
Canadian Women Entrepreneur Awards. For over three decades, they've
(16:57):
recognized and celebrated the strides of Canada's most accomplished,
influential and impactful women. It is a leading women's awards program
in the nation, working to elevate their important contributions from
economic growth to social change across sectors, across industries
and across Canada. Women of Influence and the RBC
Canadian Women Entrepreneur Awards. Well, that matters to you, to me,
(17:19):
and to rbc.
People shouldn't be insulted when someone gives them a cookbook as a gift. It
doesn't mean happy birthday. You can't cook, so here's a book.
Cookbooks are for you to get fired up again about cooking, to
give you some new ideas to at least try it.
(17:40):
My guest today is Greta Podlesky. She's a best selling author of cookbooks. I
mean, wildly successful. But what you'll hear in this
show is also a recipe for anybody who's looking to
dream and do. The
chord you play from your early days to now as a
solo artist, though, is where I think is a consistent chord is this
(18:02):
relationship you have with the reader. And I think digital
world has only made it easier for you, but it's almost like you're
in the kitchen with somebody that's bought your book. Was that intentional? Is
that just your personality? Was that you, the young girl with your mom, that
you've now manifested in terms of the relationships you have out there? Because
you're not just somebody that's authoring a cookbook. You're inspiring, you're
(18:24):
motivating, you're encouraging, you're. You're saying it's okay to make
mistakes and get messy. I think that's one of the reasons
why my newer books have done so well, to be honest, is
because people ask me that question, how do you sell so many
books? The publishers asked me that. I think they think my numbers are fake
because they can't believe it. It's my relationship with people that
(18:47):
buy the book. I'm accessible, I'm casual.
I'm the farthest thing from a food snob. I answer
questions, they email me. I don't have whole wheat flour what should I do? I
reply. They comment on Facebook and Instagram. I reply,
it's always me. I don't have staff. They see me in interviews
and go, she seems really normal. I'm not, by the way.
(19:10):
I love that, that people feel like I'm their friend. They feel
like I'm their next door neighbor, that they can come over and talk to me.
With Yum and Yummer being so afraid to launch it without
Janet and without that same style, I added a
visual element to it that had never been done before in the cookbook world, and
that is video scannable QR codes on every page that link to
(19:32):
a video of how to make the recipe 60 seconds. And to me,
it was more about getting people to cook right. It's like, you see those
hands, you see the way things are chopped, you see the bowls, you know how
to do it. A lot of moms have said to me, my kids learned to
cook from that book because everything's so visual now, right? And kids are on their
phone and iPads and they can see all the steps. And
(19:52):
I was really glad that that element of Yum and Yummer went
over so well. Even better than that, I think in
my newest cookbook, the Salad Cookbook, I decided to use my own
voice because people said to me, does every salad ever had those
videos? You had Yum and Yummer? And I said, no, it has me.
And I put the QR codes back in there, but they link to almost like
(20:14):
a mini podcast. It's like 90 seconds long. And it's me talking.
And I'm talking to you about the recipe. I'm giving you a background story. Maybe
I'm giving you ingredient substitutions tips. I might tell a stupid
story, which I'm known to do. So it's almost like I am in the kitchen
with you. Really, Tony, the sales are all about
connecting with people, and that's how you sell books. Let's build on that,
(20:37):
because it's a great lesson in life, is an abundance of choice
within arm's reach of desire. I could go to YouTube and find more
recipes than I could cook in my entire life. But you
still finding a way to put a hardcover book, and
thank you for printing it in Canada and not China and
putting it in the hands of people. Seeing these incredible sales,
(20:59):
there's so many other people that are struggling to be heard with
their content. Not necessarily a book, but just their content. Whether I'm a
songwriter or I'm a film filmmaker. And you're finding a way to not
only Be heard. But to deliver these. These incredible results, the
buyer I deal. With, who is probably the best
relationship I've ever had with any retailer in 30 years.
(21:21):
Because I said to her, we should be so proud of this, what we've accomplished.
I always say, we. And she said, no, you should. It's you.
And she said, it's the way you connect with your followers.
It's the way you've connected with the people at our head office who are
all cheering for you. It's the relationships that You've formed
over 29 years with people that is leading to this success.
(21:44):
And I think it's because I'm always communicating with people
and I work so hard. You wouldn't believe how
many people said to me, you must be so glad your new cookbook's done, so
you can just hand it over. I'm like, hand it over to who? Who am
I handing it over to? I am the publisher. I've always been the
publisher. Writing the book is the first part. Selling the book is the
(22:06):
second part. I just do it all myself. And I think
people see that and they realize it and they feel it. And
so when people open my book, whether they already bought it and it's at home
or it's at one of the Indigo stores, it's a vibe that
they get. It's the energy of the book. Kind of sounds
woo woo. But people are drawn to it. And what's happening now is
(22:28):
people get at home and look at it. I want two more. I want three.
I want this for my sister. I want one for my aunt. I like, Mother's
Day was like a blowout at Indigo. They were selling out left and right. Cause
people like, I want my mom to have this. The
authenticness. I'm an authentic person. I'm
never fake. Sometimes I think I'm too honest in
(22:48):
my real life because I tell it like it is. But I think that's a
good quality to have. So speaking of fake, you just were
scammed on Amazon. And I think it's important to share this because
this is the world we live in. That success doesn't just
breed success, it also breeds criminal activity.
The expression is that imitation is the sincerest form of
(23:10):
flattery until it isn't and someone tries to take
advantage of your hard work. So I was alerted to the fact that there
was a book being sold on Amazon with my title and my name on it,
but it wasn't my book. Sadly, people were duped into buying
it. It was just an AI generated thing with black and white pages
with no photos. This fake book actually rose to number 60
(23:32):
overall on Amazon, which when you think about them selling
millions of titles, that's pretty impressive.
But people got scammed by that. And then people
started posting negative reviews about it. A lot of them
saying, not Greta's book. This is fake. This is fraud, imitation, don't buy.
But the occasional person saying things like, I'll give you an
(23:54):
example, one that, like, truly broke my heart. Saw
her on the Social, cooking her recipes. I thought
this book looked like it would be full of good stuff. And I ordered it
and so disappointed. It's like, not even any pictures.
There's no way this is the bestseller. And they posted that.
What upset me is that even after they received the book, they didn't
(24:17):
realize it was a scam book. This is somebody that obviously doesn't
know me from the past because they would have known right away that it's nothing
that I would create. So I lodged a formal complaint with
Amazon. I didn't get any response from that, unfortunately.
Eventually talked to a customer service rep who just took notes
and said she would try to put it to the right department. I talked to
(24:39):
the news media about it. I think that really helped, to be honest with you.
But mostly I posted about the scam on my Facebook page to warn
people, and they took action. They were
going to that site, they were lodging complaints. They
were posting reviews saying, this has to be taken down. It was like
an army of people just started attacking this
(25:01):
fake post on Amazon. It's finally down. As well as the
other books from the same sort of scam company person. What happens to all the
profit that Amazon makes selling that fake book? They make profit
from it and the scammers made profit from it. I don't know how much. I
don't know how many copies they sold. They'll never tell me. I'll never find out.
I'll never find out who did it. I mean, I suppose I could seek legal
(25:22):
action. It's really not my style. My goal there was to stop
people from getting scammed. It really wasn't to make the profits from those sales.
But they shouldn't have the profits, that's for sure. If they would donate
those profits, I would be happy to pick a charity that they could donate
those profits to. I don't need it. I just want people to stop being scammed.
But it just goes to show you that there's a lot of fraud out there.
(25:44):
And now that we have AI, it's going to get even worse. And when you're
shopping online. You gotta make sure things are legit. You can see
how it would happen. Add to cart. My friend told me to buy that book.
Add to cart. Checkout. They didn't read the description, they didn't
read the reviews. So that's how it happened. I
always say to people, you don't want to be scammed on a fake book. Buy
(26:05):
it at a bookstore. Great lesson in life. You talk about, you're
constantly thinking of recipes. Every salad ever is obviously needs
your love and your attention. But how do you stay focused on the present, which
is a runaway bestseller? Let's describe it once again as a wild
results. And you must also be thinking about what's
next. How about a vacation last year? I know this is going to
(26:28):
seem impossible, but I wrote that book, really in record
time. Most cookbook authors take two to three years to put together a book.
And I did every salad ever in 10 months. How did I do
it? I had two days off last year. And I'm not making that up. One
was for a wedding and the other one, I think was to cry so that
I wouldn't, you know, to prevent myself from having a nervous breakdown. I stayed in
(26:49):
bed all day. So I would like a vacation
also, being the publisher, it's. I'm working really hard right now,
and I'm also doing a lot of traveling, book promotions, television shows,
media interviews. So my first goal would be to have a break.
People are already starting to ask me to start working on another book. I'm like,
people like, I just did one. I'm only one human. I can't do it. All
(27:10):
right? So they're like, but you need to do a soup book because soup goes
with salad. Would it be called Ladle Gaga? Because that would be a good
name. Everything was a ladle. So it would be soup, chili, stew. And then I
said, greta, stop it. You know, I'm just going to call BS on you. You're
already manifesting the next book. You're probably imagining the
COVID of the book. You know, here's the interesting thing. I always end my interviews
(27:32):
with my three takeaways. There's really one takeaway that
you've expressed in so many different ways. And I think it began with
Elfrida taking that young girl. And that is the sense of
build it and they will come and this sense of manifestation.
And it began with, with you as a young girl and then finding your way
into your. Into your sister's basement when she just got married. Cutting
(27:55):
out. You're going to be a bestseller, which I think is such a great, important
piece of advice for people, is that put that ultimate goal out, that
desired outcome, because even if you don't get there, you're going to go a lot
further. Instead of having modest expectations, the sense of
mentorship and inviting people into your energy, but more
importantly your energy and how you you find a way to invite yourself
(28:15):
into not only the readers homes and kitchens, but what
I thought was magical advice is even my buyer at
Indigo, the people at head office are cheering for me because they know you're
authentic, you care and you're committed. And
I think that's just such important advice for entrepreneurs is build
it, they will come. Put out that goal, make it audacious, make it
(28:37):
magical. Find people to help you. You get there, take the day off
and cry when things get overpowered, but come back and at the end of it,
just make sure that you don't surrender it. But you're part of a community.
You're just a phenomenal entrepreneur. I'm so
happy that Chilton said bring her on and I can understand why.
Thank you. I really appreciate it. And I would just say to people,
(29:00):
the experts aren't always right. Trust your gut
in work and in life and also don't be afraid to
ask for help. And finally, I would say just be
nice.
Once again, a special thanks to RBC for supporting Chatter that Matters.
It's Tony Chapman. Thanks for listening and let's chat soon.
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