It's all about the approach to food whether you're making it or enjoying it. We've been fans of Katie Lee Biegel for a number of years as we love how she simply enjoys telling her story through food. With a hectic holiday season upon us, we wanted to chat with her to talk about her love of food, being a co-host on The Kitchen, partaking in Kitchen Therapy as a form of self-care and her thoughts on her bestselling book being turned into a film on the Hallmark channel! ATHLEISURE MAG: When did you realize you wanted to work in food? KATIE LEE BIEGEL: I don’t consider myself a chef, I consider myself a home cook that likes to share what I know. I grew up in my Grandma’s kitchen. I’ve always been cooking my whole life and I realized that I could make it a career, probably 20 years ago when I was in college. I started thinking that this was what I wanted to do and I have been fortunate enough to be able to make it my life’s work and it’s also my hobby and I love to cook! AM: Which is awesome and we always love seeing you in different shows as you make food so approachable. Love seeing you on The Kitchen, what drew you to want to be on that show? KLB: Oh gosh, The Kitchen is a dream come true! We’ve been doing that show for almost 10 years now! It’s the best thing that ever happened to me professionally. Those are my people and we have such a good time, we have become family. But it’s also our viewers as well. We have such a loyal following and I love hearing from our viewers on social media. Especially at this time of year, the holidays are when everyone is in the kitchen, everybody is cooking and it's our busiest time. I really believe in making and cooking with an enjoyable experience with people. It doesn’t have to be stressful. I teamed up with Sub-Zero, Wolf and Cove for this Kitchen Therapy initiative which I am so into. I like during the holidays to carve out somemetime and to go to the kitchen. It's actually my form of self-care by having those mo-
ments of peace in the kitchen when everything else about the holidays can be chaotic. AM: I love that you say that. I never thought of self-care happening in the kitchen so when I heard about it, I knew that I wanted to know more about this as we’re all about wellness and bringing self-care to other areas, so why not here? Tell me more about your partnership with Sub-Zero, Wolf & Cove. KLB: I learned that 95% of Americans find cooking to be calming. That actually surprised me because you hear a lot of people getting stressed out about food and what they are cooking. I think when it comes to holiday cooking especially, it’s about making a game plan and carving out that time in your schedule as opposed to waiting until the last minute. I always wait to the last minute to buy gifts and then I’m totally stressed. I got the kitchen part down, I just need to get the gift buying part down and maybe I would have a stress free holiday! I think that when you can carve out that time and get in the kitchen, whether you’re putting on your favorite music or turning on a holiday movie that you love to watch while you cook or open a bottle of wine if you like. It’s about having that time that’s yours. For me, I get that sense of contentment that I am cooking for my family and loved ones. It makes me feel good, especially if I’m not in a rush. AM: Why do you think it’s so important that we all need to find ways to do Kitchen Therapy? KLB: Well I mean, food is what nourishes our bodies right? When you’re taking the time to cook good nourishing food, I think that you’re going to feel good about it. I just did a renovation and I’m here in my kitchen in NYC. AM: Which is beautiful!