Hi everyone, I'm Hilary Kerr, the co-founder and chief content officer of Who Outwear.

And this is Second Life, a podcast spotlighting women who have truly inspiring careers.

We're talking about their work journeys, what they've learned from the process of setting

aside their doubts or fears and what happens when they embark on their second life.

Today, I'm speaking with Chef, cookbook author, and on-camera personality,

Sola L. Whaley.

Growing up, Sola always knew that cooking was her passion,

but it wasn't until after she graduated college with an economics degree

that she made the leap to attend culinary school.

In the years following, she began staging at restaurants like 11 Madison Park

and working her way into kitchens at the most highly acclaimed fine dining spots in New York.

In 2016, she and her husband opened their own restaurant called Hail Mary,

but after about a year, the couple made the difficult decision to close.

Unsure about what to do next, Sola made a pivot into food media.

She started this new leg of her career first at Serious Eats,

and then as a recipe tester at Bon Appetit,

and today, she develops recipes for the New York Times.

Along the way, she found herself bringing her cooking skills in front of the camera,

including creating her YouTube series Stump Sola,

launching the History Channel's online series Ancient Recipes with Sola,

and serving as a judge alongside Dan Levy

on the HBO competition cooking show The Big Brunch.

...