Meet Trailblazer Lauren Grier

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lauren Grier.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Lauren. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
In 2008, I was living the good life. My husband Mr. B and I lived in downtown Denver, and we loved everything about the Mile High City—our jobs, our friends and our quirky neighborhood. Life was good. Then, well, 2008 had to go and be… 2008. I worked in the financial industry, and that September the bubble burst, the market crashed and, you know what came next. Like many others, I lost my job. I went back and forth from interview to interview, week after week, like a hopeless string of bad blind dates. I won’t lie to you: in between, I sulked. Like, hardcore. The thing is… it wasn’t me. I’m not a born sulker. Maybe that’s why, during that sulk-a-thon, I experienced the whole “one door closes and another opens” thing. See, I was clocking heavy hours watching TV, but it was mostly cooking shows (shout out to Ina and Giada!). I was in a slump, but the idea of cooking somehow made me feel a little better. The careful preparation, the rhythm of all the slicing and chopping, the way the pros used all five senses, was mesmerizing. Something started to click.

Now, to that point, my culinary knowledge amounted to a hill of beans—and these beans hadn’t even been properly soaked, seasoned or simmered. I could hardly follow package directions, my friends. I had no love for cooking, and in many ways, food itself was an afterthought. Like a lot of you, I had childhood memories of fun family dinners, and I remembered times in my life when food had made a sweet moment even sweeter. But I had never felt a true calling or a passion for putting food at the center of life.

Until, like I said, something clicked. Or snapped, or wiggled, or shimmied or whatever the heck a swordfish does. Because that was the first meal I was inspired to cook. As I watched a Food Network TV host pan-sear a couple of swordfish steaks, I was feeling that click. I got my tookus off the couch and made a grocery list. The TV host was preparing something called Seared Swordfish Steak Sandwiches with Arugula and Lemon Aioli. “WARNING!WARNING! YOU DON’T EVEN KNOW WHAT AN AIOLI IS” went off in my head. I forged ahead anyway. Returning from the store with a Rosie-the-Riveter “I-can-do-it” attitude, I set to work. I followed my instincts. I poured an obscene amount of olive oil into a pan that was nuclear hot. I even seasoned the frozen swordfish! Then I placed the fish in the smoking oil and ran screaming out of my smoke-filled apartment as hot oil blasted from the pan. MAY-DAY! MAY-DAY! Things were not clicking. Thankfully, Mr. B happened to come home that very moment. He walked casually to the Stove of Death, moved the pan and turned off the heat.“Next time that happens, which should be never, just move the skillet away from the heat.” I had married wisely. It was uphill from there. I started by nearly burning down my building and ended up with a newfound crush: food. And cooking. I was bound and determined to improve my culinary skills, so I started cooking at every opportunity, sharpening my skills and reading books like Jacques Pépin’s Complete Techniques to make my foodie brain bigger. By the time my seventeenth job interview rolled around, I found my priorities had shifted. I knew my spare cash wouldn’t be going toward that pair of cheetah pumps anymore—not when there were pots, pans, graters and onion goggles to be had. I had unlocked my inner chef.

In time, I found that I wanted to put my passion out there. A chance meeting with my friend Jamie back in Kansas made me consider blogging. Eventually, I started my blog, Climbing Grier Mountain, on August 5, 2010, with the most awkward post in the history of the Internet. And, just as food had taken over my life, it eventually took over the site. Foodie Fridays became a popular feature, and no surprise there—food blogging as an industry had become a real, official kind of thing. I began to connect with other bloggers and readers and was thankful I’d chosen such a rewarding path. As I became part of a community, my skills in the kitchen made a big leap, too, and I began to make my own recipes.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Being an entrepreneur/blogger there is never a smooth road. I had to be vulnerable, patient, take risks and be okay with failure. With that, I struggled a lot, especially with acceptance. I wanted affirmation that my work whether photography or cooking was good enough. After all, I put in thousands of hours perfecting my craft. My advice to other women starting in their journey is to give yourself grace and allow yourself to be vulnerable. You won’t know how to do everything when you start and that’s okay. It takes time to learn and grow. BUT! In that time, all that energy you’ve created and worked on will come full circle. Your work will be appreciated because it’s YOU and that’s what matters most!

What do you do, what do you specialize in, what are you known for, etc. What are you most proud of? What sets you apart from others?
I am a cookbook author, food and travel blogger. I’m most known for my creative spins on comfort dishes as well as my moody photography. I’m most proud of the fact that I was able to create and produce a cookbook (Modern Comfort Cooking) in three months that was dubbed by Oprah as one of her favorite things in December 2017. I think what sets me apart from others is my curious nature. I’m always asking, “what if?”

We’re interested to hear your thoughts on female leadership – in particular, what do you feel are the biggest barriers or obstacles?
I think in the past five years a lot of those barriers have been lifted. As a woman, there has never been a better time to kick some ass and lead the way.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.climbinggriermountain.com
• Instagram: griermountain
• Facebook: griermountain
• Twitter: griermountain

Image Credit:
Lauren Grier – Climbing Grier Mountain

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