From Interviews to Impact with Rose Cowell

In foodservice, the story behind the plate sells the spec. In this episode of Curiously Stuck, Chelsea sits down with chef-educator and entrepreneur Rose Cowell (Founder, Twenty Bites) to unpack how culinary storytelling, disciplined process, and smart content can turn stainless boxes into real sales, while spotlighting a partnership between two women entrepreneurs driving the industry forward.

What you’ll learn in this episode:
• How “slow down to go fast” (the Twenty Bites ethos) improves content, recipes, and results
• Ways to bridge marketing and culinary: hands-and-pans video, food styling, and proof-point recipes that sell equipment
• Positioning with reality: aligning brand aspiration with how customers experience you
• The power of women partnering in foodservice entrepreneurship—and why community beats going it alone
• Using personal discipline (yes, triathlon training!) to fuel creative momentum and client delivery

👉 Watch the full episode on YT @craeveco

🔗 Learn more about Craeve & Co: https://craeve.com and twentybites: https://twentybites.com/

#CuriouslyStuckPodcast #FoodserviceMarketing #CulinaryStorytelling #WomenInFoodservice #SalesEnablement #BrandStrategy #Hospitality #Entrepreneurship

Welcome to Curiously Stuck

Every founder, executive, and creative leader has been there—that pivotal moment where you don’t know the next move, but you know something has to change. Curiously Stuck is a podcast for those moments. Hosted by Chelsea Rae Stuck, brand strategist and founder of Craeve & Co., this series dives into the honest, often messy stories behind leadership pivots, unexpected challenges, and the curiosity that drives reinvention.

Transcript

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Why can you not reinvent who you want to be every decade of your working life? May of 2025 I put in a two weeks notice. This whole summer, I neither felt like a true athlete nor I felt like a businesswoman, but every day I was waking up and choosing to do things that were proving otherwise. twentybites was born from this summer. Hence what I hope is a consulting firm that just helps people. Welcome to Curiously Stuck. The show where we unpack the stuck moments, curious leaps in behind the scene pivots of becoming a business leader. I'm your host, Chelsea Stuck former sales manager, now turned brand strategist. And if you're leading sales, running a brand, or building a go to market strategy and food service, this one is for you. Today we're serving up a collaboration between Craeve and twentybites, where culinary knowhow meets creative marketing. I'm joined today by Rose Cowell of twentybites, a culinary pro who spent 15 years across restaurants, bakeries and factory product launches. Rose is that rare translator. She can move an idea from the test kitchen to the sales deck to the customer's plate. Grab your notebooks, maybe a snack, and let's dig in to Rose's story. Rose, thank you so much for joining me today. Very glad to be here. Thanks for having me. For those out there, hopefully I'm not over sharing, but Rose is based out of Chicago and if you know me well, I was 12 years in Chicago and it is my heart city, and so I felt instantly connected whenever we first started talking about this adventure. And, yeah. How are things in Chicago? It sounds like you just want an excuse to come to Chicago more frequently, so I will offer that to you. Yeah, she she nailed it. Really? Like you got it. Like anything city. It's all clients. Me in Chicago. Yeah, yeah. So, Rose, I'm just so impressed and, you know, so much and getting to know you. Really? You know, I've known you for a couple of years, but, like, really, this summer and over the course of the last few months, a lot of, you know, deep conversations and, you know, it's been really, really rewarding on my end. I mean, when I stepped out on my own and that was, it'll be seven years. Oh, yeah, it'll be seven years this coming, spring or this coming winter. And it was terrifying. And I, it was prior to Covid. So, I mean, I know there was a lot of, I don't want to say that it wasn't the norm because we've always had people in the industry that break boundaries and, you know, go against the grain and pave new paths. But I definitely felt at that time I was 35, female in our industry, not knocking our industry. But like we all know that, like it's a little different for us. And, there's not as many of us that I think, you know, we, we, we want to see. But that's changing. That's changed a lot. But I, I just have felt such a connection with you and sort of, you know, your mindset, your journey, and and I'm just so happy to, to be a part of that story because I remember what it was like. And it was it was pretty terrifying to walk away from, walk away from the, corporate manufacturing world. So tell me and like, can you share with everyone this story? Like, how did we get here? What's twentybites and just share a little bit of that with us? Yeah. Before we start, Chelsea, thanks for, first the opportunity to have deep conversations with you, this past summer has been very influential in my life. You being a large role in that. And I feel like the more we talked and connected each time you shared it, anecdotal story of your own life, I found myself saying, me too. Right. And to see your own life reflected back at you from a peer and a colleague, it's a very reassuring place to be. And it takes away some of that loneliness that I think entrepreneurs can kind of find themselves in. So thank you. thank you for trusting me with that part of the journey. And to back up what you're saying, I remember this was, it had to have been, you know, maybe a year or two into Craeve. Jason Range of FSP interviewed me, him interviewed me, and I told him I was like, he goes, what's something unexpected about your journey? And I almost broke down in tears on the podcast because I said I didn't know how lonely it was going to be. And that was huge to me. And certainly when you first reached out, I remember being like, I'm not going to let her be alone. Like, there's no reason to be lonely at the top or, you know, as an entrepreneur, but it's a real thing. Yeah, yeah. So I mean, I've had countless moments this summer almost breaking down, on the verge of tears, just like thanking people for calling me and thanking people to answering their phone and encouraging and leaving nice comments. Especially like women to women, support that is speaks very highly. And it's so sad that we're sitting here in the year 2025, just grateful that women are kind to us. But it's it's a challenging industry, and I love seeing those barriers break down, with each outstretch of the hand, with each, moment that a female can come up and support another industry colleague. It's, it's beautiful, and I like being a part of it, and it's becoming the person you wish you had for yourself when you were younger. So 100%. And I think I even said that to you like a week or two ago, we were having our discussion and I was like, I'd like, you know, I had several mentors, female and male and like, hey, guys, like, we're not forgetting you. You also help us. And there's certainly but, it is something special that bond, you know, and just having, like, you know, the same lens and a woman that's walked through what you've been through. And, you know, I can say, Bonnie Reinhardt, there were several women that had my back. Amy. Shannon. Two. Shannon's actually. And yeah, it's it's a beautiful thing, but yes, I, I totally get where you're coming from. Yeah. So anyway, so no, that's it, you know, so. So twentybites. Yeah. twentybites. I love this all starts about 31 years ago when I was just a wee little lad. If I were to, like, summarize my working years of being a human, imposter feels like a really good place to start an identity crisis at every single stage of my life. And I don't know if that's just a part of my nature and, like, my personhood, that I'm just always questioning who I am. Where do I fit in this world? How am I useful to people? I am turning something that can be typically negative into something positive, and I see it as I just have so many passions in my life that I haven't known where my niche always is. So, like, I can give an example that even in the culinary industry, which is where I've been working since I was 13 years old, I never had a focus front of house, back of house, barista, making coffees, washing dishes, working the line, being a server, I've done fine dining, I've done low dining. I bed, mid dining and private chefs left and right. And I was in equipment manufacturing for six years of my career. And it was just like each time a job was presented to me, I took it out of confidence and faith that it was the right step. I liked adding on skill sets to my toolbelt. I like being useful. I like trying new things and being like a lifelong learner. But I think long term, the constant pivoting can create this environment in your brain where you don't know. Really? Then who is Rose Cowell? Is you know, and then even in equipment manufacturing, I was a chef. I was an educator. I helped with marketing. I had a sales role. So which one of those am I at the end of the day? And how do you even quantify that on a resume or to try to get someone to hire you, like, how do you put I just do it all, you know, whatever the challenge is, just like jack of all trades. Yeah. But like, no, I know what you mean. It's hard. A jack of all trades, but a master of none. And I don't really like that phrase, but it's kind of the truth. And so yeah, again, that's that's the quantifying of 15 years in this industry. I've seen everything. But none of it feels like who I am. Interesting. So like, let's let's dig in a little bit deeper there. So yeah, you said that you felt and I listen, I have had many a moment of imposter syndrome in my career and, you know, same thing start in manufacturing and like more on the buffet side, disposable sales and then went to tabletop and then, you know, came this direction and form and crave. So there have been many times that and I was, I, I don't want to make it all a female thing just because we, we spent some time on that. But I do think there is something there about the way that women process what, you know, the are changing tides, the way that we mature, the way that we learn and grow. And I, I do think there's something there. But you talked specifically about feeling, you know, imposter syndrome and like, how did that factor into the next steps that, you know, you just yeah. Like how did you overcome that? Figuring out as we go. But so what happened was like years of this inner anxiety and turmoil over who is Rose Cowell? It honestly led to a point where I broke down and had to step away from a really, really good job and a really great organization and brand that I was proud to represent. And if anyone ever, you know, was questioning what occurred, it was just like Rose had to go figure out who I was. Again, me speaking in third person, I had this support that thank you. I had to for myself. Not for an employer, not for colleagues, not for clients. I had to go figure out, like, what sparked joy in my heart, what felt like good things to invest my time in my life and to. Because when I take on stuff, I take it on very deeply. So it felt like I had to go do some inner exploring and some soul searching and the way to best approach it for me was to go all in, like I just had to walk away from a position. I had to walk away from the security of a paycheck, from health insurance, from all the lovely things that employers offer their employees. And that was a huge fear. I mean, it was crippling to think that, like I have on paper, what most people would be begging for a good, good job. And I'm saying I don't want that anymore. So yeah, May of 2025 I put in a two weeks notice. and said, I need to take about 4 to 5 months to go clear my head and find my space. And whether that's within an organization or something I need to go create for myself. It's what I need to do to continue moving forward in my career. So yeah, I mean, to all our listeners out there, this is a masterclass in self-care right there. Because I hear you and I feel you, I didn't have the words to articulate. I think what you did when you stepped away from your career, I knew that I needed some space. I knew what I wanted to do. I think I kind of been planning it a little bit longer, but it was many years in the making, and the scariest thing ever was realizing there's no paycheck. Every two weeks it's all on me. And this is what I'm about to do and where I'm going. And, it's I commend you for your bravery in doing it. And one of the shittiest I'm going to say that. Sorry I cuss. Chelsea, you third person. This is Chelsea being Chelsea, right? Moments was when people doubted my decision. I had specifically, I remember I took a phone call from a gentleman who literally was like. Chelsea. Chelsea? Chelsea, you are throwing away your career right now. And I was sitting on the chair at my parents house and like, my mouth dropped open and I just said, you know, no, I am not. I am doing exactly what I am intended to do and you will see it. And here we are almost seven years later, right? Yeah. And but man, just saying that back there was a part of me that was like, oh yeah. Oh, like, what if this guy's right then whatever. Yeah, yeah. What happened for me was that I had just. Baby, this is like what happens to women when they entered their 30s. But I just finished out my 20s, and it was a great decade to be alive. And I did so much in my 20s. But you're no longer like the young, cool kid. Like, now you're just a 30 year old woman. So you should be expected to, like, do your job and do a decent job. Rose, wait till you hit 40. But like, I felt like I lost my sparkle. I lost like, the young kid in the room being like a leader or forefront runner. The next up and coming rising star. I felt like it was taken away with me once I turned 30, but then I had a moment of realization that like, Why can you not reinvent who you want to be every decade of your working life? like, our working life is too long to feel like you get to be stuck in the thing you chose when you were 18 years old, and I am a completely different person than I was when I was 14, 18, 25. Now 31. And you know what? I'll be a different person when I'm 40, and maybe I'll pivot one more time and go into some research. I don't know, like, everybody mark this down in nine years, we're going to redo this session and we're going to see what version of Rose she's going to be. And I always say that because I'm turning 43, I actually had to think about it in two weeks, like two weeks or so. And I'm with you. Like I remember hitting like mid 30s. I was like, oh my God, my entire life I've been this other brand and somebody else's, somebody else's brand. And I never said this to a factory guy the other day. And, and it was funny because, like, I missed the whole point of why I was telling him because, like, the whole point I was getting at was like, if I went to work for any factory, it would have been like, I would have wanted to work for you guys. Like, I was like, meaning to pay him a compliment. And of course, in Chelsea style, I like forgot where I was going with the story, but I'm not forgetting where I'm going with this, is that I said to him, I go, I didn't want to be one brand anymore. I wanted to step aside. I wanted to try on different brands for size. I wanted to help people. I wanted to be something new, and I wanted the opportunity to put my mark on the industry. Yeah. And, that's I think a lot of what drew me instantly to our first conversations, you know, in, in talking and sort of like, okay, because I remember being like, where do you want to go with this? Like, what are we doing? You know, I knew I wanted to help no matter what. But, like, take me through that. So what did that look like? So, you know, you made the hard decision. You put the two weeks and. And now boom, it's real girl like, is real. Yeah. And so, like, I don't know, for anyone who's taken off a period of time from work for the sake of self-care or exploring what your next role is, if you've taken sabbaticals, time off yourself, whatever you want to call it. I think we go into it with these preconceived notions of what it should look like. And if I get to the end of my time off and I don't land the perfect job with the perfect employer, it's a waste of my time and my fear going into my time off was what happens if my time's up and I still don't know who I am and I still don't have a job? And now I've burned through savings and I took a leap of faith. And it's all been for nothing. And all those naysayers and all the doubters will have been right. Like how embarrassing. So my pride was that engine that kept me going this summer. But I took the time I interviewed a lot. I had ideas of companies I would align with that I wanted to be, you know, working alongside. And it was like the the, the interviewer would ask me about myself, and I found myself unsure of how to answer the question, what is the role I'm looking for? Because I wasn't looking for sales positions. I wasn't looking to be in marketing. I wasn't a graphic designer. But yet I do all those things. I just kept on coming to the realization that I wanted to find an avenue where a brand could either just accept all facets of me and let me run loose and just serve the people and do my job wherever that was needed. Cross departments across brands, whatever. Those roles don't really exist in our industry, and it's because I don't think employers know how to guide those types of employees. It's fine. Just doesn't get talked about a lot. So that's a good point. I was interviewing left and right, having good, decent conversations. I mean, I was offered roles that I anyone probably would have just said rose, be content and take a job like be happy. And I just wasn't. So I go, hey, if that ideal role doesn't exist out there for me, I need to be a responsible adult and take care of myself and go create that for myself. Hence me taking 15 years of industry knowledge and experience, albeit it's wide and vast and very weird. It's across all departments and I brought it together and what I hope is a consulting firm that just helps people. And I know that sounds so goofy and so cliche, but if I can help any clients with commonalities, issues, problems, heart pains like my my goal is to serve the client with the information my life has captured through many jobs in this industry, working many different angles. Yeah. So I started a company. Well, not good, I don't, it's just myself, but. Well, no, but I think people know you. First off, you are a company. You can be a company of one. I'm 100%. And I mean, and again, you're not just one. Like, this is why we partnered with you, right? For sure. Yeah. Immediately I was like, wait a minute. You know, things we don't know. And we have things like you might need. So like, yeah, you know, I think there's a lot of beauty in being willing to think outside of the box and like, why is Craeve here? Because I was willing to think outside of the box. Why is twentybites here? You're willing to take out the think outside the box. And I think that that point that you made, I think that that's a really good lesson for maybe leadership in our industry is that same same like I remember specifically sitting in the office and presenting a role for myself where that would combine everything I had, just like learned my masters in marketing and everything I knew to do on the tech side and like wanted to do and what I was passionate about, and then combine that with what I have been very successful at. Yeah, which is the sales and relationship side. And I remember thinking like, oh my God, I can clearly see where there is like this role for me that this business or a business could benefit from. And in corporate and in these like, I don't know, like verticals and functions and tie it up in a nice, pretty bow. You know, I just think that, like, leaders are afraid sometimes. Yeah. To make those different roles, those okay, it's not just a sales role or just a marketing role or just a chef or, you know, it is somebody who has a lot of cross-departmental skills that can bring things together and make it work. And I think that's a real miss. I, I because you have really talented people that are also really passionate about things. And if you just take that leap of faith and give it three months, give it six months, you know, in the grand scheme of things, it costs so much to hire and train people. Why would you not give it that time? But at the same time, I also think that as a business owner now who has employees, I see things through. It's certainly a different lens than I did seven years ago. Like, I see decisions now that were made around me that I'm like, oh, I really get it now. Oh, okay. Like I see it from a different angle. So I think there is a give and take there and that there's a reason why businesses do things the way they do. But that all said we wouldn't be here if people didn't say, like, I don't get it, you know? And that is like, what is it? Necessity is the mother of an invention or something like that. I am also terrible at phrases. And my dog would probably bark in the back of this because he's a puppy and cute. But anyway, so tell us, how did we get with the name 20? But where does that come from? And also, you did something really fascinating with your summer, and I don't want us to get away without talking about that. So name and then. Yeah. Your time. Yeah. So. twentybites has been living in my head my whole life. Let's just say it's a conglomeration and a final pinnacle of really. The services Rose Cowell excels at. And so I'm going to sell it as a company. Right. Obviously being from the food service industry, food is near and dear to my heart. I'm a storyteller and I love the medium of food, so I wanted something to be reflective of that. I don't like the thought of calling myself Rose call LLC because someday, if I'm not doing so hot, I don't want my name to be on the front cover of something I don't know. I just I wanted it to be a bit of an anonymous name so that anyone could be the creative, and so that I have the flexibility to grow some day and have it feel inclusive to, for, you know, employees someday. So the story of 20 Bites is that I am a notoriously fast person. I move fast in kitchens, I prep fast, I speak fast, I walk very fast. I have a very hard time pausing in my life. I go from event to event to project to project. I'm just always thinking of those next steps. So being in the present moment is not my greatest suit. I'm working on meditation with that. But whereas I'm a very fast mover, I know that to be effective in the consulting realm requires a lot of slowing down to understand the client's vision where they're currently at, where they desire to go. Someday. What are their desires, their dreams? Their heart pains? What are their issues? So twentybites actually is the recommended amount of times you need to chew your food to allow your body to absorb its full nutritional propensity and ability for your body. I don't take twentybites of my food, do you? I'm failing. I am failing that. I'm a one bite person. The food goes in my mouth and I swallow it, and then we move on because I don't have time for twentybites. Okay, so a quick aside, this extra 1,520 pounds that my 40s is brought is making so much more sense right now. Yeah. Let's take twentybites. So twentybites. Thank you for unlocking that for me. I read it in an article one day and there are like, yeah, 20 bites per mouthful for digestion to take place for the enzymes in your mouth, for saliva, for like, your intestines. That's what healthy people do. I guess. And so I read it. And then one day when I was coming up with ideas for names, straight up 20 bites just popped into my head and I was like, wait, that's so cute. Because bites for food. It could be a double entendre, could be bites for the digital space, because I do a lot of digital work with clients. And I just thought it was neutral. It spoke to the industry. It's a little story about going slow to go fast, slowing down with my clients, doing the right pre-work, asking the right leading questions so that by the time that proposal comes to your inbox, the quotes sent across or that final deliverable is being sent over, we are aligned and we're not reworking and going back to the drawing board. And so yeah, that's that's twentybites. That's how it came to be. I love it. It's a great story. And it reminds me like Craeve you know, my middle name is Rae. And so that's why I spelled Craeve the way I did. And I remember thinking like, well, everything I'm doing is going to be creative and you crave food. And it just like, deposited itself into my brain one day and it was written down. I'm like, buy that website. Because in a year or two you're going to be doing this. So I love hearing the story behind how a name came to me. I've been waiting to ask you that because I there's one question I did not ask you this summer, and all our conversations. I kept being like, I got to ask her like, we're 20 bites. And then when we decided that we would record together, I'm like, okay, this is perfect. I can get that story now. Yeah. And the other incredible thing about a name and obviously, you know, this being in like the branding space and creating brand visions and identities and names in is that the other day, my friend, a mutual friend of ours, texted me and said, hey, I'm eating food right now very quickly. And they reminded me about twentybites. So I'm thinking about you. And here I am, Chelsea being like, am I a genius? The fact that I have now coined eating food as the twentybites thing. So any time, hopefully someone takes a bite of food, Rose Cowell might pop into your head. And like if that's not true alignment for branding, I don't know what else is so oh it's amazing, I love it. I love a good founder's story. This is awesome. So part of your founder's story I do. And a pivot to this while we have time. And this has been a great conversation. Thank you so much for sharing. But let's take it a little personal. You went on a journey the summer of something that I was like, also, like, I keep relating. You can tell my is on my mind because, like, everything relates right now to the fact that I'm, like, entering my mid ish 40s, I was very impressed with what you did with your summer. So please talk about that. Because also when you came out, it was electrifying to to hear what it did for you. Yeah. So again, my, departure from the industry started May. And so I was going into the summer months of Chicago, great weather, and I knew I had about four months in front of me with a whole bunch of nothing on my calendar. And since I just mentioned that I'm a very go, go, go person, type A, I don't like slowing down, sitting down, relaxing. That's not for me. I was terrified of what? For months, with a lack of purpose would do for my soul. Like I might as well just be a shell of a person for the next four months. If I don't have a job, if I don't need to wake up for reasons if I don't have appointments and teams meetings. So like any normal person, I was like, I should do a triathlon because that's a really cool use any normal person. Hold on, hold on. I have to like, literally suck like any normal person. I just decided, do you know how long I should just do a triathlon? Because her a friend was running and racing in the Chicago Triathlon at the end of August. Okay, me three months to train correctly and appropriately. It's the perfect amount of time to go from the couch to a triathlon and I was so deeply craving the structure of something again in my life. So I signed up for the Chicago Triathlon. It's guys. It's not. We're not talking Ironman levels. It's a mile swim. It's a 26 mile bike, and it's a six mile run. Only, only. But it got me out about every morning. It gave me discipline, it gave me structure, and it felt like amidst all of my confusion and all of my unshared ness of this summer, I was sure about one thing is, tomorrow you got to go ride your bike. The next day you got to go swim in the lake in the next day you need to go run. And so it was the decision to daily wake up and take small bouts of action. Very small, actionable steps. Right? It was only what I could do for that day. Eventually you find yourself at the end of three months racing in the Chicago triathlon and coming in under sub three hours. And so for a first timer, I was pretty happy with that. And it just felt like doing something physically demanding with my body was helping balance more of the mental space my brain was taking on. And if I needed space to process thoughts or work through some fears this summer of not finding a job, the physical demand was just enough of like a pain reliever to help me keep moving through those fears. And at the same time, I was waking up daily doing physical training. I was also trying to build 20 bytes. And so I said, like This whole summer, I neither felt like a true athlete nor I felt like a businesswoman, but every day I was waking up and choosing to do things that were proving otherwise. And I was like, you know what small steps, small, actionable steps per day will result in what you want down the road. And so, yeah, I completed the triathlon. I'm now training for a half Ironman for next June. twentybites was born from this summer. and I don't want to lead people astray and have them believe that. Like, everything's figured out and I know exactly who I am. And I've got this whole dissertation on, like the inner workings of Rose Cowell. But the triathlon taught me that if aside from anything in my life, aside from my job, aside from my standing in this industry, I'm disciplined, I show up and I do the work, and I have a really big heart, and I love to solve problems for people. And so those are big things. Yeah, they are. And this summer reminded me of like at the core of who I am, I have those traits and so to now brand myself to the industry to say, can I come alongside you and help you guys in your own no need. So yeah, that's what I did. This summer. That was great fun. I think it's amazing. I, I'm very in all of that discipline. I mean, this summer I was like, I'm, I mean, truth be told, I kind of did my own version of it and not to the physical demands of what you talked about. But I remember specifically going like, you know what? I'm really going to start, we learned this term, phronesis, right? And it's about the knowledge that comes from doing the work. Right. And I mean, you can see the collection of marketing books that I have by me. Truth be told, most of the books that are behind me, I, I know the author, right. I've met I've spent time with the author. That's something I've really invested in. It's going to these, you know, uprising events where all of these experts come together and we have this really wonderful retreat, and we learn from each other. And I felt very imposter that I'd be there and I'd be with this, like, super amazing marketing famous person. And I hadn't read their book yet. I hadn't read their like their true inner thoughts, their life's work, at least for that year or two or whatever. Because some people have published many books that you know, are there. And so I sat out the summer, I said, this is something I can do every morning. I can get up and I can just start, you know, starting small. And it was amazing because I found my joy for reading books again, where a lot of times I read news articles, and that's a whole other discussion for what's going to be coming out with Craeve with our newsletter. But, you know, I'm a news junkie and I don't mean news like politics. I mean, like, I love to read about different cultures and all this stuff. But I felt like I needed to start doing this work and, you know, and really getting deeper into it. And so I think that discipline and that heart and all of those skills, they're going to serve you so well in whatever version of yourself you decide to do in ten years. They're certainly going to serve this version of yourself. So yeah, I think it's awesome. Yeah. So tell me a little bit, and I guess maybe we could wrap up on, you know, what types of projects. You know, I certainly know in the creative world the types of projects that we work on. But yeah, you know, our listeners, flavor for the type of things that from all these different experiences, you've had. And I think that's the amazing part. I mean, you want people with a variety of experiences personally. Yeah. You know, but tell me, give me a flavor for the type of projects that make your heart sing or things that you see like, oh my God, people need this. Why aren't they doing this? Like, I'd love to know. Yeah. It's a very wide, response I'll give you. So what I saw happening so frequently in the food service, industry specifically, and equipment manufacturing, was that at the end of the day, and there's differing opinions on this, but in my perspective, the the client debt and user is who this equipment is made for. And the equipment is made for the sake of putting food on a plate to serve to a table to serve the true end user who's the consumer at a restaurant or at a country club right now? You ask a dealer, you ask a manufacturers representative. They all have their own clients. But my client and my focus is the storytelling of food and the communities and the fellowship that occurs when you sit at a singular table consuming food and beverage, sharing your life with people. And that bridge needs the gap, right? Needs to be bridged more effectively by storytellers in our industry and I just felt like with how sterile the industry can be, were manufacturers of stainless steel boxes of various sorts, I was just always craving more imagery of food being utilized. I wanted better B-roll images of not just stock photos, but actual food coming out of this equipment, real people consuming it. The stories behind that. Yeah. So I love storytelling through food as a medium. I love food styling. I love food photography, I like videography, I like being the talent behind the camera for the clients sake. Right. So if you're a food manufacturer and you're going to be launching a new product and you need to create a repertoire of recipes, I can research and develop your recipes for you. I can be the chef and your hands and pans being more of like an actress role. I'll do speaking engagements and be brand ambassadors for brands. I'll help you figure out your content strategy for social media. So that's kind of like a category of more content driven services for the food service space. Absolutely. But then also like a huge scene that I love is I love process. And so developing SOPs, standard operating procedures for brands is like probably my favorite thing to do. And it sounds very cut and dry and kind of quite boring. But I love problem solving and like going into a company hearing of a constant reoccurring issue they always run into, and they just try to reinvent the wheel each and every time is let me bring process to this. Let's create some ebooks. Let's create some single pagers. Let's create some nice spec sheets, manuals, brochures to bring better process so that these customers and the clients aren't always coming up against the same issues. So, for example, I have a current project working on for a client and they run culinary competitions, but every single time they ran the competition, it was being done differently. And it led for a lot of frustrations for presenters and even for the people who were in the competition themselves. So I knew the brand well enough. I know culinary competitions well enough that I developed a full guidebook as to if you are going to be participating in this feature of our company, this is how you should abide. It's like holy Bibles basically for the industry. So I love that kind of stuff. I love graphic design, so I like helping out in any realm of, you know, post for Instagram, any kind of social content. But I also like a lot of technical writing, so helping with spec sheets, manuals, any kind of white paper, it's kind of right up my alley. A lot of e-book design again, like that. What I was saying earlier is like, I just have a lot of unique random skill sets, and I'm learning how to just let them all exist at the same time and offer a pretty wide menu to my clients as to the work we can do together. So. But then I also love putting on parties and hosting great e-learning events. I'm a teacher at heart, I love educating, I like taking very challenging concepts and bringing them down to like smaller, digestible bites of food. So yeah, those are some of the things I dabble in and some of the current products I've been working on. So that's all right. That's it. Now I'm teasing. Now what I what I think this is the point. And what I love about that spectrum of things that you listed off, this is content and this is what content looks like. And when you started the conversation, you know, you talked about how, you know, what's the experience ultimately of that true end user of that customer sitting at the table and like how do they get to that place? They get to that place through great storytelling. So we were talking about at the beginning of this and you were saying, you know, that that ultimate end user, that person sitting at the table, how do they get there? Well, because all of the people around us in the industry that have to influence and or help that chef, that end user, make the decision so they can put that perfect bite of food on the on the table. And it's not one piece of content, it's not one photo, it's not one. It is a piece to train the dealers. Right? It is the food photography and stylized. And you know, I've seen a there's a big difference. And I agree with you. I came from tabletop, In tabletop, the name of the game is taking really great stylized photos. I mean, that is what has the what sells the product. And when you get over into the equipment side, you realize that a lot of times some of that B-roll, there's pieces of content you were talking about. It's just missing. And I get that when you're in a more technical space, that that's not always the sexiest in the, you know, mental space of, like, well, this is how this widget works. And you need to know all the is it electric? Is it this is it, you know, what kind of power, etc. to make sure that you match up the right equipment. But that doesn't change the fact that there's so much more to tell the story of how that piece of equipment, or the small wear, or whatever the item is, helps the end user and what the end result is. And I think that there's not enough importance placed on that. I do think our industry is changing a lot in their mindset of marketing. I think that, you know, companies are starting to have more realistic budgets. They're starting to look at content differently. But I do think it takes people like us who were saying, well, wait a minute, like, I'm an infrastructure person. I'm a strategy person. You know, my team. And hence why we partner with you is a deep bench of people that can execute those strategies and those ideas that, you know, we dream up and those solve those problems. And it's not one thing. It's not just video, it's not just photography. I think that broad range of skill sets is what really lends itself, in your case, to being, you know, such a deeper bench and such a bigger solution. So the thing that I've have gleaned and I've been thinking a lot about is that people are influenced by associations they make in their head, like people are pretty good at convincing themselves of the things they do and don't want, but we need to subtly help them with association so that therefore, like earlier, when somebody takes a bite of food and they eat too fast, maybe they think about twentybites and they want to call me. Right. And the thing that I found to be so effective when I was, during my time at equipment manufacturing was that, let's say I was at an equipment demonstration. Right. And I'm focusing on the oven or the mixer or whatever piece of equipment I was teaching on, but I always paired it with a bit of food because, duh, like, that's what comes out of this equipment is food. Lo and behold. And I remember specifically I made this one dessert and I think it had strawberries incorporated into it somehow. And years later, I had a dealer come up to me at a trade show saying, Rose Cowell, each time I eat a strawberry, I think of the brand you were representing because of that, by the food you gave me. And he goes, and I and I just remembered that that brand in a sea of many brands that you can choose from, it was a baking and pastry equipment manufacturer. So he is always saying you are the forefront runner in my mind when it comes to selecting equipment out of that category, because I made a dish that he really enjoyed and so that's the association and that's the storytelling that I'm passionate about is like, did that convert into a sales in that moment? Who knows, maybe not. But this dealer partner now now associates that brand with Biggie and Pastry. Well, it was that experience. I mean, we really think about it like the the experience, the flavor. And that's the thing is like it's not just what you see, right. It's not just your eyes. It's your like in our world, in hospitality, there's so much more that goes into it, into how people experience food, experience culinary and and the end product. And again, I think that that's where I, I totally agree with you in that I feel like sometimes marketing gets put into this very like flat bucket of like, well, it's just social media posts are like, oh, we got a flier. We'll like there's so much more than that. Like what? What you're doing helps chefs save time. What you're doing helps people put more butts in the seat and make a better income. And, you know, keep their family restaurant going. I mean, like, we are the people that feed America. I got to make this a big like America thing, but right, it really when you sit back and you realize how much our lives revolve around food and around dining, like, why wouldn't we want our customers to experience our brands in more robust ways and not in just these, you know, simple or flat ways? I mean, that's why I'm a big proponent of video and a lot of what we've had, and I've worked really hard to make it scalable and make it more accessible because we get it like that. As marketers like, we understand, like, you know, the challenges that you face in budget or time or talent or whatever, but also realize that, like, there's a lot of ways we can help you if you just slow down, take the time, explain what the issue is like. We can go about in a lot of different ways, and it's not, it's not always just like, oh, flier or postcard or, you know, an email. Not that those I'm not knocking any of those things. I'm just saying that the strategy has to be so much broader in today's fractured attention society, especially when you're dealing with something as personal as food. So personal. it is cross-cultural. It's one of the few things that all mankind partakes in on a daily basis. That's so necessary for the functioning of life. I think it's, a great way to break barriers with people. our end users, right? Our chefs, even the consumers at those restaurants, they're using all of their senses to partake their their sight, their smell, their taste, their visual, their their touch. So like, why would we not also use all of our senses to support them as marketing and as sales strategist? So yeah, I get that equipment manufacturers are tabletop like, you're selling a product, sell the product in the way that your end user plans to use it Yeah, not just maybe the way that you think it should be positioned. That's the other mistake that I see a lot of times, on the factory, the manufacturing side, which of course then bleeds down to the distributor and it like, you know, rolls downhill right into the rep because, I mean, the factory setting, the tone. And, you have to accept sometimes where your product positioning is from the actual custom, like your brand is what your customer sees your brand as. Your brand is how your customer view, you know, views you and interprets it. What you put out there. And I've watched as sometimes people just, you know, oh, I want my brand to be this, this, this. Well, you can work with that over time. You can do a series. I mean, I we worked really hard over time to get a certain viewpoint about the manufacturer I work with out of the industry and out of like that's the first thing people thought, right? Yeah. And it took us 2 or 3 years, but it worked. But it was a systematic strategy. It was in our marketing. It was in our sales pitch. I mean, it was in everything that we did. We we touted that message and it took time. So we had to accept where we were and where people viewed us and how people understood, you know, our what they thought of our brand at the place we were actually at to then move the needle past it. And when I see when you don't have that level of acceptance, it's like you're like off living in the clouds and like you're not reaching, you're not reading the room, you're not getting the memo. So why would you ever think you're going to be as successful then with getting your pitch through, if that's not how it's interpreted? And that's a hard thing to do when you are in love with your product. There's a difference between loving your product, loving your brand, and being in love with your brand. And I see people make that mistake and and it's hard. I mean, I'm sure I fall victim to it too is great, but that's why I go to people even like you the other day. And I was like, hey, here's what I'm doing in the, you know, edition, one of the newsletter, like straight up, tell me if I'm off base here. Like, I don't want to be in an ivory tower. And I think it's really important when it comes to sales and marketing that leadership. Do that and be willing to hear opposing viewpoints and think of things differently. So for sure, yeah, I agree. I know, you know, we've been we've been talking for a minute here. And you know I it's funny we set out to not do a podcast, but we actually did a podcast a podcast. So now like, damn it Rose, I have to turn around and record a whole opener to this. Like, they don't need an opener. It's fine. We are smiling faces. So that'll be a whole other thing. And it'll be a this will be a fun Easter egg for anyone that listens all the way to the end to know that, like we said, out, we're like, oh, we're just going to record some content. We got to get your story. And here we are, you know, 45, 50 minutes later, like literally about 20 minutes ago, I was like, oh, man, this is a really actually it's a it's a podcast episode. It is a podcast. Yeah. But I think there's so much more we can talk about in the future. You know, as, as both of our businesses continue to grow and certainly, I mean, I don't think anyone is sitting here expecting you have expecting you to have it all figured out when you just launch the brand. And I think that that's really fun. Hey. Yeah. So but I really I appreciate the trust that you've, you've placed in creative and me and I just can't wait to see where this goes for you, for us, for everybody. So thank you so much for spending time today and letting us hear the story behind twentybites. Yeah. Like when we started talking this summer and I felt like we were both beating around the bush a little bit, asked like what was going to come about from all these conversations? And I think I just said, like, Chelsea, we need to partner together. I have services that crave can benefit from. You clearly have services that I need to benefit from and it felt like just the right thing to do is to yeah, almost like a humbling standpoint as like an entrepreneur coming out into the industry for my first statement to be, I don't have it all figured out, guys. So therefore, let me work with people who will bolster my abilities and who have my back, and to now offer as a single entity, a full suite of services. Because I have you like that strategic. And that's how I still very quickly and that's how I bring better services to my clients. And your clients might need to benefit from some of my services. So yeah, it felt like the more we talked about it, I was like, hey, I think this is we're really on to something here. And I love your team. I love the things you guys work on. And it helps that we're both in the same industry. And we have rubbed shoulders for a long time. So yeah, obviously we put thought into it, but it was not a challenging decision to make to go into this journey with you. it was really funny to me and not funny, haha. But I remember specifically when we had a conversation and in my mind I'm like, we should just partner because you've got this brand. Like, I knew that you were there more than you were even willing to like, say, admit like feel that you were there. But I also respected, like, this is her journey. And, you know, I don't know, maybe in a month or two, like, maybe there is some reason that's holding her back that, you know, just isn't fully fleshed out or she's getting there. But I trust my gut on this. And and my gut said from the moment that we spoke, I'm like, there's a brand here. There's an idea here. You need to stand on your own, get it out there, you're going to get there. You were just in that transition part, and I remember specifically when I was in that two people call me up, what are you doing, Chelsea? I'm like, I'm not ready to share yet. Like I'm still working on it, you know? Yeah. So I'm just so glad that, again, I think everything happens for a reason. I appreciate that you picked up the phone to call, and I think there is plenty of room and business out there. And I think and hope that we pave the way for the way that partnerships can look between businesses and brands and women in our industry. Yeah. So yeah, it's funny because I've been getting a lot of well-wishes recently, right, with announcements and coming out as a launch for twentybites. And, I know they mean well, but a lot of the comments are saying things along the lines of, well, whenever you land somewhere, I bet it'll be great. And I want to say, oh, I've landed like, this. Is it? Yeah. I'm not I'm not waiting like, this is the announcement, guys. I'm not taking a job with other people. And it's terrifying. Yes. Yeah. I remember specifically walking a show floor and literally everyone was like, yeah, yeah, yeah. Chelsea. So when's your non-compete up? And I'm like, no, no, no, wait a minute. This, this is what I'm really doing. Like I'm actually starting a marketing agency, although I did call it a consultancy at the time. So we'll see if in like 2 or 3 years, if you're like if you have different, you know, terminology and yeah, I mean I say that joking, but yeah. I, I feel you and I'm, I'm so excited to see where you go with this Rose and you are going to be successful. I have no doubt in my mind. Send the clients my way. Yeah. We just hope that, you know, I've met a lot of wonderful people in this industry, and I hope my reputation precedes me. And if you've ever had the opportunity to speak with me or work or collab in previous ways, know that the work I was doing back then is the work I continue to do today. And yeah, I'm ready to take on those projects and it's going to be great. So okay, well, if you can tell everybody what's the best way to get in touch with you? Rose I'm a very responsive person. I answer all forms of contact. You can first find more information at twentybites.com. 20 spelled out t-w-e-n-t-y. You can find me on socials, on LinkedIn, my personal Rose Cowell, my twentybites LinkedIn. I've got Instagram. I've got a YouTube page. No content up yet. Oh man. You can probably find me on PayPal, Venmo, Square Cash App. And I'm getting, yeah, lots of ways to reach out to me. Love hearing from people, love connecting and just seeing if there's any possible opportunities. So. Well, thank you, Rose. And, let it be known, this is definitely the first of many conversations. Loved it. Thanks, Chelsea. Thanks.