Elizabeth Woodard on craveable nutrition, becoming a chef for pro athletes, & mom's kitchen

Elizabeth Woodard is a private chef, professional food nutritionist and holistic health practitioner from Denver, Colorado. In this conversation on Nom Nom, she talks to us about how to create healthy and deeply delicious food - especially for high-performing professional athletes.

Nom Nom is the podcast of Enroot, a global storytelling movement that uses food, culture, and memory to build belonging across differences. Founded and hosted by Elika Dadsetan-Foley, a global social impact leader, Persian-American immigrant, and cultural connector, Enroot brings people together in ways that are simple, human, and deeply needed right now.

We believe that food is one of the oldest technologies of connection. Every dish carries a history, every spice holds a memory, and every table is a place where community can grow.

Follow us: 
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media@enrootyourself.org
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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Welcome back to Nom Nom, the podcast where we explore how food connects us to our roots, our memories, our bodies, and to one another. This episode feels like sitting in a friend's kitchen while they cook, tell stories, and casually just change your life without trying. I'm your host, Elica, and today's episode is one I've been so looking forward to. So we are joined by someone incredibly special to me, the brilliant and big-hearted Elizabeth Woodard. She's a nutritional chef whose work blends science, intuition, ancestral wisdom, and real joy. During the week, Elizabeth works as a private chef for professional athletes and high-functioning entrepreneurs, helping them perform, heal, and live in alignment through food. And yet her cooking always feels deeply personal and deeply human. Because at her core, Elizabeth believes in the most honest and grounded way that food is medicine and also food is love. And if you've ever tasted her cooking, you know exactly what I mean. Elizabeth has this gift, one of many. She reminds us that nourishment is not just what we eat, but also how we care for ourselves, how we show up for others, and how we create moments of belonging around the table. Her approach is soulful and practical and playful all at once. Elizabeth, I adore you and I'm so grateful you're here. And for everyone listening, I think you're going to hear pieces of your own story and hers. So welcome to Nom Nom.

SPEAKER_00 1:34

Oh nom nom. That was amazing.

SPEAKER_01 1:38

Like my nephew um couldn't say like he wanted to eat when he was younger. So he like he would say nom nom and we'd know he was hungry.

SPEAKER_00 1:46

That's so cute. I feel like we're all even we're all subconsciously saying nom nom all the time.

SPEAKER_01 1:51

All the time. I know. So where are you joining us from?

SPEAKER_00 1:56

I am in my home, which is serves partially as a home office too in from in Denver, Colorado.

SPEAKER_01 2:03

And have you eaten today? And if so, what have you eaten today?

SPEAKER_00 2:07

I have eaten today. I had this morning, what did I have? Oh my gosh. It was one of my fast days. So I definitely had like I had matcha, I had a coffee, and then I had like a little Greek yogurt um with berries and a sprinkle of uh granola. And then for lunch, I always have make sure that I have like healthy fast food. So I had like pre-grilled chicken and tons of veggies, and I mixed that with some bigeon sauce. Oh yeah, it's amazing.

SPEAKER_01 2:35

Oh, it was a fasting day for me, and I like had to break it. I was like, I am not seeing straight. I'm gonna listen to my body.

SPEAKER_00 2:42

Yeah, yeah. I have my own things with fasting. Um, you definitely need to know yourself and when to do it and why.

SPEAKER_01 2:50

And why, right? Okay, here's a hopefully fun question. What brought you joy recently?

SPEAKER_00 2:58

Well, I did um I did a ceremony on Sunday and it was huge for me. I don't know if this is appropriate for this.

SPEAKER_01 3:08

Say whatever you want to say.

SPEAKER_00 3:10

Um, and when I came to from the experience, I felt a different type of happiness. Like I will label it happiness because that's what it was. It was like that happiness you feel when you're like six years old and there's nothing to worry about. It was like I haven't felt that in a while. It was just light and just happy without that charge of happiness. It was like a gentle, just happy. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 3:41

Beautiful and peaceful.

SPEAKER_00 3:43

It was we it was wild.

SPEAKER_01 3:48

All right. Well, so let's go ahead and start. What is a childhood meal or ingredient that first taught you food could be love or healing?

SPEAKER_00 4:04

I think it was really, I'm trying to think of a specific food, but you know what? It was more of a smell. It was coming into my grandmother's house and it smelt like stewed chicken and vegetables, you know, that like typical grandmother smell. But like I remember when we would cut, we would go and visit, you know, mostly in the summer, and it would be that flood of a smell, and it was just like it just flooded your heart, everything. I mean, you're not recognizing that as a child. It's more when you reflect as an adult, you're like, whoa, that's what that was. But yeah, I would say that's the combination of like love, home, food.

SPEAKER_01 4:44

The scent of grandma's cooking.

SPEAKER_00 4:47

Yeah, and just that smell, like that coming in, and it's just like, you know, it's coming from the kitchen, you know you're gonna have it later. It's just like you've landed, you're home, you're in a safe place with people who care about you. You know, like all these things that you're just absorbing as a child, but now you can actually put words to as an adult.

SPEAKER_01 5:04

Is your grandmother still alive?

SPEAKER_00 5:05

No. I was never close with either of them. It's okay. It was more of just a home. And it was my mother's home and and all of that kind of thing. She's very like lived, she's a working mother, but she also like lived to be a mother in a non-suffocating way. But like we were her lifeline, like her north star.

SPEAKER_01 5:27

So what um what inspired you to become a nutritional chef and maybe define what that means for folks who may not understand that? And how has that path evolved for you?

SPEAKER_00 5:38

It was an accident, like the whole damn thing was an accident. Like, if you would have told me at the age of 26 I'd be in a kitchen cooking, I'd be laughing my ass off. Um, I was an actress at the time, um, went to a very good school in New York City. And, you know, as an actor, you get a job, you don't get a job. And so I wanted to find something that I wasn't draining, um, like a side retail job or like a server. Like I didn't want to do that. So I was got became fascinated with nutrition when I just made a couple tweaks to my own diet and like literally changed the way I looked. And then I went down a whole rabbit hole of nutrition. And when I moved to Los Angeles, I got certified. I started working with clients and they were like, you know, entertainment lawyers and people who didn't have time. And they were like, hey, can you just make what you're suggesting? And at the time, my um friend was um Israeli American, classically trained in France and Italy. She was um doing a celebrity catering out of her kitchen. And so I would go train with her and then like do deliveries on set um to A-list celebrities um as a training. And so then I went through this is a long, but then I went through my own journey with holistic and all the fads and living in Los Angeles and um ended up getting osteoporosis and all these things. And I was like, you know, I took a year and I traveled the world because I was just suffocating. Yeah, and I was like, when I came back, I was like, okay, I am not messing around with someone's health unless they understand biochemistry. And I'm like a creative actress and I'm going in for science. So I went to Johnson and Wales in Denver, which is what brought me here because they start you in culinary thinking they were going to teach you about like how to cook with nutrition behind you. It was straight up culinary boot camp. It was like, you know, like your uniform had to be pressed, your nails had to be all the things, which in hindsight is amazing. Um, and so then I got pulled out of that because I met the founders of a Health and Wellness Marketplace in Denver and they had a full bar, full restaurant. Became a restaurant chef overnight, and then along the way, um I have like such respect for restaurant chefs. I never ever want to do that. But three years and I learned a lot, and I met an athlete in there and um who was looking for a nutritional chef. So athletes have nutritionists, they have their chefs. Rarely is there a nutritional chef. So I approach food with number one, how delicious can I make this? Number two, how many nutrients can I pack on a plate? Because I always say, like, um, whether chefs like it or not, um, you are a health practitioner. Like what you the ingredients that you choose and the recipes you are making and giving to someone, like you have a say on their lifeline, their mental health, their depression, like all of that. Like food is biochemistry. Like you, it's communication in your body. And there's no way around that. Like there it's there's literally no way around that. So I became fascinated. I was really interested that this particular athlete was looking for, he knew he needed to eat healthy, didn't know how, and was looking for a nutritional chef. And I was like super slammed at my restaurant, and something in me was like, take this, like whatever you have to do, take this. And then I just love cooking for athletes. Like it's my it's my passion. Those guys, like what they go through, the mental stamina, like when everything is against you and down and you can turn it around in front of 5,000 people, a million people, like my God.

SPEAKER_01 9:11

That is a different level of strength.

SPEAKER_00 9:13

It's a different level of strength. And what's wild to me is that they know that like I can't side note all these diets that cut out a macronutrient. I'm fascinating, interested. If I cut out a macronutrient with one of my athletes, I would be hindering their career and their performance. So, what makes us think that's okay for us to live our optimal performance? I understand if some people are like thrive better on higher protein or like high more veggies as in terms of carbs, but like to cut something completely out, like you someone will have to explain that to me. There's a long answer to like what got me into nutritional chef, but that's what got me into it.

SPEAKER_01 9:54

Oh, that's beautiful. I did not know that part of your story, so that's really cool to hear how you got here. Um you're so like you're athletic and you're very active.

SPEAKER_00 10:05

So to see that I am now, yeah. But like before when I was in my 20s, you couldn't give me to work out for the life of me. I'd be like, what? Okay.

SPEAKER_01 10:14

We had different priorities. But I mean that's it's beautiful that you've gotten to do something that you're passionate about, so many pieces of it. It's not just the you know, one piece aligns with you, so much of it aligns with you.

SPEAKER_00 10:28

It is like, and I truly mean this, like it is an incredible responsibility to be someone's day-to-day chef. I love events, I love retreats, especially retreats when people are coming for the to better themselves and for the sake of their own well-being. Like that is my language. Um, but I love like events too, you know, and I'm not trying to be Gordon Ramsay. I mean, kind of. But like I again, like I approach food as like I'm, yeah, I want it to be beautiful. I want you to love it. But I'm like, if it's a 300-person event, if it's a three-person event, it's gonna be as organic as I can make it. Like, I'm not sacrificing my ingredients again, because I am not gonna slowly kill you. Like, I'm not. Yeah, I know it sounds extreme, but that's what it is, especially in this world today where you know, I sound crazy that I'm turning a product around to look at all the ingredients, where it's like, why can't I just walk into a grocery store and trust that the person that's making this is using real food?

SPEAKER_01 11:27

And because we don't see much of that out there.

SPEAKER_00 11:29

Yeah, exactly. That you we like, especially in America in a first world country where I'm like, why is food and our health suffering because of the food we're giving ourselves? And we have the means to provide our people with better. Like, we're not a third world country here, like, do better.

SPEAKER_01 11:52

This might be an obvious answer to some extent, but how do you, to that point, how do you navigate the tension between, you know, healthy eating and joyful eating?

SPEAKER_00 12:01

Well, it's something uh it's something I actually learned with my athletes. And I, a friend of mine who was the MD for a bunch of different major sports teams, um, when I was getting into it, he was like, he I asked him to talk to the nutritionist of it was a baseball team, I believe. And um he was like, first and foremost, the athletes need to eat. Because I was like, I can't just slam kale and you know, whatever on a plate if you don't want to eat it. So it's like, even with my athletes, like one grew up with a Mexican Mexican heritage, one grew up with a Nigerian heritage, one grew up in Texas. So I'm like, what do you love to eat? So for instance, the other day, one of my clients, I love her, she asked me to make a um a crispy chicken sandwich, right? Which typically we would go, oh, that's not healthy, right? And I'm like, but I can make this so that you have joy and you love what you're eating, which sets off an incredible array of neurochemical like joy that goes into your body and says, I'm healthy, I'm happy. Um, and how can I just make that with clean ingredients? Like, let me get some organic chicken, let me make my own breadcrumbs, like let me load up that bun with, you know, lettuce and tomato and things like that. Let me take that sauce that typically has, I can't even tell you what's in the cars and Chick-fil-A sauce. Let me take like the flavors and just use real ingredients. So that's kind of how I mesh the two. Like, what do you love to eat? Don't hold back on me. If it's mac and cheese, great. Like, obviously, we're not having that every day, but if you want it, like, and it makes you happy, like, let's find a way to meet you there.

SPEAKER_01 13:31

And I think so many of us forget how much thought and heart goes into this process from what are you going to serve to the actual cooking culinary process as well. There's so much thought and heart. And I mean, you're just describing it so easily and beautifully.

SPEAKER_00 13:48

And like my I always say my profession is like making healthy junk food.

SPEAKER_01 13:52

Well, and there is something to be said about joy and what joy does for our well-being as well. And how often do we prevent that, intentionally prevent or feel guilty for being joyful?

SPEAKER_00 14:04

I remember I had a client one time um when I was working solely as a nutritionist, and she was like, you'd be so happy. I was like with a group of people, and everybody was ordering takeout, and they got pizza and like, you know, tacos and burritos. And she was like, and I ordered like chicken and brown rice and broccoli. I'm like, that sucks. Like, why would you do that? That is god awful. Don't do that to yourself. That's like, that's depressing. And depression is more toxic than than, you know, I wouldn't say more toxic than fast food, but it's right up there. Yeah, like there's so much to be said. Like, food is joy. Like, food is who doesn't look forward to a mealtime? I never understand people who like accidentally forgot to eat. I'm like, how does that work?

SPEAKER_01 14:47

I have to stop myself from eating all day long. If that was an option, I would be addicted to it.

SPEAKER_00 14:51

Oh my god. I'm like, there's so many like stories in this bite. Like, I'm such a sucker for stories. I'm like, how would you miss this?

SPEAKER_01 15:00

So agree. I so agree. Can you tell us more about blending the nutrition science with joy when designing meals or menus? I feel like you touched upon this to some extent already and kind of more intentionally.

SPEAKER_00 15:14

Um, I think it's like kind of like how I approach food and how I approach actually menus when I'm um designing is again, how delicious can I make this? And then number two, how many nutrients can I pack into the plate? So for instance, if you're coming at me, let's say you're like, I crave burritos. So I'm like, great, I'm gonna take that burrito. I'm gonna get all those flavors that you're craving, the spice, the nuance of like the cumin and the like the paprika and the chili, all of that, the texture of, you know, if you're going for a carnita or beans, again, I'm gonna get like high quality meat because there's a lot of protein, a lot of health benefits to meat, I believe. And then I'm gonna load that up with like color, right? So I want green in there, I want, and you want diversity as well, right? You need to be making sure that you're feeding all of your gut microbes because believe me, they run you. They run the show. And if you don't think so, like change your diet and you will be in a different mood. Why? Because those microbes, those the gut bacteria that uh are running the show. So if you throw in a diversity of vegetables, like I could throw in, you know, shredded cabbage in there, I could throw in cut it shredded carrots. I always need to have something green. Um, because to me, chlorophyll is what makes vegetables green, and it's like a breath of fresh air to your cells. It's what oxygen brings oxygen to the cells. Um, so that's and it's also full of hydration vegetables. So that's basically kind of how I meet happiness, what brings you joy with nutrition. So it's a win-win situation. Your your neurochemistry is like lighting up like fireworks, and your cells and your gut, um, your gut microbiome is being like, yes.

SPEAKER_01 17:03

I swear I think anytime from like now on, cooking is gonna be just such a different way of thinking about it.

SPEAKER_00 17:10

I hope so. And also spices like are like people underestimate spices. I'm like, you can take something so simple like chicken or like you know, a vegetable if people are having a hard time vegetables, and throw on, you know, a clean source of taco spices if that's your thing, or like, you know, tons of like garlic and gochujang. I'm like obsessed with Korean cooking these days, you know. So do that.

SPEAKER_01 17:34

How have you seen food restore connection in body, mind, and and or community?

SPEAKER_00 17:41

Um, I mean, I see it on a global scale with Jose Andres, you know, like he's going around the world and feeding people who don't have food, and we all watch him and we all want to contribute. So that's like to me, that's like on a major scale. And on like a minor scale, I've literally seen it like even with people who, you know, don't have homes, people who are in need of food, and then the rest of us who have it, like the joy and the exchange of being like, let me help you out, like being able to give that caretaking and then being able to receive on that extreme to me always touches my soul. So, like when I have extra food, and I'm I'm such a New Yorker, so I'm like a hit and run. And I'm like, hey, you guys, I have like food, do you want it? And like just they're like, God bless you, have a great day. Like, I it brings me to tears like every single time where I'm like, whoa, whoa, like this is the power of food. It's literally says, I got you. I'm taking care of you. I will not let you suffer. I will not let you go down with this box of whatever I'm bringing you, you know. And then I think too, like when you have you, when you have people who don't necessarily understand each other, see differently politically, you know, and like then you have like a dinner party in a fun environment. Suddenly people are talking about like, you know, family and like personal things rather than like I'm not supposed to like you because you voted for such and such. It's like on that level. I mean, think about it. People throw like office parties and holiday parties and things like that. There is always food. Like that's that's you know, right now I have a ton of events to get ready for. Like there's a huge food component like that brings people together. It's nourishment.

SPEAKER_02 19:24

Yeah. No, I love that. I hate renaming it. I feel I feel similarly.

SPEAKER_01 19:29

Can you think of a time when a meal bridged a divide or brought people together unexpectedly?

SPEAKER_00 19:34

I mean, I would definitely say like within my family for sure. Like we there's been a there's we grew up like having dinner at the table, which is whenever I see that in families these days, like it makes me want to cry. Because I think like if I died and I got to go back to one day, it would probably be a day at my dinner table, like as like young teenagers. Um but whenever there was like discrepancy, or like like literally my dad was just a very difficult person to live with and would you know fly off the handle. It didn't feel so scary because we were all at the table together and eating, and like there was still that grounded foundational piece of the table and food and eating, and like it's okay, like we're okay, kind of thing. I hope that I hope that answered the question.

SPEAKER_02 20:28

Oh my gosh, yeah, it does.

SPEAKER_00 20:30

I haven't I know that it brings people together like on a global scale. I've just never quite been in that room.

SPEAKER_01 20:37

You know, I mean that just brought me to memories of like, you're right, like around dinner table, or especially when you have guests and you're providing to others as well, or inviting them into your home as well. There's a different level of intimacy.

SPEAKER_00 20:50

Um Yeah, I mean, it really is like you're it's so vulnerable when you, especially like when you host and you have people come into like your home and you're serving like your food. It's like, you know, I can describe it as an actor, like we were our our whole calling card. Like you get up there, you audition, and it's you. It's you're exposing your heart. It's the same thing with cooking and food. Like obviously there's like, you know, you have a not so great an audition, like something goes wrong in the kitchen or an ingredient didn't come through or whatever, and you're like, ooh. But but, you know, for the most part, it's so vulnerable. And then, you know, when when people come in and they embrace that and they're just just having a great time. And I think it's also just the act of you providing for them and them and people being taken care of, you know, as adults, like how often do we get that? It's like as simple as I wish there was more dinner parties. Like I wish people would h host, like, you know, myself included, I'm just always busy, but you know.

SPEAKER_01 21:49

That's what we're trying to do with within root.

SPEAKER_00 21:52

Exactly that. Exactly that. It's gonna be the new, it's gonna be the new fix. I think people are gonna get tired of social media next in the next coming year. And just crave, just hey, like come over for dinner, like three people, like whatever. Like, who cares? And it's all around food, right? It's not just like, let's come over and hang out these days. Like, don't come over, let's have dinner, let's have lunch, let's go to brunch, you know, let's go to happy hour. Let's there's always something around food that gives it a reason. It's like it has a reason for people to get together.

SPEAKER_01 22:22

No, absolutely. I think we're all feeling the the crunch of like we were alone for during COVID for so many years, and we never really caught up with the the times that we miss with one another. And I think, you know, yes, social media helped survive that time because we were connected remotely. There is something to be said about being in person as much as you can. You know, that's a privilege for some more than others.

SPEAKER_00 22:44

But do you host people? Like, is this something like are you are you hosting dinner parties or like Yeah, we yeah, sometimes and in the past, definitely more.

SPEAKER_01 22:53

I think it's even, you know, I think about I'm in a new place in a new city, and so it's definitely like needing to meet people. And I was just saying, how cool would it be? Obviously, where I am right now, it's so cold out. I wouldn't do this, but like the longest table. I started out in New York City, put a table out in the street, invite the neighbors, invite the community, and connect with people. I mean, I I live in an area where a lot of folks I think are more retirees. Um, and in some ways makes it easier because they're not chasing their little kids around and you know, they they have a little bit more time. Um, but I've been thinking about that a lot. Just how do I build a community here?

SPEAKER_00 23:30

Maybe not in the winter, but like that'd be epic than the winter. I'll tell you one time I did a dinner party during the pandemic, and one of the guys was a doctor and he had to do surgery the next day. So they decided to have dinner outside. It was straight up snowing. Like by the time the state got to them, it was ice cold. But I'll never forget it. There's like they're all in like furs and like snows coming down. Like, and they'll never forget it.

SPEAKER_01 23:52

You're just throwing as a Southern California kid, the fact that I even live on the east, like northeast right now is a lot.

SPEAKER_00 23:59

I know, I know.

SPEAKER_01 24:03

Heaters are really important and fireplaces, and no, but to your point, like it doesn't have to be outside, it could even be inside, especially at this time of year. But and it would be very memorable if it was outside. So I think the last question for you is what does home taste like to you?

SPEAKER_00 24:26

It tastes like, I mean, it's all my mother's cooking. It tastes like pesto, her fresh pesto, it tastes like her her apple pie, it tastes like her apple crisp. Um but it is a more of like this, because it's funny when I cook for people, I can I try and get their palate like home to me and what I'm used to is more of like um, I want to say um Mediterranean American flavor of like oregano and basil and butter and flour and apple. Very like Northeast American, I would say. Like that's my that tastes like home.

SPEAKER_01 25:08

That's your roots, right?

SPEAKER_00 25:10

Yeah, yeah. It was a I was my upbringing was very much like you know, vegetables from the garden and crafts mac and cheese. Like it was so I get that palette, like you know.

SPEAKER_01 25:22

I feel like that's a lot of us growing up at a certain age or a certain time.

SPEAKER_00 25:26

Exactly that, exactly that. But that's always, yeah, I would say like tomatoes and salt is like home, like bait basil butter green beans taste like home, like that kind of thing.

SPEAKER_01 25:38

It tastes like home for you, you know. Being Persian, um, we our food isn't spicy, it's spiceful. Yeah. So it's a lot of greens um and rice. And I mean, to your point, just like think about mom and grandmas, like it's so much heart and love. And you just know you know, especially as an adult, like you know how much time and effort goes into everything. So a different level of appreciation, I think, growing up since I've been since I was little. But yeah, Persian food was mainly what we ate, and then mac and cheese, that was probably my fault. It still is my favorite favorite. And I think, and I'm it's funny because I don't really remember it so much, but I know that as when I was younger, the family ate a lot of meat, like all types of meat, like liver and tongue and stuff that like as an adult now who hasn't eaten meat in like 35 years. I'm like, how is that why? Like, how did I get here from that?

SPEAKER_00 26:44

But like that's so good for you. Like, I wish I could eat more organ meats, but it's like so good for you.

SPEAKER_01 26:50

And that's what they say.

SPEAKER_00 26:52

Well, that's what your hair is clearly now, girlfriend. All that is kicking in now.

SPEAKER_01 26:58

Here it is. There's 35 years I'm not. But yeah, I eat it is like it's been herbal and like I don't want to say jasmine rice, like herbs and rice of some sort. Or sugar, saffron.

SPEAKER_00 27:12

Oh, dude, saffron, right? Get out of here.

SPEAKER_01 27:15

Never eat like that though, because to your point, it's like what do you have time for? And knowing that if it's gonna be really good, you have to put some type of whether it's prep time or otherwise.

SPEAKER_00 27:25

Yeah. There's hacks. That could be another conversation, but there are there are hacks.

SPEAKER_01 27:30

Oh, I'd love to learn hacks.

SPEAKER_00 27:32

Yeah. Rice maker is your best friend. Yes. That is true. I mean, it's my sous shop. Like it's like you have to learn how to delegate, like, you know, I'm like, oh, okay, the rice cooker, I'm just gonna throw some, you know, rinsed rice, some broth, and saffron strands in there. Press play.

SPEAKER_01 27:48

No, you're right. I'm making excuses for myself right now. Okay, so we're gonna do a quick lightning round. I'll just ask you questions, but um a lightning round of quick tastes. Your tastes sweet, salty, sour, bitter, or umami. I had to pick one. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 28:06

I love umami. Oh my god. All day long. Runner up is sweet though, for sure. Umami and then sweet. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 28:14

Love it. How about a meal that changed your life?

SPEAKER_00 28:19

Oh my god, I was just in Taipei, Taiwan. The beef noodle soup. I I I just could, I'm like literally, no words will describe how amazing. And it was at this one place too. It was like a mid-tier place. They've been handmaking these noodles for I don't know how many, whatever. And whatever the broth and the tenderness and the meat and the flavor in those noodles, I've not had anything like it. Like, literally blew my world wide open. Wide open. Beef noodle soup in Taipei, Taiwan.

SPEAKER_01 28:50

And it's one place, or like that was the thing.

SPEAKER_00 28:52

It's one place. I kept having beef noodle soups because I was obsessed, and they were really good. They still changed my life. But this one, and I I have it written down, I have pictures of everything. This one place, not nothing's matched it. Like I died. I died. I think I died, came back. It was so good. I've tried to recreate it and I've come like maybe 75% there. Every component was so perfect texture, flavor, mouthfeel, smell, everything.

SPEAKER_01 29:20

I love when you go somewhere and that sounds so basic, especially, right? But there's something that just makes it like the best ever.

SPEAKER_00 29:29

Ever. Like, I'm like, what are you putting in? Like the I don't know how long they screwed that broth for. I don't know what was in that broth, but I mean, like, it was just crack, and there was so many things going on.

SPEAKER_01 29:38

In your energy and your face, how much you loved it. So I believe it was well, Elizabeth, thank you so much for your time.

SPEAKER_00 29:46

This has been such a pleasure. Thank you for asking me. Like, I could talk about food and and people enjoy all day long.

SPEAKER_01 29:53

Now it's very good that you do what you love, and I think that's so cool and so inspiring.

SPEAKER_00 29:57

So yeah. No, thank you.