Small Bites:
Back-to-School is super busy, so that’s why we’re loving Territory Foods: no-prep, real-ingredient meals made by local chefs and delivered fresh to your door.
👉 Check out the rotating menu
Want help meal planning? Back to school = back to “what’s for dinner?” The Peas & Hoppy meal planning app makes that question way easier with 11 flexible recipes, a smart grocery list, and tips for real-life families.
👉 Try it free for 30 days – use code ONEPOTATO30
“If you’re not cooking with love, get out the kitchen.”
Chef Tashia Farries is not just feeding people, she’s building a movement. As a private chef and the founder of Pinch of Love catering, she brings bold, soulful flavor to every dish, whether she’s cooking for celebrities, feeding striking workers on the picket line, or making lunch for her three young kids. Raised in Hammond, Indiana and now based in Los Angeles, Tashia brings midwestern warmth, hustle, and deep roots in home cooking to everything she does.
Her path to the kitchen wasn’t linear. In fact, she started her career as a behavioral therapist working with children with autism; but when the pandemic hit, she pivoted and started selling plates of food, catering for friends, and her food took off like wildfire. What hasn’t changed? The heart behind it. “If you’re not cooking with love,” she says, quoting her mom, “get out the kitchen.”
Now a proud wife, mom of three (including twins!), and full-time chef, Tashia opens up about juggling motherhood and mealtimes, the power of confidence in the kitchen, and how her son is already learning to “just add a pinch.” This one’s got Sunday soul food, smoky BBQ, and a whole lot of love—so pull up a chair.
A message from our friend Ann Kent, dietitian & owner of Peas & Hoppiness:
Back-to-School, Back to Real Life—Dinner Help Included
When backpacks get packed and schedules fill up, the last thing you want is to be staring at your fridge at 5pm, wondering what’s for dinner.
The Peas & Hoppy Meal Guides App takes the stress out of meal planning with 11 balanced recipes each week, a smart grocery list, and flexible tips that work for real families (yes, even picky eaters and sports-night chaos). Every recipe is written and tested by Ann Kent—a dietitian and mom of two—who knows that dinner only works if it actually works.
👉 Try it free for 30 days—no pressure, just support from one home cook to another.
A Conversation with Chef Tashia Farries
Introduce Yourself: I’m Tashia Farries. I’m originally from Indiana, but I’ve been in L.A. since 2018. I’m married, and we’ve got three kids—twins who are one, and a four-year-old. Life is full!
I moved to Los Angeles to be with my wife, and it’s been a wild, beautiful ride ever since. I started out as a behavioral therapist working with kids on the autism spectrum, but once COVID hit, I couldn’t work in schools anymore. That’s when I really leaned into cooking. I started selling plates out of our kitchen. One thing led to another, and suddenly my food made its way into the music and entertainment world. Now I’m a private chef and run a full catering company.
Was there a moment you realized that food was going to be more than just something you loved—something you’d build a whole life and business around?
I’ve always loved cooking. Growing up, I was the one hosting gatherings and barbecuing for friends. It’s something I picked up from my mom. So when everything shut down during the pandemic, I told my wife—she’s a property manager—to take a few plates into work, just to get some feedback. That turned into “Can she cater a party?” Then, “We actually have a catering for 100 coming up…”
I did it. I knocked it out of the park. And that’s when I knew: this is my purpose. It was hard to leave my career as a therapist—I loved working with those kids. But when God calls you, you’ve got to answer. And I did.
Your business is called Pinch of Love, which feels so tied to the way you cook and who you cook for. Where did that name come from, and what does it mean to you now, in this season of parenting?
There’s a very personal story behind it. My mom was diagnosed with dementia in 2017. She’s still living, but she’s in the late stages now and can’t really comprehend what’s going on. But in the early years of my business, she got to see me start cooking professionally, and she was so proud.
Growing up, she’d always say, “Just add a pinch of that.” A pinch of salt. A pinch of mustard. And she’d tell us, “If you’re not cooking with love, get out the kitchen.”
So that’s where Pinch of Love comes from. It’s a piece of her in everything I make. Now my four-year-old helps me cook and I tell him the same thing—“Just a pinch!” And he’ll grab his little fingers and do it. It’s so special to pass that on.
How do you juggle feeding your family while running a full catering business and working as a private chef?
Teamwork. Honestly, my wife deserves all the credit in the world. She keeps the ship running. I wouldn’t say she loves to cook, but nobody’s going hungry in our house!
At the beginning of each week, I meal prep three or four full meals so that everything’s ready in the fridge. My wife handles the routine—dinner, bath, bedtime—especially on the days when I think I’m headed home and then get called back to work.
We’ve talked a lot about what we do and don’t want to feed our kids, so we try to keep things pretty healthy. Our four-year-old’s been branching out a little—his big splurges are Panda Express and Raising Cane’s. But honestly, prepping ahead and having a strong parenting partner—that’s everything.
Are there specific food traditions or dishes from your own childhood that you think about now or want to pass on to your kids?
Definitely the grill. My mom was the grill master of the neighborhood. Saturday mornings, you’d see the smoke from her two big smokers rolling, and people would just start showing up. Now it’s me out there on the weekends, and my neighbors will say, “We always know when you’re grilling—we can smell it through our windows.” My son’s super curious about it now—asking questions about the fire, wanting to help. It’s full circle.
Barbecuing is more than just food to me. It’s being outside, music on, soaking up life. And of course, soul food—fried chicken, pot roast, rice and gravy. My mom taught me to build flavor from the foundation, and that’s a lesson I use every single day, in the kitchen and in life.
You talk a lot about flavor, and it comes up again and again when people describe your cooking. What does flavor mean to you?
Flavor speaks volumes. It’s not just about seasoning—it’s about knowing your ingredients, knowing your tools, reading the room. Sometimes people don’t want a ton of spice, but they still want flavor, meaning depth. So how do you get creative? Less salt, more acid. Less citrus, more umami.
For me, flavor is about trust. Trusting yourself, trusting your process, and knowing how to bring things together in a way that feels right.
For someone just starting to cook—maybe they didn’t grow up learning to cook from family—what advice would you give them about building flavor or getting comfortable in the kitchen?
Confidence. That’s where it all starts. Whether you’re a professional chef or cooking for your kids at home, you have to trust yourself. I tell my wife that all the time—if she’s trying to surprise me with dinner, I say, “Don’t be scared just because I’m a chef. Just go for it!”
If you don’t have confidence, the food won’t come out right. You’ve got to trust your hands, your instincts, and your ingredients. And really, that starts with loving yourself. When you love what you’re doing, when you trust yourself, that shows up in the food.
You’ve cooked for big names and in high-pressure situations—but what feels different about cooking at home, for your wife and kids?
Honestly, it’s more rewarding than anything else. My son is starting to understand what I do now. He recognizes some of my clients from TV and gets so excited—though we did have a funny moment where he told his teacher I was cooking for a witch! (We had to have a talk about confidentiality after that.)
But it’s beautiful—taking him to the farmers market, watching him name 25 different vegetables that most kids don’t recognize. And my wife, who used to hate veggies, will try things that she didn’t used to.
Seeing my twins try everything from roasted squash to seasoned rice—especially when their friends only want chicken nuggets—it makes me proud. It’s about teaching them to be curious, open, and joyful about food.
Has becoming a mom changed the way you cook or the way you think about being a chef?
Absolutely. It’s taught me how to juggle responsibility and master timing. I’m constantly balancing client needs, events, and orders with school drop-offs, meal prep, and bedtime.
My wife and I have amazing nonverbal communication. We were best friends before we got married, so there’s this deep understanding. If one of us is slammed, the other steps in. No questions asked. That kind of teamwork is everything.
You’ve said that part of your mission is to empower others, especially women and moms, through food. What does that look like for you?
For me, it starts at home. If you have a partner, start by building that strong foundation. Communication, shared values are huge.
But beyond that, I believe in spreading love one plate at a time. I try to show up for the community in every way I can. During the actor and writer strikes, I cooked meals on the picket lines. When there were fires in Altadena, I was out there feeding families. I work with other small businesses, I feed the homeless during the holidays, I try to lift others up through food however I can. Because good food really does bring good energy. If people can look at me and say, “She has three kids, a wife, a whole business—and she’s still smiling and showing up with love”—then I’m doing something right.
What’s one skill you use every day in the kitchen that you think all home cooks should practice?
Multitasking—hands down. When I’m catering, I might be frying, roasting, and sautéing all at once, while also answering questions, managing staff, opening the door, the client’s dog is barking, you name it. And I have to stay calm through it all.
That emotional juggling is part of the job, especially as a mom. You can’t let other people’s energy throw you off. So for home cooks, I’d say: work on multitasking and keeping your cool. It makes a big difference.
Is there anything else you want to share with our readers—especially the parents out there who are trying to feed their families while chasing their dreams?
Just keep going.
It’s so easy to get discouraged, especially on social media when you’re seeing other chefs, other families, other people doing it differently. But stay grounded. Stay focused on your goal.
Make time for your family. Make time for self-care. And show up for your work with love. Balance is the key. And what’s meant for you will be yours.
