“I started cooking professionally in my mid-20s, which was late compared to others,” Tomlinson told Fortune. “A lot of chefs I knew of had started dishwashing when they were 14 and then worked their way up.”
Tomlinson, who flew to France to study at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris at the age of 25 and with zero real cooking experience, said she found it “humbling” to share kitchens with people who had years of experience on her.
“I wasn’t street smart in that way,” she said. “And so I really felt like an imposter.”
“I knew I was smart, I knew I had experience, but in that particular context, I knew nothing,” she said. “I had to build up my confidence… over time, that all accumulates, but it takes humility.”
“I was really reluctant to show people if I didn’t know something, or admit I didn’t know something, or that somebody else—maybe I didn’t like very much or didn’t get along with or didn’t respect me—might actually have the answer.”
Tomlinson said she wrestled with feelings of self-doubt several times in her career, but winning the famed James Beard Award has helped with that.
“I’ve had really amazing people in my life who reminded me that everybody struggles with that—even people who look like they’re on top, or really know what they’re doing,” she said.
“There have been naysayers in my life, but there have always been other people who are encouraging, and I’ve been really grateful for those people. Sometimes, that’s all you need: Just one voice that thinks you can do it, and that even if you don’t know something, you can learn, and it’s okay if you don’t know it yet.”
