You Might Also Like: At The Table: The Food Allergy Podcast

Jenna (0:07)

Food is one of the most basic ways that we care for each other. I'm allergic to shellfish, cashew, pistachio, and pine nuts.

SPEAKER_2 (0:14)

And tree nut allergy.

Tyler (0:14)

My allergy is eggplant.

Jenna (0:16)

To milk and eggs.

Zoe (0:18)

I'm much more direct about what is at stake.

SPEAKER_2 (0:20)

Advocating is important. I'm glad I did it for my daughter.

Jenna (0:23)

That's care.

SPEAKER_2 (0:24)

That's love.

Jenna (0:27)

This is At The Table, The Food Allergy Podcast, a show about food, connection, and living with food allergies. Each episode, we pull up a chair to a different table, from date nights to tables abroad and discuss how to navigate each moment while still eating safely. Because living with food allergies isn't just about what you can eat, it's about still having your seat at the table.

SPEAKER_2 (0:54)

This show is brought to you by Genentech and Novartis, in partnership with Xolair, Omalizumab. Our hosts have been compensated for their participation, though our guests have not. The information shared in this podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered medical advice. Please talk to your doctor about any questions regarding your health or treatment, and stay tuned until the end of the episode for important safety information.

Jenna (1:18)

Hey, Tyler, how are you?

Tyler (1:20)

I'm doing so great, Jenna. How are you?

Jenna (1:21)

I'm good, thanks. Good to be back with you again.

Tyler (1:24)

Absolutely.

Jenna (1:25)

I'm so excited for this episode. We're going to be talking about the workspace, and I was curious if you remember your first job.

Tyler (1:35)

Yeah. Listen, I feel like I've had a lot of first jobs. There's the first time you actually get a paycheck doing something, and then there's a couple of other big moments in life where you're taking on a whole new responsibility.

So the first job I ever had, I started out washing dishes in the nicest restaurant in my hometown of Greenville, South Carolina, and I got a job because I want to get a car. I was in that transition as a 15-year-old kid from a skate rat to like you got to get a car to be cool in high school. So I got a car, and that's what I really fell in love with the restaurant industry as a whole. So that was the first one that tiptoed my entire career in the hospitality industry. Then there's a couple of other big jobs. The first time you get an executive chef position in New York City, the first time you get a television contract on Food Network, there's a couple other biggies.

So I feel like I've had a lot of first jobs, but my very first job, still doing what I'm doing now, still washing dishes, still cranking out food.

Zoe (2:30)

You stayed in it. Exactly.

Tyler (2:31)

Still doing it. How about you?

Jenna (2:33)

Obviously, we both have these unconventional things, but I started when I was three. So I've been in the business for a really long time, but I do remember I had some odd jobs in my teens as well, and I worked in a bagel shop, and I also worked in a restaurant, and I was a bartender. Yeah. So again, I've had an array of different jobs, but in our industry, we start new jobs all the time. We're introduced to new people all the time. Exactly.

You go on with those first-day jitters, and you want to make a good impression, you want to make friends with everybody that you're going to be working with for that period of time. And so, in this context, I think about people with food allergies, I think about my daughter, I think about you, and how important it is to want to make that good impression while also navigating a food allergy on top of that, and balance advocating for yourself and speaking up, while also not ringing alarm bells and feeling like you're bringing attention to yourself.

Tyler (3:40)

You want to flow like water inside of a group of colleagues.

Jenna (3:43)

You want to be a team member.

Tyler (3:46)

Exactly. Not anybody that stands out unnecessarily for things for attention they don't necessarily want. So I'm really excited about jumping into this today. We've got lots of really great stories to talk about, and some really great opportunities for discussion, lots of experiences that I've had personally. So I'm really excited about this episode of At The Table, The Workplace.

Jenna (4:04)

It's going to be great.

Tyler (4:05)

That's right.

Jenna (4:06)

That's today's table. It's The Office Table. And work meals can obviously seem casual, but they're often loaded with unspoken pressure. So you want to be easygoing and build relationships, but also want to stay safe. And that tension can make you hesitate to speak up. And that was the case for Olivia, who was just starting out in the work world when she got invited to lunch with her boss and others.