CRANFORD, NJ — Cranford resident Lynda Layng-Tama lost both of her parents at a young age.
Being the youngest of her family, Layng-Tama’s friends were getting their first jobs, going out and celebrating life. But she was in a different place. Her mother had breast cancer.
After her mom passed away, her dad suffered a massive stroke, but survived a few more years. “It was like losing both my parents at the same time,” Layng-Tama said.
Layng-Tama said her mom was calm and easy going, but she was tired and needed help in the kitchen. “She let me play in the kitchen,” said Layng-Tama. “She just let me have fun. She let me create in the kitchen.”
At the time, Layng-Tama wasn’t into healthy stuff yet, but watching her mom struggle though the chemo process was hard. She said, “Walking through the rehab center, the sights, the smells… How do I not end up like this? I’ll do anything I can not to end up like this.”
She started looking into baking some of her favorite things with a healthier twist. “I read up on how to stay cancer free. How to live a long life and live well,” she said.
Layng-Tama was working as a teacher and felt trapped and confined. “I loved the kids; I didn’t really love the job,” she said.
But cooking and baking on the side, Layng-Tama felt she was a natural. She started sharing her recipes at a gym. Then she began a blog. “People really responded to that.” Then she did catering, selling muffins locally, and people also loved the recipes.
Layng-Tama started to search for jobs in food. When she began recipe-testing, it opened up a whole new world, creating recipes with a nutritionist. “It was so amazing,” she said. “Wow, this is actually a job. It was a new world to me.”
Currently, Layng-Tama is working full time for DASH creating content. “Food styling and recipe development,” she said. “Video and photography work. I work with a photographer and have a video team. I didn’t have to learn that myself. I work very closely with them. If I’m shooting for a still photographer and we work together on a shoot, I’ll take a few shots. It’s all digital. I do have a team.”
Layng-Tama said there’s a bit of a disconnect, when she has to cook whatever they think will see with the product. “It’s not a challenge,” she said. “It’s not the food I would be eating. It’s the food that goes with the product. But really, my job is a dream. I laugh, thinking back to those teaching days. If I only had known in school, I would have been at it much earlier. It’s beautiful.”
Her advice for anyone who wants to do what she’s doing is to “dive right in.” She said, “Work for free. Volunteer to be someone on set to help with food. Food production. Food content. There’s no barriers to starting your own social media food content.”
When Layng-Tama isn’t working, she loves to be outside and work out. “I love walking in nature. I love exercising. Cooking for my family,” she said.
To learn more about Lynda Layng-Tama, visit: https://www.lyndacooks.com/.
Photo Courtesy of Lauren Anzevino
