When the Heat Is On: Mindfulness and Confidence with Melanie Underwood
FEATURED ON WORLD ON A PLATE PODCAST
Worldchefs • Episode 148 • September 22, 2026
On Worldchefs’ World on a Plate podcast, host Ragnar Fridriksson spoke with Melanie Underwood about the path from professional pastry kitchens to decades of culinary education, the thinking behind Nourish & Gather, and why confidence, connection and the ability to manage pressure belong alongside technical skill in the kitchen.
From professional kitchens to the classroom
Melanie’s career began in professional kitchens and evolved into more than three decades of teaching. In the conversation, she reflects on how moving into education changed the way she understood what cooking can teach beyond technique: problem-solving, self-trust, adaptability and the willingness to keep going when something does not work the first time.
Confidence starts with “Now what?”
A central theme of the episode is Melanie’s belief that mistakes are not something students need to be rescued from immediately. When something goes wrong, one of her most important questions is simply, “Now what?” The kitchen becomes a place to pause, assess, make a decision and try again.
That approach is especially important in her work with young people, where cooking gives students a low-stakes place to take calculated risks, build independence and learn that confidence comes from solving problems—not from never making them.
Pressure is a skill issue, too
The conversation also moves into professional kitchen culture and the pressure people place on themselves in hospitality. Melanie argues that the industry spends enormous energy teaching technique and standards, but far less time teaching people what to do with stress, reactivity and pressure in the moment.
“I think people who cook also put themselves under so much pressure.”
Her point is not that kitchens need to become quiet or soft. It is that cooks and chefs can be taught practical skills that help them stay present and respond more effectively under pressure.
Mindfulness that works in a real kitchen
Box breathing to create a quick reset when stress is climbing.
The physiological sigh as a rapid way to interrupt an anxious stress response.
Physical grounding cues that bring attention back to the body and the present moment.
Using these practices inside the reality of service, rather than treating mindfulness as something separate from kitchen work.
The thinking behind Nourish & Gather
Throughout the episode, the ideas connect back to Melanie’s work at Nourish & Gather: cooking is not only about producing food. It is a way to build curiosity, confidence, conversation and connection—and to help people become more capable of responding when things do not go according to plan.
For culinary education, that raises a larger question: if the kitchen is already teaching people how to perform under pressure, why wouldn’t we also intentionally teach them how to manage that pressure?
WORLDCHEFS • WORLD ON A PLATE PODCAST • Culinary education, confidence, mindfulness and kitchen culture
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