Watching ‘Food Network Star’ Changed My Life

Every online English teacher I know has a story of how they started teaching. For some, the decision to teach comes after having an international roommate. For others, it’s a trip abroad that opens their eyes. For me, it was a cooking show. Yes, you read that correctly. The reason I teach English online is because of a cooking show.

Back in 2008, I was just finishing up my Master’s in TESOL when I went on a family vacation to Estes Park, Colorado with my parents, two brothers, and their wives. One day we decided to stay in for the day, and we started watching a marathon of “Food Network Star” on t.v. If you’ve never seen “Food Network Star”, it’s a reality competition series where the winner earns their own cooking show on the Food Network. We watched episode after episode of budding stars, auditioning to have their own cooking show. They faced challenges of all sorts, having to explain what they were cooking on camera in a way that engaged the audience.

After several hours of binge-watching the show, I turned to my brother Josh and said, “I could do that.”

“Do what?” he said.

“What they’re doing. I mean, obviously I can’t cook.” (I mean, I really can’t cook. It’s why I married a man who knows how to make beef bourguignon and homemade artisan breads.) “But Josh, I don’t know. I can do what they’re doing…talking to the camera. Explaining concepts on camera to an audience.”

Josh has sharp business wits and is hugely supportive. He said back to me, “What could you explain?”

“I could explain English on camera. I love teaching ESL, and I think I could do it on camera.”

For the next couple of hours, Josh and I were bouncing ideas off of each other, brainstorming how we could work together to make this idea a reality. Within a month, we had purchased a video camera, chosen a domain name, and started shooting videos of me teaching English.

As they say, the rest is history. The best part is that it’s a history that is still unfolding.

Because of a cooking show, I have had the privilege of teaching nearly a million English language learners from more than 150 countries. I get the opportunity to hear from individuals all around the globe who are on their personal journey of learning English. They tell me their dreams and how English can help them see those dreams become a reality.

That’s my story of how I started teaching English online. What’s your story?

*This blog was inspired by Vicky Loras’ blog challenge “What’s Your Story?” Thanks for letting me share a little of my story, Vicky.

Andrea and Josh on the vacation that started it all.