From Burnout to MasterChef: Food, Travel & Finding Your Way Back to Yourself with Larissa
What happens when the career you worked so hard to build no longer feels like the life you want?
For Larissa Hawkins, a successful career in corporate law eventually led to complete burnout — and a search for something that felt more creative, meaningful and authentically hers.
In this episode of Nourished – Stories From The Table, Mel sits down with Larissa to talk about food, family, travel, career change, burnout, MasterChef UK and the messy process of reinventing yourself.
With British and Ukrainian family roots, Larissa grew up understanding food as much more than something to eat. Her Ukrainian Baba taught her that cooking is about generosity, community and instinct — not perfect measurements, polished presentation or following a recipe to the letter.
After years working in a high-pressure legal career, food became a source of comfort and connection during a period of burnout. A seven-month travel adventure gave Larissa the space to question what she really wanted from life, eventually leading her to apply for MasterChef UK.
Her MasterChef experience brought its own challenges, but ultimately reinforced something she now carries into every part of her life: there is no such thing as perfect food, a perfect career or a perfectly mapped-out life.
We talk about the freedom that can come from travel and stepping away from your normal routine, the courage it takes to change careers, and why the “messy middle” can actually be where some of the most important transformation happens.
Larissa also shares the story behind Glass Frog, her business helping individuals navigate career change, career transitions and workplace culture with greater honesty and self-awareness.
And, of course, we talk about food.
From her Ukrainian Baba’s dumplings and homemade pesto to a memorable progressive dinner in the Cook Islands, Larissa shares the food experiences that have shaped her — and explains why true nourishment goes far beyond what we put on our plates.
Because sometimes nourishment is a meal.
Sometimes it’s travel.
Sometimes it’s community.
And sometimes it’s having the courage to admit that the life you built isn’t the life you want anymore.
Growing up with British and Ukrainian food traditions
How Larissa’s Ukrainian Baba shaped her love of cooking and community
Family recipes, intuitive cooking and why life is not a set of rules — and neither is cooking
Burnout and leaving a high-pressure career in corporate law
How food became a source of comfort and stability during burnout
Taking a seven-month travel break and discovering a new perspective on life
How travel ultimately led Larissa towards MasterChef
The highs, lows and unexpected lessons of her MasterChef experience
Why perfect food is overrated and why the best food often has a story behind it
A memorable Cook Islands food experience and the generosity of cooking for strangers
What it really means to be nourished beyond food
Career change, identity and finding yourself again in midlife
The meaning behind Glass Frog
Navigating workplace culture and career transitions
Why embracing the messy middle can be transformative
Solo travel and why Larissa believes every woman should experience it
Comfort food, winter cooking, soups and broths
Ukrainian dumplings, homemade pesto and the joy of dinner
Larissa’s dream of bringing together self-taught, unconventional and culturally rooted cooks through supper clubs, retreats and community-led food experiences
You can find Larissa on Instagram or on her website
Nourished – Stories From The Table is a food and travel podcast hosted by Mel, exploring the people, places, traditions and personal stories connected by food.
If you love food, cooking, travel, restaurants, culture, inspiring women and the stories behind what we eat, you're in the right place.
🎙️ Listen to Nourished – Stories From The Table wherever you get your podcasts.
