Meredith Baird Figone Has Learned Profound (and Hard) Lessons in Her Career. Here’s What the Entrepreneur Is Bringing Into Her Middle Third
written by Stacey Lindsay
Meredith Baird Figone can credibly be called a born entrepreneur—or better yet, a born multi-hyphenate entrepreneur—who's built her career with confidence, passion, creativity, and deep intuition. This was evident from the start. In her early twenties, the plant-based chef, cookbook author, recipe developer, and founder of the skincare line Nucifera was studying French and art history in college. At the same time, she was a burgeoning chef, earning her chops working jobs alongside classically trained chefs—primarily men—at the Culinary Institute of America. "I was there serving raw food dishes, purely as an equal, even though I was a 22-year-old girl," Meredith recalls. "In hindsight, that situation was really intimidating, but I didn't feel that then. With opportunities and my work, I always thought, I'm just gonna do it."
Yet despite her steady success, Meredith admits there's been tension in her entrepreneurial journey. "Sometimes I do feel like a jack-of-all-trades, and that part can feel a little frustrating, even just how to market myself," she says. There have also been hard learnings, including not financially advocating for herself—a way-too-common issue that plagues hard-working women (and that we must talk about more).
But Meredith, who is 39, takes all this wisdom with her as she approaches her middle third. In my conversation with the refreshingly forthcoming and kind entrepreneur, we talk deeply about the good and bad, challenging and accessible, and the external pressure of doing it all perfectly. And ultimately, what’s fueling Meredith as she's on the cusp of 40. "I'm excited about all this life experience and confidence we attain over time," she says. "And I feel much better—physically, emotionally, mentally, all of it—than I did in my early twenties."
Chatting with Meredith Baird Figone
Meredith, society puts such pressure on women to be perfect and in line. As someone with a prominent online presence, what are your thoughts about all the societal expectations women face?
I was thinking of the perception of achievement. I went to dinner last week with some women who are all interesting and successful. We were talking about social media and its influence particularly on women. I'm from the South, and I grew up in a house where my mom was a lawyer, but most of the other moms didn't work or had less demanding careers. I remember my friends' moms sewed their Halloween costumes and made sure the decorations were up and perfect. My mom was happy to be festive but didn't put much energy into the perception of it all because she didn't have time. So, when I became a mom, it was around the time of the invention of the online influencer and the pumpkin-spice-latte mom vibe. I remember feeling, Why is the Christmas tree not up yet? Why is this all not perfect? It was all very confusing and challenging at the time because I didn't think of myself as someone who cared—and I know these things don't make for a happier childhood. But here I was caring. It was disorienting, if I'm being totally honest!
I think this pressure is particularly real for moms because you're biologically inclined to do the best for your children. So there is this very natural and unspoken comparison happening. Fortunately, I feel like I've come out of that, and I own who I am or have gotten much more comfortable with my role as a mother. There really is so much pressure, I could go on about this!
I've always been fascinated with these quote-unquote boxes or lanes we're conditioned to think we must stay in. You've worked in the restaurant industry, authored and co-authored books, been a chef and food stylist, and built a skincare line, all while mothering. In this world that still seems to expect women to be one thing, how have you navigated these different roles as an entrepreneur?
It's funny. I think I'm in a moment now where my undefined lane is causing more tension than ever. I thrive on creativity, which makes staying in a lane impossible. I love figuring out how to get whatever needs to be done, done—for any type of project. I was, fortunately, given a long leash in my twenties as far as the things I could do, working in the restaurant world, specifically. I would jump on a project: What color should the pillows be? What should the menu look like? What should the wine list look like? I was always just on it. I've been confident in my creative decisions in many different fields. This came from my mom and dad. There was no question of believing in yourself growing up. That was instilled in me my whole life: You believe in yourself and get stuff done. I'm grateful for that, and it's probably given me a false sense of confidence in certain situations.
Why do you say false sense of confidence?
I look back at some of the things I did even in my early twenties and think, How did you do that? One specific example would be at the [Culinary Institute of America] with all the chefs in Napa who are classically trained, some worked at French laundry and other top-level restaurants in that area. They were at the top of the top. I was there serving raw food dishes, purely as an equal, even though I was a 22-year-old girl. In hindsight, that situation was really intimidating, but I didn't feel that then. With opportunities and my work, I was always like, I'm just going to do it.
“I’m excited about all this life experience and confidence we attain over time. I feel much better—physically, emotionally, mentally, all of it—than I did in my early twenties. ”
Beauty and aesthetics have been paramount in your career, no matter what you're creating. What sparked you to lean into order and beauty in the culinary and wellness worlds?
This makes me think back to growing up. My dad was a doctor but also had a very creative side. He designed and built the house I grew up in. It was beautiful. But then my dad was diagnosed with cancer when he was young. He went into remission for a while, but it came back with a vengeance in his early forties. Both my parents were working when he got sick again. He went away [while he was sick,] so my grandmother came to live with us for a while. She was so disorganized, and it was chaotic. Suddenly, we had too much stuff—too many pets, all of it. Looking back, it felt traumatizing alongside what was happening with my father. I remember piling things in the car with my babysitter to bring it to Goodwill. This was all a control thing, I realize now, but being in a space where things weren't orderly felt like chaos to me.
This went into my food, too. I've always been interested in food and cooking, and the philosophy of vegetarianism has always resonated with me. My dad eventually came back to live with us, but he was disabled. We had caretakers, and I was always interested in what they would make. Once I got old enough to be able to do it myself, it felt so good. So, I started cooking a ton in high school. I did my AP English paper on the history of vegetarianism in high school. I never imagined that any of that would turn into a career, but I started working in restaurants in college. My college boyfriend was very entrepreneurial and advocated for me to pursue it. He said, 'Don't stay in South Carolina and go to law school. Explore this culinary side of you.' And I did.
To some up the question, I think that creating beauty felt like creating order and these were things I could control to make life better.
You've never had a 9 to 5 job? What’s that been like?
My closest thing to a corporate job was after culinary school. I worked at Domaine Chandon as a tour guide. I don't know that you can call that a 9 to 5 job, but I was a tour guide, and I negotiated to work only four days a week because I had my own food delivery business.
I never really intentionally chose this path. When I graduated college, shortly after the economy crashed, every job was an internship. So, at the time, you went to graduate school and became a specific professional or hustled. And I hustled. Now, here I am 20 years later. It's funny, all the women I talk to who are entrepreneurs are like, 'I just want a steady job,' and all the people in a more corporate environment are like, 'I want to be an entrepreneur.' The grass is always greener.
Have you found liberation in being an entrepreneur?
Yes, mostly because of the flexibility—but there have definitely been compromises. This goes back to women and expectations. I may have figured out the best of both worlds because I have autonomously contributed to my family, which has been very important to me. Also, my daughter's not in school today, and I'm here sitting with her and having this conversation with you. So, I've had so much flexibility. But at the same time, I haven't been financially as successful as I would have anticipated or wanted for myself.
Talk more about that. I can relate, and I wish women talked about their worth and earning more with one another.
I have been awful at financially advocating for myself. I spoke about the internship aspect when I was in my early twenties. So many jobs I had were hybrid, sort of internships and jobs, and I was getting underpaid. I was excited, but there was no future planning or looking out for myself. The "equity" carrot was dangled so many times. When I got into my thirties, I built Nucifera and began consulting, so I started bringing in more money. But I've looked at other women who've seemed truly motivated by money, and I was never like that. I've never had a hunger for financial success, but more so a balance of life. Depending on how we grew up, we all have different drives. But I like very nice things so.... the switch has been flipped!
You're right about to be in your middle third. What does turning 40 and midlife bring up for you?
I'm co-opting this from a friend of mine. She said, 'When I turn 40, I'm gonna stop giving a f*ck about anybody else and what they think.' I kind of feel that way! Obviously, within reason. I'm excited about all this life experience and confidence we attain over time. And I feel much better—physically, emotionally, mentally, all of it—than I did in my early twenties. And I'm going to become a better advocate for myself. I am.
There is the shock of loss in many ways—our systems of fertility change and the process of menopause. I do think the forties are a very big deal for women. All of a sudden, you must come to terms with all the choices you've made in your life. Many have to do with the decision to have children. For me, it's deciding whether to have a second child. I have so many friends going through this. You think these choices are ahead of you, but then they are behind you before you know it.
I also have so many women in my life who are older and have such great life experience and wisdom. I see that in contrast to a girl in their twenties, and I think, 'Yeah, I want to be this older, wiser, badass.' I'm so excited about that.
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To learn more about Meredith, visit meredithbaird.com and nuciferabody.com and follow her at @meredithbaird.
Interview and article by Stacey Lindsay, exclusively for Liberty Road.
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