Meet Becky Guzak
This Podcaster and Radio Show Producer Proves It’s Never Too Late to Start Anew
By Jenny Hart Danowski
Ever since Becky Guzak can remember, she has loved trying new things. “As a kid I was big into skiing, then snowboarding, and then wind sports. I was especially excited about trying new things that were active,” she says. On the creative side, Becky found everything around entertaining pure joy. Even in her twenties she could throw a great party, her first ever being a surprise party for her mom’s 40th birthday. Whether a party involved weeks of planning or was thrown together at the last minute, Becky found it easy, fun, and something she relished primarily because it was a way to bring people together, and that is what Becky is all about.
I recently had the pleasure of interviewing her for this article and, despite having never met, hung up feeling as if we were old friends. Her warm demeaner, easy laughter, and positive energy were immediately evident. More importantly, her outlook on life and how to best live it was spot on. As she says, “We need to pay attention to being curious and to being life-long learners because life is pretty darn short, so we must make the most of it. Think about what moves you, what brings you joy, and do more of that! It’s never too late to start something new.”
At age 59, Becky is living her best life having taken all her past experiences and combined them into not one, but two new careers as a podcaster and as producer of Hot Stove Society Radio Show, hosted by renowned chef and restaurateur Tom Douglas. So how did all this come about? Here is her story.
To backtrack, Becky grew up in the Seattle area and got her degree in International Business from the University of Washington. Along the way she met and married her husband, Chris, and the two moved to Kirkland around 30 years ago. They loved the Kirkland community and found it the perfect place to raise their son, Jordan. After Becky’s mom suffered a stroke, she spent the past 25 years caring for her in Kirkland as well, proudly wheeling her all over town. For both Becky and Chris, a Microsoft Engineer, wind sports on the lake have been major passions, as well as riding bikes, hiking the surrounding mountains and, for Chris, running all over Kirkland.
For years, Becky filled her time running her own software marketing business, raising her son, caring for her mom, and serving in leadership roles on several nonprofit boards. She met Tom Douglas when he was doing summer culinary camps for adults back in 2007. “They were five-day camps at the Palace Ballroom downtown and were super fun,” says Becky. “Those led to Tom’s opening Hot Stove Society Cooking School, where he has taped his Hot Stove Society Radio Show for nearly 25 years now, which I’ve loved listening to,” she continues. When she attended the show as an audience member one day, they were playing a trivia game and Becky reluctantly raised her hand and went up to the mic to answer the questions. “I was so nervous, but I played the game and then started helping out with that part of the show,” she says.
Then, a little over a year ago, Becky was thinking about what brings her joy. “I realized I love helping people build their confidence and community through entertaining. I have thrown parties forever but know many are intimidated by entertaining for whatever reason,” she says. “My initial thought was to write a book about hosting with confidence and ease, but it soon evolved into a podcast format because I thought that would be more helpful and conversational,” she explains. Becky found a coach to teach her all the technology pieces, made a lot of mistakes, but learned much in the process. “I was working on that when Tom invited me to guest produce, and with my mission to inspire others to build their confidence and communities, it seemed the perfect fit,” she says. “That built my confidence even further, so I launched my own podcast, Host with Confidence, in January of this year,” she continues.
“A year ago my producing a radio show would have sounded crazy, but now, forty shows later, I’m still learning and it’s such a fun job! I get to interview chefs, small businesses, authors, all kinds of people in the food business. It’s taped in front of a live audience and is on YouTube Live as well,” she says. As for her podcast, she produces it herself from her home office and already has 25 episodes under her belt. “It’s about empowering the hesitant host to build their connections, confidence, and community through stress-free entertaining,” she explains. “I’m excited to see how it evolves as I will soon be interviewing guests and know it’s just going to get better and better!”
Becky credits her mother-in-law, Karen Guzak, for inspiring her. “At 85 years old and thriving, Karen has career shifted every 10 years,” she marvels. “She’s gone from being mom of three, to successful artist, to real estate developer, to yoga instructor and studio owner, to city council member, to Mayor of Snohomish. At 85, she’s still involved in politics and bringing people together. She and I just cohosted a sit-down baby shower for 40 guests, and it was fun, easy, and stress free!”
In conclusion, Becky encourages everyone to start building their confidence by building their competence. She leaves us with a favorite quote for added inspiration:
“Confidence is simply the willingness to try, even if you might get it wrong or mess up. You just have to embrace the process, take action, and build competence, and that builds confidence.”—Author Mel Robbins
To find Becky’s podcasts, search for Host with Confidence with Becky Guzak, or go to www.hostwithconfidencepodcast.com. To listen to or get tickets for Hot Stove Society Radio Show, go to www.Hotstovesociety.com. It’s $25/person and includes a fun breakfast.
In this episode of Voices 4 Chefs, culinary podcaster Michel Dugan interviews Becky Guzak, our host of the "Host with Confidence" podcast and the producer behind The Hot Stove Society Radio Show and creator. Becky shares her inspiring journey from childhood memories of family meals to her transformative experience at Tom Douglas’s cooking camp, which ignited her culinary passion. Tune in to hear how Becky transitioned from those early food experiences to her influential role in producing The Hot Stove Society, and learn about her mission to empower others to host with ease and confidence. Don't miss this engaging conversation that highlights the joy and community found in cooking and entertaining.
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