Jenny Tolman – Quarantine Kitchen

By: Kelly Kearney

Q) As a rising country music star, the quarantine life doesn’t leave much room for concerts and fan interactions, but now you’ve found a way to satisfy the hunger of country music shut-ins across the county. Talk a little bit about your YouTube show “Quarantine Kitchen” and where the idea came from.

A) Yes, so I always loved cooking because over ten years ago now I had to become gluten free, but before it was cool and dairy free and egg free too. I went to holistic doctor and he put me on this anti-inflammatory diet and all this stuff. So, my mom and I did it at the same time and at that time I was a freshman in high school and I was like, “Oh my God! What am I going to eat?!” At that time there was nothing available because there was not the selection that there is now. So, we were forced to basically learn how to bake everything that we love gluten free and all this stuff. And through that process of having to learn out of necessity and learn how to cook all of these different things and make them healthier version, I really fell in love with that because it’s another form of creativity really for me. It’s another outlet for that. So, yeah, when we got stuck inside, I started cooking a lot more and I think everyone else did too and I was like, “Well, hey, instead of just doing music…” Because I still am doing a ton of online concerts instead of just solely focusing on music, I thought maybe I’ll start putting out some videos of my favorite recipes that I’ve found over the years and share them with everybody else who needs to broaden their cooking horizons now that we’re all home.

Q) This pandemic affects us all in so many ways. What’s been the hardest thing for you with this lockdown?

A) The hardest thing for me is just not being able to interact with fans in person because that’s one of my favorite things about touring – really getting to engage with people in person. Social media is amazing and with it I am able to connect with so many different people at one time. and obviously it’s great to be able to connect with people, but my favorite thing has always been in-person connections. You can’t replace them with any type of social media comments or likes. So, that’s been the hardest for me. Just not being able to go and see anyone and perform for people and see their reactions. It’s so different online when you’ve got the comments coming through in the live video. Oh my gosh, if those weren’t there it would be horrific! It’s so strange to play to an audience that you can’t see their reactions and they can only tell you through typed out words. So, it’s very interesting process.

Q) If you were to make a music playlist to cook to, what song or artist would be a must on that list?

A) Lee Ann Womack. She’s one that I listen to constantly whenever I’m cooking or baking. I just always listen to Lee Ann Womack in the kitchen because I am obsessed with her voice.

Q) You are gluten-free, which can be hard for any foodie, but it seems to make its way into mainstream diets. What kind of advice would you give to someone trying to cut gluten from their diets?

A) Gosh, good question! Probably, and this is one of the reasons why I started “Quarantine Kitchen,” is find your favorite foods and find a really good replacement for them. Once you have those comfort foods that you are like, “Oh my gosh, I can’t live without this,” as soon as that fear is eliminated, because there are really so many options these days for recipes that you can make yourself, it’s so much easier to be like, “Oh, this wasn’t as bad as it thought it was! You can still have these things, just a different version of them.

Q) In your first episode you made gluten, dairy, egg-free scalloped potatoes and they looked great! Do you consider yourself vegan or have you not made that leap just yet?

A) I’m not a vegan. I joke around a lot and say I’m a vegan that eats meat. [laughing] I don’t eat dairy or eggs, which are obviously animal products. But I do eat meat and that’s something for my body that I don’t feel like I need to give up. All my meat is always organic and grass fed and humanely raised anyways because I just live the organic, GMO- free lifestyle. So, yeah, just for me I personally don’t feel going full on vegan would be for me.

Q) What are some favorite dishes you ate growing up that you hope to feature in future episodes?

A) So, I have one coming up that is actually pizza rolls that are gluten free, dairy free, egg free! So, that is one that I’m really excited about because that one is a newer creation and it’s just something that I’ve never had before or at least in the last ten years. When I came across this, I found a vegan pizza roll recipe and so I adapted it to be gluten free and it worked out! It was amazing! I’ve made them a few times now and so I’m looking forward to that on “Quarantine Kitchen” because actually one of the things I said in the first video was if the fans had any requests for things for me to make and one of them was pizza. A father commented that his daughter had just gone gluten free and dairy free and she missed pizza. So, I thought, “Oh, this will be great for that!” It’s really good one I think they will enjoy.

Q) If you had to choose, which do you prefer: baking or cooking?

A) Oh man, that’s a hard question [laughing]! Probably I would choose baking because I love chocolate! That was a hard one because I really food, but I really, really love chocolate.

Q) The show has this professional feel to it and could absolutely be a hit on a channel like the Food Network or Cooking Channel. Have you had any thoughts of shopping this as a real series in the future?

A) Um…Just very, very vague ones. Honestly, that was shot on an iPhone, so I guess praise to Apple on that. [laughing] My sweetheart is also my music producer and he shot it and put it all together. So, I’m spoiled to have him helping me put it all together because it makes it look so professional. But, yeah, we’ve talked a little bit and had a little bit of a conversation with my publicist about potentially shopping it around. It could be a really fun thing to come out of something we didn’t expect.

Q) You’ve tweeted your love for country star/cook Trisha Yearwood, who frequently has guests on her show. Who would you most love to cook with or for?

A) Oh my gosh, probably Dolly Parton! [squeals] She would have the best little comments and jokes all along the way. I just love her and I think she’s amazing. Oh my… Oh my gosh…I have my wheels spinning now. I want to find her and get her in my kitchen!

Q) You mentioned you’ve been playing online concerts, are you using this downtime to also work on some new music the fans can look out for?

A) New music, probably not anytime soon because everything has been so halted right now. So, we still have some fun stuff to promote with the current record. So, probably nothing too soon. Not anything to gets too excited about just yet; even though I would love to release everything all at once because I’m so excited about it. So, probably not until next year.

Q) Your debut album is currently making noise on music streaming sites. Once this COVID-19 pandemic is over, what’s next for you Jenny? Touring? Another album?

A) Yeah, definitely lots of touring. All of our shows through May have been cancelled as of right now, and probably June too, which really stinks. But, yeah, we will probably have a very busy Fall of touring, which we’re very excited about because like I said earlier, that’s my favorite part of being an artist. I’m looking forward to it. I mean, the whole point of why anyone makes music is how it affects people and how it helps people and it’s been really strange to have that element of physical communication and connection removed for this long. So, it’ll be really nice to get that back.

Q) What would you like to say to fans and supporters of your work?

A) Thank you so much because it’s crazy to be able to sit at home and do these online shows together and these little cooking videos and know that they’re actually touching people and affecting them and it’s brightening their day. I’m just so thankful that they’re there to watch it and that they’re loving it. Without them, I guess none of it would mean anything.