Episode 104 From Madison Avenue to the Kitchen: Reinvention, Chopped Champion, and Building a Life on Your Own Terms with Silvia Baldini

Silvia Baldini built a successful career as an award-winning art director and creative director on Madison Avenue — then walked away to start over in a kitchen. The result? A Le Cordon Bleu education, training at the Ritz in London, a Chopped championship, two cookbooks, and Strawberry and Sage, a culinary venture built around food, sustainability, and community — with other women at the table alongside her. In this episode, Maura and Christie talk with Silvia about what it actually takes to reinvent yourself mid-career, how advertising trained her for the kitchen (and vice versa), navigating male-dominated workplaces in two industries, the Italian philosophy of food that America has largely lost, and why — even with all of it — she doesn't believe you can have it all at the same time. Topics covered include: career reinvention, identity and ambition, work-life balance, food and sustainability, Refettorio NYC, the Dames d'Escoffier, entrepreneurship, motherhood, and the real cost of starting over. Find Silvia at silviabaldini.com and on Instagram @silviabaldinistrawberryandsage Episode recorded on June 3, 2026 at the LMC Media Studio in Mamaroneck, New York. Show notes available at thebalancedilemma.com