Meet Meghan Yager | Food Blogger and Recipe Developer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Meghan Yager and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Meghan, what is the most important factor behind your success?
I can attribute my success to one word: authenticity. Being in the social media realm and dealing with constant opportunities for comparison, it’s easy to lose sight of yourself in all the noise. I strive to be authentic to myself in every aspect of life. It’s those moments when you are most yourself, without any apologies or trying to work the system to go viral, that people WANT to see. I’ve had moments (especially recently with algorithm changes and letting metrics be my focus) that I feel pulled away from my authentic self as I try to grow as a business. Every time I end up coming back to myself and the food I LOVE to cook, which is when I actually end up seeing grow.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I have been blogging for the past decade, and it has been a journey with many ups and downs. It started merely as a way to remember my beloved grandmother so I could teach myself to cook again (college dorm cooking really ruined cooking for a few years for me) and grew into me quitting a corporate marketing position to take a chance on myself and my passion.

This whole journey has resulted in addressing my own shortcomings in playing it too safe and learning to take risks and dream big. There are so many lessons I wish I could share, but that would take up an entire book, so I’ll narrow it down to the most important.

Take the risk.

There’s so many times I played it safe and missed out on opportunities I wish I had taken advantage of. However every single time I have taken a risk, I’ve never felt like I missed out. Even if said risk turning into a raging dumpster fire (I’ve had a few of those for sure), the lessons I learned and the place I ended up in at the end were worth every single meltdown and disappointment.

It’s because of the risks I took that I am cooking food that I love and explore my passions of photography and writing even further. In my kitchen, my focus is celebrating life’s everyday moments through seasonal recipes. Some of my favorite memories include brunches at my grandparents’ house every Sunday to weeknight meals with my husband where we revisit flavors from our travels right in our own kitchen. So many of my memories and everything I cherish can be brought back to these moments and the food we shared.

Cake ’n Knife is all about creating recipes that celebrates life’s moments, no matter how big or small. It’s where I share winning, uncomplicated recipes that you can easily recreate at home! We’re talking about real, down-to-earth yet adventurous food. The kind of food you want to take pictures of. Those recipes that make you moan with joy after every bite. But… easy.

Cooking jaw-dropping food isn’t about making things complicated. Fresh seasonal ingredients, unique flavor combinations and a love for gathering friends and family together around the table are exactly what you will find on my site.

As I like to say, everyday moments deserve food worth sharing and flavor worth celebrating.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
This is what I love to do! Whenever we have friends and family come into town (or anyone I know has people coming into town), I am the one making the food recommendations. There are almost too many restaurants and bars to choose from in Denver now, so I will have to narrow my mega list down. I would definitely go by neighborhood on this little tour of Denver…

Starting with Pearl Street, I would have to take them to get pastries and coffee at Tokyo Premium Bakery. Ideally it’s summer and we are spending the morning at the Farmer’s Market there, wandering, shopping, and deciding what to make for snacks later in the day.

Then we’d wander over along South Broadway making our way north for some vintage shopping, a stop for ice cream at Sweet Action Ice Cream, and dinner at Beatrice and Woodsley.

A day in Rino is also a must to explore all of the wall art throughout the neighborhood. I would start with brunch at Safta because their brunch is still one of my favorites in the city. If we are really showing off, a reservation has to be made at Beckon for a truly life-changing meal. Of course, it we’re keeping it casual, we would head to Hop Alley or Cart Driver. Then drinks at Death & Co. or wine at Noble Riot.

I love to spend a day at Meow Wolf because it is such a trip. I could spend days there just exploring every nook and cranny of otherworld fun they have! Follow that with a trip over to Sloan’s Lake for a walk and then a beer at Odell Brewing is a lovely way to spend the day.

We also can’t forget about LoHi and the Highlands though! Breakfast at The Universal is my favorite diner experience here in Denver. I could spend hours wandering the streets of LoHi and wandering over I-25 for an empanada from Maria’s Empanadas. Yes, I really would be making my friends walk all over, so hopefully the weather is good! Dinner at Uncle then a walk to Little Man Ice Cream feels like the perfect way to wrap up that little adventure.

I feel like one day would have to be dedicated to just hitting breweries because there are so many amazing ones! Black Project Spontaneous and Wild Ales has been my favorite since it opened. Cerebral Brewing, Grandma’s House, Great Divide, TRVE, Call to Arms, and Ratio Beerworks are ones I would try to work into the trip as well.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
The one person who deserves a chunk of credit in my story is my longtime friend and mentor, Jennifer Beck. This woman is a powerhouse. She’s the one that got me into blogging in the first place, back when I was just curious about what I even wanted to blog about. In our years of friendship and working together, she is always the one encourages me to take the risks I need to take to grow my business. Watching her grow her company Jihi and being a part of that process with her recently has been another kick in the pants that I didn’t even know I needed. Jen never fails to bolster the female entrepreneurs in her life and I know I wouldn’t be where I am without her initial push to just DO IT.

Website: https://www.cakenknife.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cakenknife

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cakenknife

Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@cakenknife

Image Credits
Photos of me are by Chelsey – Friends & Lovers Photography All recipe photos are mine