Takeaway Q&A: Food chats with Loreyn Workman

Nothing but Bundts.

Loreyn is an Afro-Latina, neurodivergent, and proud pansexual professional with a deep love for art and storytelling. Creativity is at the core of everything she does, whether through writing, graphic design, or mentoring others. As the founder of a writing club at The New York Times, she creates a space for colleagues to connect and grow through words, celebrating the power of diverse voices. With over 10 years of experience, Loreyn channels her passion for creativity and innovation into developing impactful content that fosters leadership development, professional and personal growth. She is also a strong advocate for neurodivergent individuals, championing diversity and inclusion in every project she undertakes.

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Ok. Very important first question, favorite fall beverage?

Favorite fall beverage… are we talking alcoholic or not?

Could be either!

I'm definitely gonna go with, oh man. My friends make a cider mimosa, and it's just so delicious. They basically combine a homemade cider with like orange juice, and they serve that with champagne.

Wow I’ve never heard of a cider mimosa! What about warm beverages?

This is such a tough question, because there's just so many that I love. I love pumpkin spice. I'm like, as basic as they come. But I will say I had mulled wine a few years back and I really loved it. It was just so good.

Earlier we were talking about cooking shows. Do you have a current show or a celebrity chef you’re really into?

So funny that you say that! I just started watching Chef's Table Noodles. Just came out on Netflix, and of course, I totally cried. There's an episode in there about an Italian chef, Peppe Guida, who specializes in dried pasta. He's talking about the concept of opening his restaurant, who he is as a chef, and his wife. She was the person that was really pushing him to become a Michelin starred chef for like, over 20 years. But unfortunately she passed away right before the pandemic. And so his way of trying to grieve and recuperate during a very lonely time, was posting on social media and sharing his recipes with people around the world. So he gets up at 6:30 in the morning to make Ragu, and he's like, no one's gonna show up. Then 1,500 people around the world showed up at that very minute. I was just crying the whole time.

I've definitely cried during cooking competitions, even Top Chef.

That is totally me. I love that. I really always cry with Master Chef too.

Yeah, I'm strangely into Beat Bobby Flay, I don't know why. I find it very relaxing. Just the format and the strange faux tension. I have no idea what kind of person Bobby Flay is in real life though. He seems like he would kind of be a jerk?

Yeah, I know! It seems like all celebrity chefs would probably be jerks.

So sometimes I eat in front of the TV, which, you know, I don't consider a guilty pleasure or anything, but it's relaxing to me. I will always watch Beat Bobby Flay with my wife. It's like my brain doesn't brain. It sort of relaxingly blinks off.

I think we might be the same person, because I do the exact same thing! I always put on a cooking show when I'm eating, that way I don't feel so bad when they're cooking something delicious that I want to eat. So I will put on the Chef's Table, or, whatever cooking show that I'm into. Oh, I've even watched some cooking anime that was phenomenal!

I’ve never seen cooking anime!

Forewarning, the cooking anime that I know of has some very serious fan service in it, they portray like a foodgasm. The first episode will really warm you up to it. For context, one of the shows I saw they were eating squid, which was like, whoa, okay. But once you get past that, the show is actually phenomenal. It did take me awhile like I said, to warm up to it, because it was a little over the top.

I've never been a huge anime person! That doesn't mean that I won't be at some point in my life, but I've seen for example, Spirited Away, which I love. And I love the food. I mean, I think it's a standard theme, right? Like the food imagery and everything is gorgeous and always steaming. Just these gorgeous visuals and the eating of the food, with as you said, with over the top enthusiasm.

Just a casual dinner.

I'm not huge into anime, either, but my fiancé is, and he is always trying to get me to watch something. And he recently had me watching Campfire Cooking in Another World With My Superb Skill. It’s online shopping in another world. Basically it's this person where their superpower is online shopping, and they get sucked into a portal that puts them into another world. And they’re just traveling around using, like Amazon, to create delicious dishes in this sort of Middle Ages-type time. And they are thriving!

Wow, this is amazing. I am so confused. But I can’t wait to look it up. My first thought was of him eating a Ren Faire turkey leg.

It's basically exactly that. The only thing is that it has a fantasy element. So if there's like a dragon or something, he's like, cooking the dragon. It's just ridiculous. But regardless, the imagery in it is actually so relaxing to watch. So if you like anything cooking anime related, there's a lot of beautiful imagery there.

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MUG BREAK! 🍵

Do you have a favorite mug and why is it your favorite?

Oh yes! It’s a dragon mug. I love dragons! I have a dragon tattoo on my hand, and my fiancé bought the mug for me when we were out one day. I just think it’s so beautiful!

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Spooky season is upon us! Do you have a favorite Halloween candy you look forward to? Or do you have like, an internal ranking, you know what I mean? When I was a kid, there's always been a top three. And it’s never changed.

So I definitely have a candy ranking system, and at the top of that list has always been a Snickers. And then I would say the second one is kind of probably not as popular for other people. Butterfingers. I love them so much.

Butterfingers are good.

They're so delicious. Um, and then I would say, the last one is probably some sort of sour gummy. I love gummies.

Snickers is up there for me! Reese's Peanut Butter Cups is number one. It's forever number one.

I was just eating one!

I love the holiday shaped ones that don't look like anything. It's like a squashed pumpkin, or squashed tree. There's always a squashed part. They never look like what they're supposed to look like. They don’t look like anything at all.

I agree. Did you get to try the Nothing Bundt Cake, the Reese’s kind? I missed out. I’m hoping they will bring them back and I will let you know. But it was so delicious. Have you tried Nothing Bundt Cakes before?

I literally have no idea what you are talking about! Nothing and then the letters B - U - N - D - T??!

Yeah it’s a chain called Nothing Bundt Cakes. It has to be in Seattle. It's everywhere¹.

I've never even heard of this!! This is why I have these Q&As. Partially because I need to know all the food news.

Okay, they're cute. You have to try the white chocolate raspberry. Recently this man posted this video. It was so funny. He said he was rating the Reese's Bundt cake on a scale of 1 to 10, and then he doesn't even show the full clip, the next clip is just the empty tray. And then he's got like, leftover crumbs all over his face. And he's like, 10. He couldn't even record it because he was enjoying it so much.

Hah! Are you a cake fan overall?

Oh, that's a good question. I am such a picky dessert person because I'm not a sweet person. I'm a salty person in life and in dessert.

I don't gravitate towards sweets as much. It has to be just sweet enough. If the cake is moist and it's not overly sweet, then the frosting also has to be just right. If it’s black frosting or the purple frosting, I cannot. I can't. It really has a weird aftertaste to me, and I hate it.

I’ve never noticed it having a different taste - you’re introducing so many things to me! I am curious if you have a current restaurant in New York that you're just totally into, or that you've been frequenting?

I'm gonna say no, not in New York. There's a place in Georgia where my family lives that is phenomenal. And if anyone is in Georgia and they have not tried this place, they should go. It's called Soi3. And it's a Thai place, and it’s specifically, street Thai food. And it's the best Thai food I've ever had my entire life. And I've tried Thai food in many states, and there's nothing better. So I think everybody should go to that restaurant.

Where in Georgia is it?

It's north of Atlanta, in a city called Kennesaw. It's worth it. There's also a phenomenal a soup dumpling place right next to it. But I will say the Thai food takes the cake.

Do you like to host dinner parties? Or would you rather go to someone's dinner party?

I mean, I feel like food always tastes better when someone else cooks it for you. I’m a very obsessive Virgo when I cook. And I love to cook! I do Thanksgiving every year for my family. But I will say, that I kind of hate cooking for dinner parties, because the pressure is so high. You know what I mean? Like, for me, nobody else cares, they show up and they're like oh nice, this is delicious. Meanwhile, in my mind, I've been on Master Chef, and I'm competing. They must be wowed. And everything needs to be beautifully plated, and it's too much. So I would prefer to go to dinner party for sure.

I hear you!

Thanks so much for chatting Loreyn. I am gonna be eating some Bundt cake real soon.

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1. Dear readers, despite never hearing of Nothing Bundt Cakes, there is indeed one only 10 minutes from my house. I am trying the lemon one immediately.