Order Up! A Conversation with Chef Candice Custodio, founder of Club Sup Sup & Executive Director of At Her Table

A private chef, mother of two, and executive director of At Her Table, Candice is building a kitchen where food tells the truth—and everyone gets a seat

Small Bites: The Versatile Chef by Candice Custodio [Bookshop, Amazon]

🍽️ Summer on a Plate - fresh from Peas & Hoppiness
There’s something magic about seasonal eating — and Peas & Hoppiness knows how to bring it to your table. Each week’s menu highlights the season’s freshest produce (think juicy strawberries, bright greens, tender asparagus) and turns it into simple, delicious meals. Bonus? Seasonal ingredients are often more nutritious and more affordable, so it’s a win for your body and your grocery budget. Check it out here: Make Family Meal Time Easier with Peas & Hoppiness Meal Planning App from our friend registered dietitian Ann Kent. Use code ONEPOTATO30 for a 30-day trial.

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Chef Candice Custodio

Candice Custodio on Feeding Her Family, Her Community, and Herself

Chef Candice Custodio is the kind of person who makes you believe anything is possible—as long as the deviled eggs are topped with huancaína sauce and there’s just the right amount of wine involved. A private chef, mother of two under three, homesteader, and executive director of At Her Table, Candice is deeply rooted in California’s Central Coast, where she’s building the kind of food community she once went looking for herself.

A proud Cal Poly alum and Food Network Chopped alumna, Candice’s journey started with a grandmother’s bootcamp, a few unforgettable meals at friends’ homes, and the realization that food could be a bridge to identity, memory, and belonging. Today, she’s the force behind Club Sup Sup, her Latin-inspired monthly supper club spotlighting Mexican, Puerto Rican, and Peruvian flavors (and yes, the post-Thanksgiving pozole is non-negotiable).

In our conversation, Candice opens up about learning to cook at 19, creating multicultural traditions with her Peruvian husband, and navigating motherhood with humor and humility (“my daughter tricked me—she used to eat everything!”). She also shares her hopes for raising kids who know where their food comes from—whether it’s from their family’s garden, the neighbor’s pasture, or a lovingly curated weekly meal plan built around not wasting a single beet.

Candice is the first to admit she doesn’t do it all alone—and she doesn’t want you to think she does. In this interview, she gets candid about community, burnout, postpartum chaos, and the myth of balance. And she leaves us with the reminder we all need: you only have 100% to give—so give it where it matters, and be gentle with yourself the rest of the time.

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A message from our friends Katie Kimball & Kids Cook Real Food:

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A Conversation with Chef Candice Custodio

Introduce Yourself: I'm Candice — I’m a private chef here on the Central Coast of California, and I work mostly with wineries and businesses. I have two daughters: one is just shy of three, and the other just turned 10 months. So I’m deep in the baby stage again.