Our Chefs
Megan Haley
Head chef, holistic health coach, & owner
Megan studied Culinary Arts at The Institute of Culinary Education in NYC and worked in high-end catering companies there before moving to Nashville to start Happy Belly. She loves coffee, dark chocolate, red wine, and running after her two boys: Tino and Luca. Megan is inspired by the cuisines of Greece and Spain, where she has traveled extensively and hopes to live one day.
Tami | personal chef & Postpartum Care Specialist
I have been cooking ever since I was big enough to reach the kitchen counter while standing on a step stool. Well actually I was “cooking” mud pies even before that! I was in the medical field almost 25 years doing everything from patient care to running a couple of clinics and in the process gleaned a lot of information about how food can affect our health. Over the years, I became very ill due to numerous food allergies and Celiac disease. This made eating in general very difficult. One day in 2008, after working a long day at work I went to several stores searching for GF food I could actually eat. I spent $10 on one blueberry muffin. It looked beautiful and I was starved for something with sugary goodness. I took one bite and spit it out in the trash! I was thoroughly disgusted as I am very frugal and I had just spit out a $10 bill essentially! So in my outrage that someone could actually sell something so disgusting made me determined to do better. Then as I researched, and tested. I discovered it was possible to make great tasting, healthy, and safe food! Thus my food journey began and I have been cooking GF, DF, Paleo, Vegan, AIP, and Postpartum Recovery foods. In a way, my autoimmune issues gave me a new understanding of food and how food can change our health for the better. I would rather spend money on food than medication anyday.
When I think about my favorite foods to cook it is foods that I consider comfort foods. Like my Grandmother’s Southern Cornbread, pecan pies, and homemade peppermint candy ice cream. Or authentic ethnic foods, like kimchi, bulgogi, hummus, lamb korma, tikka masala, guacamole and burritos. As I have become more experienced as a Chef I have discovered so many interesting cuisines and flavors. I love experimenting with new dishes.
Growing up and cooking with my family was our way of showing love. We would have the whole block of neighbors meet around our house and we would cook for everyone. It’s some of my fondest memories. I love taking my grandmother’s old recipes that are full of everything I can’t have because of my food allergies and transforming them into something that will transport me back in time to her kitchen with all the taste and smells of that time. I remember working years on my grandmother’s 4 layer Red Velvet cake to convert the recipe into something that I could eat. I don’t think you should ever have to compromise taste or textures because you are on a special diet. When I’m cooking I feel like my most authentic self.
Becoming a Chef has allowed me to share my love of food with others. I especially love it when someone gets to have that southern biscuit that is GF but looks, tastes and feels like their Grandmother’s Southern biscuits. This is the moment when a person is brought to tears because they didn’t even realize how much they missed it. They had just accepted the fact they would never be able to eat one again. That’s the moment I know I’m doing exactly what I was born to do.
Micaela | General Manager & Personal Chef
I taught myself how to cook by finding any and all ingredients in the fridge or pantry and turning them into something new. Orange juice concentrate, Arizona iced tea, and the bottom of the pace picante salsa jar ( and adding any fresh ingredients I could find) made for a delicious marinade reminiscent of cochinita pibil ( but I didn’t know that yet). Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, I’ve had the luxury of access to fresh fish, organic produce, and humanely raised animals. We moved to North Idaho when I was a child on 10 acres. We were by no means farmers, but we had rows of blueberry bushes I’d eat by the handful and we raised a cow that was later butchered and I would proudly grab Robin from the freezer to defrost for dinner.
My professional culinary experience began on the other side of the kitchen, working front of house for a chef-owned and operated restaurant. The chefs mentored and educated me in the values of local food, organic farming, and seasonal eating. I worked with them as beverage director, refining my palate and expertise through wine and coffee and eventually as general manager. We travelled and tasted our way through New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Paris, and Copenhagen at the best restaurants in the world.
When my autoimmune conditions first flared, they nurtured me through food including making me bone broth every week and vegetable purees. I witnessed first hand how food aids in healing. My theoretical knowledge of flavors from food, wine, and coffee, came in handy when my food options were limited to less than 10 ingredients.
I started working for Happy Belly in March of 2023. I was overjoyed to find a chef service catering to dietary restrictions with values of ingredient integrity in Nashville. I believe in the high value service Happy Belly offers. When I travelled back to Washington to provide postpartum food for my cousin, I decided to launch a second hub of Happy Belly in Washington State. For this season, I may be seen less in your kitchen and more in your inbox. It is a tremendous privilege to offer food support to people in all seasons of life.
NAe | personal chef
I graduated from Johnson and Wales University in Denver Colorado with a baking and pastry degree. I am a plant based chef that loves to cook Asian and Indian cuisine.
I like to spend my time kayaking, camping, swing dancing and reading a great book.
Pierina | personal chef
I am a professional chef with 12 years of experience in the culinary world. I studied in Le Cordon Bleu Peru. I worked at hotels in Mexico and the US like The Ritz Carlton in Naples and since 2013 to 2021 I owned a baking business back in Lima, Peru and also did side jobs such as private chefs, classes, consulting and events. In 2015 I decided to study a masters in cake decorating in The international school of Sugar Art by Nicholas Lodge in Norcross Georgia. Last year in July I decided to move to the US and I was working at a Peruvian Restaurant in Florida until December that I moved to Nashville and now I’m open to venture into private chef, chef at home, showcooking, culinary advice, etc.
When I first started to learn how to cook, I was 10 years old looking how my grandma and nanny did it and that made us closer and that’s why for me, cooking is a great way of bringing people together and enjoying every step of the way.
Laura | personal chef
As a Registered Dietitian and chef, you could say I’m into food. In college I majored in Food Science then completed a culinary certificate program at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. I spent the next several years working in Nashville as a chef at a farm-to-table restaurant and a vegan café, as well as catering. I genuinely enjoyed learning first-hand about the science involved in cooking and how different ingredients can really transform a dish. I decided to go back to school in Augusta, GA, for a Master’s in Nutrition and ultimately become a Dietitian because I wanted to learn even more about how food can transform us!
Even with 8 years of culinary experience and 3 years as a Dietitian, I still have a hard time deciding what my favorite food is. As a native Tennessean, I’m drawn to southern-style comfort food, but I also love the bright, fresh flavors of Asian and Mediterranean cuisine. I also enjoy baking cakes and desserts for family birthdays and special occasions in my free time. The best part about what I do is getting to bond with people through food every day!
When I’m not in the kitchen I enjoy spending time with my family and my cat and dog, going to concerts, checking out local farmers’ markets, and trying new restaurants!