Meet Sepi Naficy | Culinary consultant and recipe blogger

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

Hi Sepi, what is the most important factor behind your success?
The genuine passion I have for what I do is the most important factor behind pursuing my own business and the success of SavorybySepi as a brand. Big or small, every achievement has come simply because I approach every challenge or opportunity with pure passion and enthusiasm. That’s what is required to start your own business and get up everyday to pursue it even if there’s road bumps.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
What I do is highly creative. I work in the culinary arts field and think, breath, live and love all things culinary. I take a multicultural approach to my recipe developments, presentations and cooking demonstrations. Having a Persian background I have grown up with the colorful and flavor rich cuisine of Iran. That combined with my American upbringing and passion for American culture and food has made my creative approach to be quite multicultural . There are no limits to how I approach a dish. I pull from all my experiences and diverse culinary influences. In 2016 I entered a cooking competition in Chicago and competed against 4 other competitors from all walks of life and some culinary trained. It was intimidating to say the least specially because I was a home cook with no formal training. I realized very quickly that I needed to cook from the heart. Cook what I knew. I canceled out the noise and prepared a dish the way I make it for my family. Pulling from all my experiences. Blending spices and seasonings I’ve come to appreciate and love throughout my life. I ended up winning that competition. It was the affirmation I needed to stick to my intuition about cooking from the heart. Never to be something other than what I know. And I’ve done that ever since, in my food blogs, the various other competitions and on my cooking demos or any small or big consulting job. It’s taken me to share my approach on TV, online and magazine articles.

I’ve also come to realize how easily this style of fusion cooking bring people of different backgrounds together. Simply through a passion for food. For example, a simple question about an unconventional spice or seasoning used could lead to a powerful conversation about different backgrounds and cultures. And ultimately this helps people become more familiar with others and recognize that although different in some way, how similar we all really are.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Dallas is such a beautiful community. It’s filled with diversity and history. I often take my visiting friends to get to see the arts by visiting the arts district, and the design district with all of its fantastic galleries. We visit the Arboretum and the George Bush library. For food and libations I love classic BBQ spots like Hard Eight and Pecan Lodge. Classic spots with that great Texas flair. I like to take my friends to small spots like Shiraz, Food from Galilee, or cafe Izmir for my favorite middle eastern flavors. I also like phenomenal Asian dishes offered from various restaurants such as Kirin court, Yao Fuzi and Sichuan Folk, Tei An, Namo, Oiishi and Mot Hai Ba are my go to. I also enjoy the great steak houses in Dallas which most visitors require. Nick and Sam’s, Al Biernat’s and Bob’s Chop house to name a few. Cocktails and good wine are a must and the best ones along with delicious food for me are always served at Georgie, The Charles and Gemma. I have so many more favorite spots but then the list could go on for days. I haven’t even began on Deep Ellum, Bishop Arts and elaborated on all the Lakewood spots. Dallas is anything but boring let’s just put it that way.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’ve been blessed to be surrounded with unshakable support and encouragement of family and friends in every step of my culinary journey. Knowing everyone wants to see me succeed certainly helps amplify every decision and direction I choose to take with more confidence. One of those supporters is my dear friend and mentor Atousa Ghoreichi. Atousa is a childhood friend and a fierce leader in her career serving in an executive role at her company. She has always set an example in her field by supporting and promoting the efforts of others especially the underrepresented. Outside of work she has also encouraged many friends including me to follow our passion. I have always respected her and her belief in me gave me that extra confidence I needed to fully embrace the journey and commit to my passion as a career.

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