by Kelly J. Larson

NEW YORK — Food stylist, content creator and food blogger Tara Bench has been passionate about food since she was a child at her mother’s side in the kitchen. Bench, former food editor for Ladies Home Journal who got her first big break interning for Martha Stewart Living Magazine, is now the face and talent behind the Tara Teaspoon brand. Her unique journey into the industry has been the result of hard work, ambition and determination.

Tara Bench assists Martha Stewart on the set of the iconic television show in 2001. (Photo/Courtesy of Tara Teaspoon)

Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, Bench was the second of three children, and the only girl. Her parents and grandparents moved the family to Saudi Arabia for two years when she was about 4 years old. They traveled the world, although she has almost no recollection of that time, but photos give evidence that it happened.

Siblings Tara and Landon Bench explore Hofuf, Saudi Arabia, in 1981 with their aunt, Kathy Rasmussen, among Arab locals. (Photo/Courtesy of Tara Bench)

After high school graduation in Mesa, Arizona, Bench knew she wanted to make a career in something food related and spent two years in the food science program at Brigham Young University. “It was more like chemistry and science so I ended up at Utah State in their culinary arts and nutrition program,” Bench said.

Sophomore Tara Bench enjoys college life with roommates Cheryl Avery and Melissa Castle during the 1997-1998 school year at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. (Photo/Courtesy of Tara Bench)

While many of her peers pursued working in restaurants or catering, Bench had not quite figured out what she wanted with her degree — just that food service wasn’t her goal.

“I asked my professors if they knew who made all the food in the food magazines like Food & Wine and Bon Appétit, and they didn’t know,” Bench said. “This was a long time ago and nobody really had a concept of food publishing, test kitchens and food stylists.”

Eventually a professor handed Bench a page torn out of a trade magazine that had described the ideal job — cooking and styling food. “I ended up doing a little research for my internship, calling every magazine in the country, asking for their test kitchen director,” Bench said.

Only one magazine was willing to give her a chance. Susan Sugarman, director from the Martha Stewart test kitchen, invited Bench to New York for an interview and to cook for them. Sugarman told Bench, “Well, you’re not very good at this, but you’re a nice person,” Bench recalled.

Tara Bench worked inside the Martha Stewart test kitchen where she developed and tested recipes between 1999 and 2006. (Photo/Courtesy of Tara Teaspoon)

Bench assured Sugarman that she is a fast learner and was offered an internship in the test kitchen with the food editors a few days later. “It was everything I had wanted to see and know and do. It was also the hardest thing I have ever done, and scary and overwhelming,” Bench said.

“They ended up hiring me after the internship,” Bench added.

Early influences

“I loved cooking from a young age. Both my grandmothers were excellent cooks and my mom as well. My mom had taught home-ec back in the day. She was not only great at cooking, but was an excellent teacher and very patient and let me climb up on the cupboard and cook, and put my finger in things from a very young age,” she said.

“My happiest memories were always around family dinners and watching my grandmothers cook and being in the kitchen with my mom. That was my life and that was my influence. And when it came time to figure out what I wanted to do with my life, that played a very big part,” Bench explained.

Building confidence

From experimenting with cooking in her childhood, using her mom’s leftover cake batter and baking mini biscuits in her Easy Bake Oven, Bench would later be assisting on the set of the Martha Stewart television show on occasion.

“Before the company went public, basically everyone at the magazine was her personal staff. She (Martha Stewart) would have us food editors go up to her house in Maine and Connecticut and basically cater dinner for her on the weekend. Everyone who worked at Martha Stewart — from the craft department, the design department, the garden department — they were all at the top of their game, the best in the industry at that time,” Bench continued. “There was so much learning and were so many great experiences.”

Bench spent six years working at Martha Stewart. “I do feel confident in what I do,” she said. “I was essentially creating and publishing recipes that would influence the entire country and how they cooked and what they they thought was trendy — because that’s where people looked for their food trends.

“Food Network was around, but it was a cable station. There were other food magazines, but Martha Stewart was so successful,” Bench said. Introspectively acknowledging how the experience had affected her, she added, “I was the one telling others how to cook their turkey and what new ingredients to use.”

When Bench became the food director at Ladies Home Journal, her confidence and professional experience continued to grow. “I was responsible for influencing millions and millions of readers on how they shopped, what they cooked in the kitchen, what food they shared with people and how they entertained. I had to become the expert and the influencer. I know how to create food that people want to cook in their kitchens. I know how to accentuate trends — that’s just what I have done professionally for so long,” she said.

Tara Teaspoon Inc.

Bench recalled a time when food bloggers started to gain in popularity and as an editor, was asked to work with them in magazines. “I kept saying, ‘I would never be a food blogger. That is something I don’t think I would ever want to do.’ And lo and behold, a few years later, the magazine shut down. I decided to freelance and not look for another publishing job,” Bench said.

Plaid frosting atop a sugar cookie bar is one of many favorites on the taratsp. blog. (Photo/Courtesy of Tara Teaspoon)

Bench was  doing a lot of food styling for companies and brands and books, and also creating recipes for different brands. She realized that she still wanted to share her cooking and her recipes with more people and created a website called tarabench.com, and later transitioned into the tarateaspoon.com website.

“After about a year of publishing recipes and trying to figure out all the web stuff, I would always call it the recipe website, and finally my friend said, ‘Tara, you’re a recipe blogger. You’re a food blogger.’ I had to eat my words,” Bench laughed. “I love it now. It’s a great community to be a part of.”

The clever name comes from a past roommate who told the 5 foot 2 inch Bench that she would call her “Tara Teaspoon” since she’s not quite tall enough to be a tablespoon. Many who heard it were drawn to “Tara Teaspoon” among an extensive list of possibilities to be considered for her brand and ultimately “tara tsp.” was singled out as the favorite.

Due to confusion with the abbreviated spelling, Bench plans to redo her logo in the future to include the full spelling of Tara Teaspoon as she continues to share how to “live your life deliciously” with her brand in various outlets including television appearances and social media.