The Food Issue Featuring Tabitha Brown

13.02.2024 - 16:05 / bhg.com

It all may have started just a few years ago with a viral video of a vegan BLT sandwich. But in record time, this multitalented creative force has redefined her life while finding her true self (and great success) in the process.

Andrew Eccles

Tabitha Brown has many descriptors. She’s an actress, author (of four books), Emmy-winning host of her children’s series Tab Time, a vegan chef, and self-help social media personality. She’s the cofounder of Donna’s Recipe, a hair-care line sold at Ulta Beauty and Target (Donna is her nickname for her hair, whom she chats with quite a bit on Instagram). And she has created a line of seasonings for McCormick as well as a selection of vegan food and home products for Target. What unites everything that Tabitha does? A straightforward, heartfelt, and nonjudgmental approach based on encouraging people, whether they be friends, family, or strangers on social media. Tabitha has a smile and demeanor that light up any room—or screen—she enters. I recently talked with her about how her life story, though it may appear to have many parts heading in many directions, ends up leading toward her goal of creative freedom while helping others.

Finding a new sandwich and expressing her love of it online set in motion life-changing events.

Yes, it basically started with that sandwich and an Uber. That was my first video that ever went viral. I was already doing Facebook videos with me cooking for friends and family. In December 2017, I was driving an Uber and dropped somebody off, so I went to Whole Foods and got me a little breakfast. I had never heard of vegan bacon at the time, so I ordered the TTLA [tempeh bacon, tomato, lettuce, avocado] sandwich. In my excitement of eating the sandwich, I