Julia LeRoy of Peachtree Battle on Life, Lessons & Legacy

We’re looking forward to introducing you to Julia LeRoy. Check out our conversation below.

Julia, a huge thanks to you for investing the time to share your wisdom with those who are seeking it. We think it’s so important for us to share stories with our neighbors, friends and community because knowledge multiples when we share with each other. Let’s jump in: Have any recent moments made you laugh or feel proud?
I’ve had several moments that have made me feel like all the hard work is paying off. One that stands out is teaching a class at Cook’s Warehouse recently after taking several years off of teaching. I thought I might be a little rusty, but I was sharper than before. I found it easy to tune in and connect with the students. I could tell that all the personal growth I’ve had in the last several years has made it easier for me to lean into being an extrovert. Focusing on making sure that the students felt supported in class came natural to me. It was a really nice reminder that if I keep putting in the work, it will pay off.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hi there, I’m Julia LeRoy. I’m the chef behind Everyday Alchemy, a recipe website I created to share my favorite seasonal, show-stopping recipes. My goal is to help readers feel nourished—not just by the food itself, but by the experience of cooking and gathering around it.

I am a Culinary Institute of America graduate and I worked in Atlanta’s top fine-dining restaurants in Atlanta before becoming an educator, personal chef and sustainable and equitable food systems advocate. I currently serve as Board Co-Chair for Slow Food Atlanta, a local chapter of an international organization dedicated to good, clean and fair food for all.

What makes EverydayAlchemy.com unique is the way it blends mindful eating with practical inspiration. Each recipe is designed with sustainability in mind and includes seasonal indicators so you’ll always know the best time of year to prepare it. I also include dietary tags like gluten free, dairy free, nut free, vegetarian and more so that you can always find inspiration that fits your health and lifestyle needs.

I would love for you to check out EverydayAlchemy.com. Make sure while you’re there to subscribe to the newsletter so you can get a fresh, seasonal recipe delivered straight to your inbox every week.

Okay, so here’s a deep one: What’s a moment that really shaped how you see the world?
A moment that truly helped shape my view of the world was my first trip out of the country. I went to Guatemala for 2 weeks when I graduated from the Culinary Institute of America. That trip sparked more in me than just a love for street tamales sold in blanket-lined wicker baskets and travel.

One thing it did was flip my perception of beauty and wealth right on its head. This was the early 2000s, and I had grown up being told that if I didn’t look like the women on the magazine covers, that I would never be good enough. But the faces I saw in Guatemala stunned me. Beautiful, weathered faces greeted me in every town, lines on the faces of the elderly that told many stories. Those wrinkles encased bright, kind eyes that seemed to beam nothing but love and generosity of spirit. There was an undercurrent of undeniable beauty that would not be denied, regardless of my narrow American perception of beauty.

The women selling those delicious tamales on the street were often of very humble means, yet they were wrapped in colorful hand-woven blankets with lovely, joyful smiles. Sometimes they had their playful, happy children at their feet. They were living very simply, yet they were rich with a familial bond that I didn’t recognize.

It planted a seed in me of understanding what community looks like in a village, when all I had been exposed to was the nonchalant standoffishness of my suburban upbringing. It took me decades to really digest all the lessons I learned there. Now I find myself learning to embrace the stories told through the lines on my own face, while building my own village of kind-hearted souls.

What fear has held you back the most in your life?
Earlier in my career I was really afraid to look like I didn’t know what I was doing, especially professionally. It was really paralyzing, and my inaction caused me some major setbacks.

I think about this time in my life a lot when I interact with younger people. What I would say to them, and myself if I could go back in time— is that yes, of course everyone can tell that you don’t know what you’re doing. This is completely natural. Nobody does at your age. Some people get lucky and hit a home run, but that doesn’t always mean they know what they’re doing. Don’t be embarrassed. Ask questions, and be grateful to those who share their wisdom with you. You’re going to find out that you can’t do it all by yourself, so you’ll want to start building a community you can lean on and contribute to.

Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? What do you believe is true but cannot prove?
I believe that what we feed our spirit is just as important as what we feed our stomachs, especially when it comes to impacting our health.

I’ve experienced this firsthand. I was diagnosed with a condition that affects the thyroid called Graves’ disease in 2021. It was an unpredictable journey, but I was able to discontinue my medication with the help of my endocrinologist and my functional medicine doctor in 2024. I definitely addressed some underlying nutritional deficiencies in that process, but I also went through an intense period of personal and spiritual growth and experienced a massive paradigm shift in how I lived my daily life.

Stress is often the source of disease, and it’s important to look at all the sources of stress when addressing a health issue. It’s hard to do this on our own— we all have blind spots, so I’d encourage anyone struggling with their health to reach out to professionals and approach their treatment with the mind, body, spirit and stomach given equal consideration.

Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. Are you tap dancing to work? Have you been that level of excited at any point in your career? If so, please tell us about those days. 
Yes! I am so energized right now. I find myself working way too many hours in a day, but I don’t care because all the projects I’m working on are sustaining me and giving me life through these interesting times.

Sharing recipes, hearing from old friends that want to congratulate me on EverydayAlchemy.com and making tons of new contacts through all my outreach— it’s feeding my soul. They say a plane uses half its fuel on lift-off, and I feel that truth in my bones. I’m burning through fuel, but I’m really enjoying my view as my horizon keeps expanding.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://everydayalchemy.com
• Instagram: heyeverydayalchemy
• Linkedin: Julia LeRoy
• Facebook: heyeverydayalchemy
• Youtube: heyeverydayalchemy

Image Credits
food shots: Bailey Garrot