We recently had the chance to connect with Holly Hearn and have shared our conversation below.
Holly , 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?
After the Fourth of July floods in the Texas Hill Country, my team and I jumped into action to provide meals for first responders—and it became one of the most meaningful moments of my career. We prepped and vacuum-sealed 168 breakfast sandwiches, 128 pounds of carnitas, 40 pounds of refried beans, 37 pounds of Spanish rice, over 300 pounds of chicken tinga rice, and more than 600 dessert bars—chocolate chip cookie and key lime pie.
The most incredible part? It was made possible by the generosity of total strangers on Instagram and Facebook who donated to support the effort. That kind of grassroots response reminded me why I do what I do. Watching my team pull this off—pivoting quickly, staying organized, and pouring their hearts into the work—made me deeply proud. It was one of those moments where the exhaustion, chaos, and urgency suddenly crystallize into something beautiful, and you realize just how powerful food can be in a time of need.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Holly Hearn, and I’m the founder of Game Girl Gourmet—a brand that sits at the intersection of wild food, outdoor adventure, and hospitality. I’m a traveling private chef who specializes in wild game and wild-caught fish, often working on high-end hunting ranches and sportfishing yachts across the Gulf Coast, Alaska, New Zealand, and beyond. I also offer engineered offshore meal prep services for fishing tournaments—each dish vacuum-sealed, labeled, and ready to fuel long days on the water.
Beyond the kitchen, I’m a food writer, recipe developer, and educator. I write for publications like American Hunter, In the Bite, Lady Outdoor Lifestyle, and more—always weaving together culinary storytelling, conservation, and personal hunting and fishing experiences. I also teach butchering classes, wild game cooking workshops, and recently launched an online course on hospitality for lodges and outdoor operations.
Whether I’m on a boat, in a blind, or behind a burner, I believe food should tell a story—and for me, that story is rooted in the land, the water, and the people who make a life outdoors. Right now, I’m working on several projects I’m really excited about, including two digital cookbooks and expanding my tournament meal prep program to new markets. No matter the setting, the goal is always the same: to make wild food approachable, exciting, and worth sharing.
Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. Who taught you the most about work?
The people who taught me the most about work are definitely my parents. Both of them are incredibly hardworking—honestly, some might even call them workaholics. Watching them shaped my own work ethic, but it also challenged me to learn how to find better balance in my own life.
My mom, in particular, made a big impact. Her job took us all over the world, and no matter where we were, I can remember her with her laptop open, focused and disciplined. She’s someone who pushes through even the most emotionally difficult situations with grit. She has this incredible ability to pull herself together and get things done—no excuses, no shortcuts. That resilience stuck with me, and it’s something I try to carry with me in every part of my career.
What fear has held you back the most in your life?
The fear that’s held me back the most is the fear of doing things wrong. I’m part of the first generation that grew up in the age of social media, where everything is documented, archived, and open for public scrutiny. That created a deep need in me to get things just right—to make decisions in a way that couldn’t be picked apart or criticized.
I also grew up in an environment where mistakes weren’t treated kindly, which led to a lot of hesitation and analysis paralysis. I thought if I could engineer every detail perfectly, I could avoid judgment altogether. But since launching Game Girl Gourmet, I’ve learned that criticism can be one of the most beautiful gifts we receive. When I went on Chopped, one of the most impactful moments wasn’t the spotlight—it was the professional feedback from the judges. None of it was mean-spirited, but all of it pushed me to grow.
I’ve come to believe that we actually learn more from doing things the wrong way than the right way. Mistakes give us the clarity to course-correct and improve—and that kind of learning sticks with you. It’s uncomfortable at first, but it’s where the growth really happens.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. Is the public version of you the real you?
Yes—but it’s the real me with a little more polish. What you see on social media or in interviews is absolutely rooted in who I am: my love for wild food, my passion for the outdoors, my entrepreneurial drive, and my deep commitment to sharing that with others. But I’m also human. I have days when I feel completely burnt out, when I’m questioning my next step, or when the weight of everything I’m managing feels overwhelming.
One of the best compliments I’ve ever received was while working on set for a TV show last year that focused on getting teenagers involved in the outdoors. A producer pulled the host aside and said, “Whatever you do, when this comes back, you have to bring Holly back—because she is exactly the same off camera as she is on camera.” That moment meant everything to me, because I strive to show up with the same heart and energy whether I’m behind a camera or sitting across from someone having a glass of wine on a Friday night.
Lately, I’ve been trying to be more open about the harder parts of entrepreneurship—not just the highlight reel. Yes, there are amazing moments, but there are also days when I’m tired, uncertain, or just plain worn down. I try to share that side of the journey when it’s needed, because I know how important it is to see people being real—not just perfect.
I think as someone whose work is so visible—especially in the age of content and curation—it’s easy to fall into the trap of only showing the wins. But I try to be intentional about letting people in on the behind-the-scenes too: the late nights, the heavy lifting, the pivots that didn’t go as planned. I never want to be performative. I want to be aspirational but grounded, creative but real.
Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
I hope people say that I lived with passion and purpose—that I poured myself into the things I believed in, and that I used whatever gifts I had to serve others. I hope they say I wasn’t afraid to take risks or to do things differently, and that I never let the fear of failure keep me from chasing something meaningful.
More than anything, I hope they remember that I made people feel seen, welcomed, and inspired. That I didn’t just cook for people—I fed them in deeper ways, whether through a shared meal, a story, or a moment of connection outdoors. I hope people say I showed up with integrity, stayed grounded in my faith, and left behind more than just recipes—I left behind impact.
And if they say I made them laugh or helped them feel a little braver in their own journey, then I think I did something right.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.gamegirlgourmet.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gamegirlgourmet/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Gamegirlgourmet/
Image Credits
Lindsay Hughes Photography
