JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Tiffany, the ‘80s pop star known for her cover of the song “I Think We’re Alone Now,” is finding new ways to connect with her fans during the coronavirus pandemic.
Ahead of an event Sunday night at Hamburger Mary’s Jacksonville, Tiffany Darwish sat down with News4Jax to talk about her newest endeavors.
“I had a tour coming on, new album coming on for last year, and I worked four years to make that happen, to be at the right spot to show people I could sing, that I am rocking new music, all of it, so it has been a journey for me,” she said. “We were high-fiving one-minute, and then literally the world stopped, so the first couple of months I didn’t want to show how stressed out I was.”
Like so many, Tiffany was faced with a challenge in 2020.
“I didn’t know what to do. I’ve been a touring artist for four years straight. That’s my income,” she said. “I thought ‘What can I do to keep things rolling, to keep my fans engaged, to be making new fans, to come full circle back to music?’ And I thought, ‘There’s nothing really I want to do as much time as I put into music other than cooking.’”
So the singer turned foodie whipped up “Let’s Food with Tiffany,” a cooking club.
“I am foodie, and I love my time in the kitchen,” Tiffany said. “Unbeknownst to me, it started about three years ago, I would cook and talk to my fans at meet and greets, and somehow they got onto about recipes and I threw a receipt out there to someone -- my Lebanese chicken, my Lebanese cinnamon chicken, actually, a family recipe I changed a little bit for me. It started to take on its own life.”
Tiffany explained how her family was supportive of her cooking when she was younger.
“This wonderful influence of different cultures and different tastes and herbs, and my grandmother would basically say you can use the kitchen, but you just have to clean it, so I was always in there infusing things and learning different things,” she said. “I loved that they encouraged me to cook and be creative, and, of course, they encouraged me to sing.”
Tiffany said the kitchen is where she continues to connect with her fans.
“I’m like a little kid right now. I love it. I love that when I meet fans on Zooma, we talk about music for five minutes and then we talk about food the rest of the time,” Tiffany said. “It’s a great new experience with us.”
In the meantime, Tiffany is hoping to release a new album, “Shadows,” soon.
“Right now, we are saying June. Cross your fingers that we’ll be able to tour. It is very hard to release an album and not have that live element that goes with it. They really do go hand in hand,” she said. “I am cleared for June so far.”
But Tiffany said her biggest accomplishment isn’t singing or cooking.
“The biggest accomplishment is my son, being a mom,” she said. “That is the best thing I have ever done in my life.”
And she said that love is her inspiration -- whether it’s on stage or in the kitchen.
In addition to Sunday’s event at 7 p.m., the foodie singer, songwriter, actress and former teen icon will also have events at Hamburger Mary’s Jacksonville with the Foodie Group at 7 p.m. on Feb. 7 and Feb. 11.
You can find out more information about how to connect with Tiffany below: