Today we’d like to introduce you to Brianna Sebasto.
Brianna, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I’m Chef Brianna Sebasto, founder of Brianna’s Nutrition Kitchen. My love for food started long before BNK. I grew up with old-school Italian roots, where food was truly an expression of love, and some of my earliest memories are in my grandfather’s garden. Being surrounded by fresh ingredients and seeing the care that went into growing, preparing, and sharing food had a lasting impact on me.
In 2016, I took that love for cooking and nutrition and turned it into Brianna’s Nutrition Kitchen. I saw how many busy professionals and families wanted to eat well but simply didn’t have the time to shop, plan, cook, and clean every day. I wanted to create a service that brought fresh, personalized, home-cooked food back into people’s homes while also giving them something incredibly valuable: more time.
What started as my own passion has grown into something much bigger than I ever could have imagined. Over the years, we’ve had the privilege of cooking for incredible families, professional athletes, celebrities, executives, and clients from so many different walks of life. In 2020, I also had the opportunity to compete on Food Network which was an experience I’ll never forget.
But when I think about how BNK got to where it is today, I can’t talk about it without talking about the team I built. I am incredibly grateful for the amazing chefs and team members who have believed in my vision and care for our clients as deeply as I do. Building a team of people I trust to represent something I’ve poured so much of myself into has been one of the most rewarding parts of this journey.
Today, I still remain very involved in BNK, from personally selecting and vetting our chefs to developing recipes, sourcing seasonal ingredients, and continually finding ways to improve our clients’ experience. Even as we’ve grown, I never want BNK to lose the personal touch and genuine care it was built on.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Definitely not, but I think the challenges have made me a much stronger business owner and have shaped BNK into what it is today.
When you start a business from the ground up, there really isn’t a roadmap. In the beginning, I was the chef, the scheduler, the shopper, the customer service department, and everything in between. As demand grew, one of my biggest challenges became figuring out how to grow without losing the quality and personal connection that made clients trust us in the first place.
Learning to build and trust a team was a huge part of that growth. Inviting a chef into someone’s home is incredibly personal, so culinary talent alone has never been enough for me. I needed people who were professional, trustworthy, warm, discreet, and who genuinely cared about the families they were serving. I’m incredibly proud of the team we have built and grateful for the people who have helped me maintain those standards as BNK has grown.
There have also been plenty of moments that pushed me personally. Competing on Food Network was definitely one of them. Cooking under pressure on national television was far outside my comfort zone, but it reminded me that some of the experiences that scare you the most can also help you grow the most.
Owning a business has taught me that there will always be challenges, and it can be quite the spiritual journey. I’ve learned to be adaptable, trust my instincts, learn from mistakes, and never lose sight of why I started.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Brianna’s Nutrition Kitchen?
Brianna’s Nutrition Kitchen is a premium in-home personal and private chef service serving Northern and Central New Jersey and New York City. We bring the entire personal chef experience directly into our clients’ homes, creating customized meals around their tastes, lifestyles, dietary needs, and goals.
We offer weekly and daily personal chef services, private dinners and events, and cooking lessons. Our chefs handle everything from personalized menu creation and grocery shopping to cooking, packaging, labeling, heating instructions, and kitchen cleanup. Our goal is for clients to open their refrigerator and have beautiful, fresh, personalized meals waiting for them without having to think about everything that went into making that happen.
What I believe truly sets BNK apart is the level of care behind the service. Food is extremely personal, and allowing someone into your home to cook for you and your family requires an enormous amount of trust. I personally select and thoroughly vet our chefs, and our team members are background checked, insured, and certified in food safety. Just as importantly, I look for genuinely good people who understand hospitality.
Customization is also at the heart of what we do. We regularly accommodate gluten free, dairy free, plant based, keto, paleo, low FODMAP, diabetes friendly, athlete and performance focused nutrition, and many other individualized needs. Beyond traditional meals, we can prepare breakfasts, lunches, snacks, fresh juices, bone broths, desserts, and even organic homemade dog food.
What I’m most proud of, though, isn’t a particular menu or service. It’s the reputation and relationships we’ve built over the years. Some clients have trusted us in their homes for years, and I never take that lightly. I’m also incredibly proud of my team. BNK would not be what it is today without the talented chefs and team members who show up every day and put genuine care into what they do.
At the end of the day, we’re not simply selling meals. We’re giving people back time, reducing stress in their homes, and taking care of something they have to think about every single day. It’s a privilege to be trusted with that.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I think entrepreneurship and risk naturally go hand in hand. Starting BNK in 2016 was probably the biggest risk I took because there was no guarantee that people would understand or value the type of highly personalized in-home chef service I envisioned. I also started with just $300 dollars in my bank account and self-funded the entire company.
I was taking something I genuinely loved and putting everything I had behind the belief that I could turn it into a sustainable business. Then, as BNK grew, I had to take another kind of risk: allowing other people to represent my name and my brand.
That was difficult for me because I care deeply about the experience every client receives. Learning to build a team, delegate, and trust other talented people was a huge step. Looking back, it was also one of the best things I could have done. I’m so grateful for the team we have today and for the people who have treated BNK as something worth caring about and protecting.
I don’t think risk has to mean being reckless. For me, it means being willing to be uncomfortable when I believe there is something meaningful on the other side. Some of the decisions that have scared me the most have ultimately led to the greatest growth, both personally and professionally.
Pricing:
- • Pricing is customized based on the service, frequency, number of people, menu requirements, and individual needs of each client.
- • We offer weekly and daily personal chef services, as well as private dinners, events, and additional customized offerings.
- • For current availability, pricing, and service information, we recommend visiting our website, filling out the contact form and scheduling a consultation with our team.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.briannasnutritionkitchen.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/briannasnutritionkitchen/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/briannasnutritionkitchen/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/briannas-nutrition-kitchen-budd-lake
