Today we’d like to introduce you to Sharnay Spight.
Sharnay, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Well, I’ve been cooking since about 13. Growing up whenever I’d visit my Great Aunt Peggy, she’d always have a fresh cake from scratch or something to eat, so I was always around food. What truly got me, was when I first saw the food network & Emeril that’s when I knew I wanted to be a Chef. I started working in the industry at 16 doing a few fast food cashier jobs then I got my first cook/prep job at 18. I attended El Centro in Dallas where I studied culinary & hospitality management. Everything was going good until my second semester. My grandmother passed away in August 2010 & it basically started a seven-year downward spiral for me. I stayed in trouble, I dropped out for a while, I even stopped cooking professionally for roughly two years.
In November 2017, I got into some major trouble. I reckon that was my wakeup call because I started Meals by Nay January 1st, 2018. I was only offering meal prep & catering for the first 5 or 6 months. I printed up 500 business cards & gave them to everybody. I’d do cooking demos on snapchat & give food to my friends so they’d post it on Instagram. It was very slow going starting off, somewhat discouraging, but I knew after everything I’d been through that it’d work out. I’ve always wanted to be Oprah’s private chef, but since I couldn’t get O, I decided to try rappers. Dallas is a major stop for many rap shows, and if the artist is on the bus most of the time they’re probably not getting a fresh home-cooked meal so that was my main target. So I started marketing to booking agents and concert promoters offering band riders.
The power of social media is the tool that help me take my brand to the next level. For about four months straight I would DM every artist coming to Dallas and their entourage. I would also give all of my friends with connections free food to tell someone about my food. Late 2018 the DMs & free food paid off. I was able to cook for rappers Sauce Walka & Lil Ronny MF. That sort of propelled my career and brand as a chef to the stars. I was able to connect with several artists, & work alongside my chef idols (TrapKitchen) at SXSW 2019 with cosigns from my amazing friends and my persistence on IG. As of today I’ve cooked for over 25 artists & catered three concerts.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Not at all. As with any startup, money was a major struggle. As I said before I gave away a lot of food starting off. So it was a while before I saw my first actual profit. Other than money, finding my target clientele was a huge hurdle. My dream has always been to be a private chef to the stars, but figuring out how to get their attention to even be able market to them was a frustrating process. Another struggle was figuring out how to set my prices so that they were affordable but yet profiting as well. The struggle with that was figuring out how to justify that price to people that had never had my food or even heard of me. This pushed me to take a costing class so that I could learn to properly markup my food so that I would eventually see a profit.
Please tell us more about your work. What do you do? What do you specialize in? What sets you apart from competition?
I am a personal chef. I offer private plated dinners, small catering services, band riders, and meal prep. I specialize in cooking for musicians & athletes. I’m known for cooking for some of the most popular rappers & producers currently in the industry. My biggest accomplishment is cooking with Chefs Spank & News of TrapKitchen (LA). What sets me apart from other people is that I’ll do whatever I can to make a job happen. I’ve had clients call at 2 a.m. for a full meal for five. If I can make it happen I will. This is my passion.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
My mother deserves so much credit. All the late nights spent making noise in her kitchen & the house almost catching fire when I was first starting out she never lost the faith. She has played every role I can think of with Meals by Nay. She’s been a delivery driver, shopper, taste tester, assistant, dishwasher, etc. seriously without her in my corner I might’ve given up a long time ago.
My amazing friends Budd, Lexie & Jas have played a huge role as well. They’ve kept me humble, given me advice, let me cook in their homes, helped me develop menus & logos, & connected me with new clients.
Contact Info:
- Phone: 9728631831
- Email: mealsbynay@gmail.com
- Instagram: Instagram.com/mealsbynay
- Facebook: Facebook.com/mealsbynay
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