See this and more inside the November issue of Military Spouse Magazine!
Nina Bryant, a Navy veteran turned celebrity chef, created She Makes Delicious, a premade meal subscription box service that ships nationwide.
Bryant’s culinary career as a chef in Jacksonville, Fla., came to an abrupt halt on New Year’s Eve when her water broke at six months pregnant. She went from spending eight to 10 hours a day standing to prepare meals for her six NFL clients to being on bed rest.
“I cried for two days because I thought this was the end of my business,” she says.
Being bedridden was the antithesis of life for Bryant, a multifaceted business owner. But her military experience makes transitioning easy.
“Many people are like, ‘Oh my God, my business failed,’ then they quit,” she says. “I almost did.”
Instead of quitting, she poured her energy into what she knew: food and entrepreneurship. Bryant critiqued her daily hospital meals and found them tasteless, unhealthy, and unappealing. Being in the maternity ward also caused her to reflect on how mothers are some of the most neglected people. Bryant wanted to create a way to cater to moms and also decipher how to continue her culinary passion without standing on her feet all day.
The intersection of these two ideas led her to create She Makes Delicious. Her company delivers premade, healthy, restaurant-quality meals right to consumers’ doorstep. Bryant’s client base consists of a variety of people, but she considers this a self-care food box for moms. She says, “Sometimes moms don’t want to be in that role of the superhero. You just want to be a woman and eat a good meal at a restaurant.” So, she brings the restaurant to them.
As the first black-owned subscription box service, Bryant is paving the way for more black chefs to understand the importance of pivoting and creating versatility in their business. Within 12 weeks of launching She Makes Delicious, Bryant reached over 200 homes, was featured in several media outlets, and created partnerships with the Boys and Girls Club and Wounded Warriors to teach virtual cooking classes.
For the holidays, Bryant created the Thankful Box, which serves up to four people. For families that don’t want to gather and risk the safety of their elderly loved ones due to the pandemic, they can still show love by sending them a high-quality meal. Visit: shemakesdelicious.com.