Meet Natasha Wong | Personal Chef

We had the good fortune of connecting with Natasha Wong and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Natasha, have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
I believe in any career you must have balance for your piece of mind – a little ying to your yang.

As a private chef, the needs of my clients almost always come before my own. I have worked in restaurants, food trucks, private homes and everything in between. The recurring theme for my career has been to love what you do, how you do it and where you do it!

Let’s talk self-care, number one, as chefs we don’t eat as well as you think we could. We eat standing up, in our cars, way too fast or not at all… After a long day of prepping and cooking sometimes the last thing I want to see is food.

In fact, its not uncommon for me to eat a bowl of cereal or a peanut butter and jelly sandwich at the end of a long day. Ask your chef friends what they eat – in ain’t good.

After being in this industry for so many years I have found ways to balance my work/life. It’s not always an equal balance but you have to take time for yourself. Our bodies take a beating on a daily basis. I can’t say it enough, vacations, massages, pampering of all types are CRITICAL. Identify time for you and stick to it, this will help your creative flow for whatever industry you may be in. Eat, pray, love with those you care about. There’s never enough time to for you, so infuse as much of you into everything you do.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am a personal chef, some people say private chef. Majority of my clients are athletes. Most of my exposure and experience comes from working closely with Chef Richard Ingraham who co-owns a company, Chef RLI, that hires chefs for events and private clients. Probably the hardest part of my job is moving and traveling with my current client. He plays for the NFL so I live/work with him full time during the season in whatever city he plays for.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I am originally from St Thomas, USVI but I have been here since I was 5yrs old. So needless to say I have seen Miami evolve over the years. Most people will automatically say South Beach but South Beach isn’t the same. Wynwood and the Design District have a lot of cool restaurants and shops. One of my favorite in Wynwood has to be House of Mac owned by very good friends of mine, Derek Turnton and Reggie Noralus. And even though I worked with them in the very beginning, I am not biased. It’s really good Mac!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Ieshia Haynie Executive Director of the Overtown Optimist Club

Instagram: @chefnwong

Image Credits
Life Lewis