BREAKING NEWS: Inside the Life of a Private Chef for High-Profile NBA Player: $11K Grocery Trips and ‘Challenging’ Moments. giang

• Stephany Victoria began her career as a private chef in early 2019, though her passion for cooking started much earlier in life
• In October 2023, through an agency, Victoria connected with an NBA player in Miami who was looking for an in-house private chef — a job she had never tried before
• In addition to developing menus, meal prepping and cooking, Victoria is also responsible for grocery shopping
• Since starting her job with the client one year ago, Victoria has continued to create content from her work on her TikTok and Instagram accounts, where she’s amassed more than 676,000 and 444,000 followers, respectively

Stephany Victoria wakes up every day at 8 a.m. Before starting her job as a private chef, she spends her mornings focusing on herself: going to the gym, showering, making breakfast and catching up on personal errands.

Originally from Queens, New York, Victoria began her career as a private chef in early 2019, though her passion for cooking started much earlier in life. She tells PEOPLE while she always wanted to attend culinary school, she was already studying physical therapy as a teen, and pursuing formal culinary training didn’t seem like the right move at the time.

Instead, Victoria, who goes by @stephanyvicx on social media, taught herself to cook, learning from Food Network shows and by watching her grandmother and mother prepare traditional Dominican family recipes. “I just followed a lot of recipes online and would also experiment,” she says.

Eventually, Victoria, who’s also a certified yoga instructor, began posting her food creations on social media, and a few people reached out asking if she could do meal prep for them. This led her to her first client, a fashion influencer, for whom she began preparing and delivering meals.

Then, in October 2023, through an agency, Victoria connected with an NBA player in Miami who was looking for an in-house private chef — something she had never done before. (She cannot reveal the identity of the player.)

“I did a two-week trial and they loved my food,” says Victoria, who moved to Florida for the job. “After the trial, they decided to keep me, but they wanted to hire me privately. They didn’t want me to stay with the [agency], which I felt bad about. But I said yes, and now I exclusively cook for the client under my own business.”

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“Going into this job, I was nervous because my client is pretty high-profile, and I didn’t know what to expect. I thought they might not be as friendly,” she adds. “But they’re actually very friendly and super cool. I truly enjoy working for them. It’s been a really great experience.”

During her first month on the job, Victoria happened to overcook a Thai-inspired dish, crying tiger steak. But “that was the only time something like that happened,” she shares, adding, “they were very nice about it. They were like, ‘The flavors were great. We just prefer our steak a little bit less cooked.’ And I was like, ‘Okay, noted.’ “

The night before a typical workday, Victoria spends time developing a menu. What she loves most about her clients is that they allow her full creative freedom, which she describes as a “chef’s dream.” Though naturally, she makes sure to avoid any ingredients her client is allergic to or doesn’t like.

Victoria doesn’t prepare breakfast for her client and their family — they prefer to keep it simple with eggs and fruit. Instead, when she arrives at their house, she focuses on meal prepping lunch, which often consists of protein, salad and some vegetables. She always makes sure to have homemade salad dressings in the fridge, too.

“The meals are very healthy, nutrient-dense, and delicious,” she says. “I cook with a holistic approach, using high-quality ingredients that are not only good for the body but also visually appealing.”

After meal prepping lunch, Victoria spends the rest of her time focusing on cooking fresh dinners, which she says can sometimes be the most challenging part of her day.

“I have to make sure that after meal prepping lunch, I have enough time to execute dinner,” she says. “I always like to make an appetizer, a main dish, and then some nights I’ll make dessert. So I just have to make sure everything’s ready on time. They like to eat their dinner around 6:15 or 6:30 p.m., so I have to make sure everything is ready by that time. I don’t like to have them wait.”

“Whenever it’s game night here in the hometown, those nights they’ll have dinner very late, around 11:30 p.m. or 12 a.m., when he gets back from his game,” she adds. “So I have to be there with dinner ready on those nights for him and his wife, who usually goes to the game.”

“I try to keep those meals on the lighter side since it is so late at night,” she adds. “So I just make sure it’s high in protein, lots of vegetables, and I try to keep it pretty low-carb just so it’s easier on the stomach.”

Her schedule varies depending on whether her client is in town or away for a game. When she does go to the grocery store, she says she typically spends anywhere from $300 to $500 each time, depending on the amount of food needed. On the days she works, which averages about 18 to 22 days a month, she goes to the store regularly.

“I know it sounds like a lot, but I’m not only feeding one person,” she says. “It’s my client, his wife, and sometimes they have guests over for dinner — friends, family or business partners. So, I cook for them as well.”

She adds that while the client’s kitchen is stocked with brand-new, top-of-the-line appliances, if there’s ever something missing that she needs, she’ll ask her client’s assistant, and they’ll get it for her.

“That’s the beauty about working with this client,” she says. “With other clients, I would tell them what I needed, but I wouldn’t ask for too many things because it can get really expensive.”

Since starting her job, Victoria has continued to create content from her work on her TikTok and Instagram accounts, where she’s amassed more than 676,000 and 444,000 followers, respectively.

Victoria adds that before sharing any content, she asked her clients for permission; they’re fine with it as long as she isn’t showing them on camera.

“Reading through the comments, as of recently, I’ve been getting a lot of good feedback and support, which I love,” she says. “It really pushes me to keep creating content. There are times when I get some negative comments, and it’s not the best feeling, but I try not to focus on the negative ones and just focus on the positive.”

On her days off, Victoria tries to meal prep a little bit for herself, too. If she doesn’t have time to do that, she’ll quickly throw together something simple while at her client’s house. “I take a little break for myself to eat,” she says. “I’ll just throw a steak on the grill, maybe some veggies, or bake a salmon with some veggies and just quickly eat that for dinner.”

“I also like to relax,” she adds. “I love what I do, but it it’s a lot of work and can become a bit exhausting. So it’s great to just be able to stay home, unwind. I still make sure to go to the gym. I also practice yoga, which helps a lot. I also recently have been enjoying getting IV drips for my health. So a lot of self-care and just taking care of things around the house, like cleaning and making sure everything’s in order.”