EP #43 From NYC to Fredericksburg: A Chef's Homecoming

Ever wondered what happens when culinary artistry meets hometown dedication? Chef Brittany Flint welcomes us into her world of elevated dining experiences through CBF Catering, a Fredericksburg-based private chef service that's redefining local food culture.

Starting in the heart of her childhood home's kitchen, Brittany's culinary passion led her across state lines to the prestigious French Culinary Institute in Manhattan. Despite initial nerves about leaving Spotsylvania for the big city, she found herself thriving. Her impressive career includes experience at Richard Gere's high-end Westchester County restaurant before bringing her expertise back to Virginia. Now, through CBF Catering, she delivers restaurant-quality experiences with a personal touch that large establishments simply can't match.

What truly sets Chef Flint apart is her approach to food as genuine artistry. Her catering service specializes in intimate gatherings of 100 guests or fewer, where her culinary creations become the centerpiece rather than getting "lost in the chaos" of larger events. Perhaps most innovative is her "Family Meal" prep service—inspired by the restaurant tradition of staff meals—offering busy Fredericksburg families the luxury of chef-prepared, locally-sourced meals delivered weekly. As Brittany puts it, it's "like having a personal chef, but just on a budget."

Between creating culinary masterpieces, you'll find Brittany in her garden—a passion she feels naturally complements cooking—or enjoying poolside time with her children. Her advice to aspiring entrepreneurs resonates beyond the kitchen: follow your intuition, embrace your passion, and resist the urge to compare your beginning to someone else's middle. Connect with Chef Brittany Flint on Instagram @ChefBFlint or explore her services at chefbrittanyflint.com to transform your next gathering or simplify your weeknight meals with truly exceptional food.

Brittany Flint

CBF Catering

chefbrittanyflint.com

[e-mail]

[phone]

Spotsylvania, VA · Fredericksburg, VA

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
This is the Fredericksburg Neighbors Podcast
, the place where localbusinesses and neighbors come
together.
Here's your host, Dori Stewart.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
Welcome back to another episode of the
Fredericksburg Neighbors Podcast, where we share the stories of
our favorite local brands.
I'm excited to introduce you tomy guest today.
Brittany Flint is with CBFCatering.
Brittany, welcome to thepodcast, Hi and thank you for
having me.
Well, I'm excited to get toknow you and learn about your

(00:35):
business.
So let's start there Share withus a little bit about your
business.

Speaker 3 (00:40):
So CBF Catering is so Brittany Flint.
It's a private chef cateringservice that specializes in full
service catering as well asmeal preparation, based here in
Fredericksburg Virginia.

Speaker 2 (00:54):
Awesome, awesome.
So tell me a little bit aboutyour background and your journey
.
How did you get into this?

Speaker 3 (01:02):
Of course.
Well, growing up I was alwaysreally interested in food.
The kitchen was kind of theheart of my home growing up my
childhood home and so it onlyjust felt right that I went to
culinary school.
After high school I was in art.
I was really interested in artduring those high school years.
But after working in therestaurant industry for a year

(01:25):
post high school I told my dadthat I actually really wanted to
go to culinary school and so wewent up and visited one French
Culinary Institute in Manhattanand I was just like in love.
When I started there I was verynervous you know, I'm from
Spotsylvania, virginia, going tothe big city and it just felt

(01:46):
so easy and effortless.
The people that I met there arelongtime friends since then.
So after culinary school I didwork at a very prestigious
restaurant owned by Richard Gerein Westchester County.
So I got a really goodfoundation in my culinary career
.
That really just kick-start,started my career from there on
out.

Speaker 2 (02:08):
That's amazing.
Fredericksburg is lucky to havesomeone with your experience
and your education right here inFredericksburg.
So congratulations, that'samazing.
I'm very impressed.

Speaker 3 (02:20):
Thank you, thank you.

Speaker 2 (02:22):
Awesome, so I was stalking your website a little
bit and first of all, listeners,go check out her social media.
Her food is just a work of art.
Beautiful, beautiful.

Speaker 3 (02:36):
Thank you, I mean it, it is, it's an art.
It's called culinary arts for areason and really took a lot of
pride in what we do.

Speaker 2 (02:52):
That's amazing.
That's amazing it will.
It definitely shows in in inhow beautiful your food is, and
so let me ask you this are thereany myths or misconceptions
that you're finding aboutwhether your business
specifically, or the industry?

Speaker 3 (03:08):
finding about, whether your business
specifically, or the industry.
Um, I would say that, um, interms of like the industry
itself, I feel like, um, thereis a common misconception in
terms of like make turning foodinto a commodity right, where,
especially if you're having aservice like this provided to
you, you can't really compare itto, you know, these big
corporations or what you get ata chain restaurant or

(03:29):
restaurants in general.
It's kind of an elevatedexperience that myself and my
team are providing, but not justthat.
Chefs are really talented.
A lot of hard work goes intojust creating a dish.
So I just feel like um be alittle bit more kind to your
local chefs and a little bitmore understanding.

Speaker 2 (03:51):
Yeah, yeah.
Well, thank you for that.
That's a great tip for everyoneto hear.
So clearly.
You're working very hard inyour business, so when you're
not working, what are you doingfor fun?

Speaker 3 (04:03):
So for fun, especially now, I'm by the pool
with my kids, I'm out in thegarden.
Gardening, I feel like, goeshand in hand with cooking.
I'm just a creator.
I love to work with my handsand my downtime you'll find me
outside in the garden, in theyard.

Speaker 2 (04:19):
I love that.
And so you went away and youcame back to Fredericksburg.
So what is it that you loveabout Fredericksburg?

Speaker 3 (04:27):
So it's my hometown.
I've seen it change a lot,especially downtown.
I would go there just forballet, you know practice and
then my dad would take me to Ithink it was Spirits still to
get like a cheeseburger andmilkshake and then we would go
to the antique shop.
You know, that was it.
So it's changed a lot.

(04:47):
It's a great place to raise afamily and it's ever changing.
It's ever evolving.

Speaker 2 (04:52):
that's what I love about fredericksburg yes, I
agree, we have the best ofeverything in fredericksburg,
you know, and we're even justeverything we have in
fredericksburg, but then alsowe're just a day trip away from
culture and the mountains andlakes, and it's just it's
perfect location yeah, yeah, Ilove that.

(05:16):
So let me ask you this I know itwas probably not easy starting
your own catering business, andthere's always bumps along the
road.
So what is some advice?
Either that you wish someonehad told you, or that you would
like to give anotherentrepreneur who is thinking
about starting their ownbusiness.

Speaker 3 (05:37):
So that I would say a few pieces of advice.
I would say to do it, go for it.
You'll have people that arelike, oh, that sounds weird, or
oh, don't do that.
Just just go with your gut, gowith your intuition.
If you're talented, if you'repassionate about something, you
have something to offer.
So also, don't get too caughtup in comparison.

(06:00):
Don't compare yourself tosomeone who's been doing it for
decades on their own.
You're going to stumble, you'regoing to fall, you're going to
learn along the way, but just doit, regardless of your hearing,
of your hearing.

Speaker 2 (06:21):
I love that you can get so caught up in the
comparison and man it can putyou down in the dumps.

Speaker 3 (06:23):
It really can.
I mean it's.
It's inspiring.
I would feel like to followsomeone or, you know, also hear
somebody else's story that isdoing what you aspire to do.
But it can also hinder you,especially if you're nitpicking
yourself.
That's, that is the hardestpart, yeah yeah, I get that.

Speaker 2 (06:41):
So tell me what is something that you wish the
business?
The listeners knew about yourbusiness.

Speaker 3 (06:48):
So I just hope that the listeners know from just
this interview that you aregoing to be getting an elevated
service from start to finish,whether it's from a consultation
, phone call, through email.
From the moment you inquire orare reaching out about meal prep
or an intimate event, you'regetting a higher level of

(07:10):
service.
And then, from start to finish,it's high end of old service.
And then from start to finish,it's high end.
It's high quality ingredients.
You're paying for not only myexperience but my team's
experience and expertise.
So it's just high level,quality, quality above and
beyond expectations.

Speaker 2 (07:30):
That's just what I hope people take away from this.
I love that and tell us what.
What is kind of your specialty?
Is it you know small events?
Is it you know bigger events,like weddings, or is it all?
What's kind of your?

Speaker 3 (07:43):
specialty.
So my specialty is, I would say, smaller events, like 100 and
below.
I feel like above 100 people,the food is it gets a little bit
lost in the chaos.
This way, 100 people and under,I can really focus and actually
challenge myself to do thingsthat people don't only do, you

(08:04):
know, in terms of parties orsated services.
All of that.
Smaller events are my specialty, for sure excellent and tell us
about your um.

Speaker 2 (08:15):
You said you have the meal prep.
Tell us about that.

Speaker 3 (08:17):
That's very interesting so meal prep um was
born with my husband and I.
We called it family meal, whichis a meal that we have both
prepared for kitchen staffbefore working in restaurants.
That's what you call staffmeals, family meal, because we
are with each other between 10to 12 hours a day.
We're a family, so we wanted toshare that with our community.

(08:40):
And it's just, you know, youpre-order your meals in advance,
you get it the next week.
It's very, I wouldn't say,unorthodox, but it is.
It's not like you order it andget it right away.
It takes time to locally sourcethe ingredients, cook cool and
then also deliver all of that.
So it's kind of like having apersonal chef, but just on a
budget.

Speaker 2 (09:01):
I love that.
Yeah that's a really specialexperience that we get here in
Fredericksburg, so thank you foroffering that.
That's really cool forespecially busy, busy families.
I love it.

Speaker 3 (09:12):
Yes, especially for that, that's why we started yeah
.

Speaker 2 (09:17):
I love it.
So if the listeners want tolearn more about you or connect
with you, where can they findyou?

Speaker 3 (09:24):
They can definitely find me on my Instagram page,
which is at chefbflint , as wellas through email, which is
chefbrittanyflint at gmail.
com.
But if you want to know alittle bit more about me, my
story, my background, you can goto my website at
chefbrittanyflint.
com.

Speaker 2 (09:43):
Amazing Brittany, thank you so much for joining me
and being my guest on thepodcast today.
Thank you so much for having me.

Speaker 1 (09:52):
Thank you for listening to the Fredericksburg
Neighbors Podcast.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on
the show, go tofxbgneighborspodcast.
com.
That's fxbgneighborspodcast.
com, or call 540-534-4618.