Meet Zaida Nunez | Chef & Business Owner

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

Hi Zaida, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
Starting my own business came extremely natural to me. In 2020 during the pandemic lockdown I began to share all the meals I cooked at home on my personal Instagram page. I did it for fun and used it as a distraction from everything that was going on at the time. After a couple of months of me sharing all of my cooking I decided to create a separate account that would focus only on food. I grew up cooking and being Hispanic a lot of our culture revolves around food so this was very fun for me to share. My page quickly grew in followers and I got asked to sell my food. I decided to give it a shot because “why not?” and it was a total success. My hobby turned into a business that I am super passionate about and grateful for. I would have never guessed that me sharing a silly little picture of my cooking could turn into what is now known as ZaidasFood.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I think what I am most proud of when it comes to my business is how quickly it has grown and how many opportunities it has created for me. In the short almost 2 years of having my own business I have had my fair share of ups and downs. It has definitely not been an easy journey so far but one lesson I have learned along the way is that nothing about owning a business is going to be easy and success will not happen overnight. I have learned that staying consistent despite the results you might get at times is what is going to lead you to a point of success. Consistency plays a huge role.

One thing I would love for the world to know about my brand is how detail oriented it is. I try to focus on things that I know people enjoy. Whether that means details regarding the food I am cooking or details when it comes to the events that are put together. I want people to love my food and walk out every time with an enjoyable experience that will get talked about among others.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
My favorite things to do on my days off are attend sporting events or try new food places. I am a huge fan of both. I would probably check out any games taking place during their visit, attending UA sports is my favorite if we are talking local. Phoenix Suns or Mercury games if we are talking state wise. I look forward to basketball season every year. I am currently making it a mission to try out restaurants that I have not tried before, especially local, so crossing off a few of those restaurants on my list would be a part of the itinerary.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Everyone that supports me on a daily basis deserves recognition for ZaidasFood. My close friends and family have been extremely supportive during this journey and I am so thankful to have so many supporters on my page that not only constantly purchase food from me, but share all of my posts and attend the events I partake in and organize myself.

Instagram: @zaidasfood

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ZaidasFood-100349745503510/

Image Credits
Zaida Nunez (nunezzaida), Valeria Gomez (@gomezvc18) took the portrait style picture of me and Joseph Ochoa (_josephochoa) took the picture of the mini chimis.