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

Hi Christopher, how did you come up with the idea for your business?
I reached my highest weight (350lbs) back in 2017. I wanted to radically transform my health and decided to completely change my diet. I started a keto lifestyle and lost 125lbs.

I documented my food and progress as a way to keep myself accountable on Instagram and had a few people reach out to ask if I would ever consider offering meal prep.

I decided to give it a shot and a spot opened up at my local farmer’s market at the same time. This allowed me to combine my love for supporting local farmers, and share my passion for healthy food with a wider audience.

I teamed up with my friends who share a similar passion and we decided to try and build our business together.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Phoenix Cooking is meal prep business that focus on low-carb, gluten-free, and locally sourced ingredients.

What makes us unique is that we have a passion for sourcing as many ingredients as possible from local North Carolina farmers. We have a shop at the Charlotte Regional Farmers Market that has allowed us to to be a part of a great community.

This has been an extremely challenging, but rewarding journey and I have learned so many lessons through this journey so far.

The Phoenix brand symbolizes new beginnings and being able to rise above life’s challenges. We have been able to take our good and bad life experiences and use those to grow and fuel our passion.

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.
I may be biased, but I would take them to the Charlotte Regional Farmers Market first. We would stop by my booth for some delicious biscuits and gravy, and then to my next door Neighbor, Will, for some delicious 3V Cafe Coffee. We would then browse the many small businesses located within the market to buy meat, eggs, produce, skin care products, etc.

I would then take them on a tour of Charlotte’s many amazing bbq restaurants.

We would take a walk through Uptown, South End, and Camp North End to check out all of the unique restaurants and shops.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I want to give a huge shoutout to my friend Corey Graham. He is the Co-Founder of M.A.D.E to Lead.

I had to overcome doubts and my inner “saboteur” in the very beginning and Corey coached me through the process. He helped me realize that I had resources and had the ability to make my dreams of owning a business a reality.

I have also had a tremendous amount of support from my wife, parents and family as we have navigated this journey.

Website: https://www.phxcooking.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/phoenix_cooking/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100091000792461

Image Credits
Sayma Waleh Photography

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutNorthCarolina is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.