I had the pleasure of interviewing Bryn Butolph, CEO and co-owner of Eat Clean Meal Prep. Being the largest locally owned meal prep organization serving San Diego County, Eat Clean Meal Prep is on a mission to better the lives of their community through providing real, minimally processed food.

1. Thank you so much for doing this with us! What inspired you to become a chef (or restauranteur)?

I was busy working full time and finding myself eating out at restaurants often, as do most restaurant industry professionals. What was frustrating to me was that when I decided I wanted to eat healthier and save time, there weren’t any companies that offered what I was looking for. Sure there were meal delivery companies (this was right before Blue Apron became a household name), however they were not cooking like I cooked at home: no processed ingredients & farmers market produced focused. So one day I decided that if no one else could do it, that I would build a company to share my vision with our community. A couple years later, honestly never really dreamed of how awesome this ride has been.

2. What has your journey been like since first stepping foot in a kitchen?

Interesting, very interesting. It’s one thing to be in the industry, my first job was as a dishwasher and I’ve worked every position there is. The first day I stepped foot in the kitchen with my chef hat on, boy was that an eye opening experience. I quickly realized that all of the experience so far had led to this really cool point of me being in control of it all…building a company from scratch with my partner (now fiance). So we had a blast, it was hard work and we loved every second of that first year. We just had no idea how quickly it would grow into a beast, resulting in a great opportunity for my fiance to quit his long time job and go full time managing our company. We’ve grown since and we’re having a blast. Crazy to think that little ol “Eat Clean Team” is now constantly approached for advice on how to build up a company like we’ve done. We keep pinching ourselves, while also remaining humble and staying true to who we are.

3. Do you have a specialty? If so, what drew you to that type of food?

Truth be told, we are only a Gluten Free company because our very first customer had allergy notes on her order to the effect of : “will die if I eat gluten”. So there we are, bursting with excitement because we got our first order…then the terror set in: this lady could die if we slip up. So from day one we put a lot of energy into researching Gluten Intolerance…realizing that GLUTEN IS EVERYWHERE! Ever since, we have maintained ourselves as a Gluten Free kitchen, also focusing on fresh and simple. That’s our specialty — not over thinking it and just putting a lot of love into the meals we make.