Chef Sharonda Harris-Bunton

Born in Vineland and now living in Pittsgrove Township, Salem County, with her husband and two daughters, Harris-Bunton is a self-taught chef who was always interested in food and nutrition. As a little girl, she loved sitting in the kitchen and watching her mother and father create savory comfort food. “I was always curious about knowing how to cook and being able to cook,” she recalls. “I thought, God forbid, if I ever had to do this I want to make sure my parents enjoy it.” 

After graduating from Vineland High School, she graduated from Fairleigh Dickinson University and worked in the mental health field, then as a corrections officer, and as a personal trainer, catering to women. She even got the acting bug and can be seen in the movie “The Upside" starring Kevin Costner, and Kevin Hart.

But her passion for health and fitness led her to become a certified nutritionist helping others and dealing with her own food allergies and digestive issues. A crushing family loss brought her to the realization of what she had to do.

“What made me fully turn into a health and fitness guru was when I lost all of my immediate family due to health problems,” she explains. She lost her dad 17 years ago, then six years later her sisters and mother passed away all due to health problems.

“I didn’t want anybody to go through what I went through,” she says of that time. “I want people to be mindful that your body is your temple. You have to put good food in, in order to live and keep your immune system up.”

Her sensitivity to certain foods led her to gradually cut out items from her diet till she became a vegetarian. “And I just started feeling great,” she recalls. “I’m cutting all this stuff out and feeling amazing. And I thought, what if I cut all this stuff out completely?”

 
She bet her husband she could go 30 days vegan, and he agreed to join her. Forty-five days later she says she never felt so good.

“I said I will never, ever eat meat again,” she says. “I had energy. I was thinking clearly. It calmed me. It was a great feeling and I still feel that way today.”

Visit Us at our Atlantic City or Vineland NJ Locations and Enjoy Delicious Plant-Based Soul Food.