Daniella Bartelli grew up around many flavors. The Miami, FL native, who has a Haitian and Dominican background, knew she was destined to create an impact through food. Although when she initially expressed her desire to be a chef, it wasn’t the line of work her family wanted her to go into. However, she accepted the challenge to change their perspective on how this could take her to the next level.
“When I started, it wasn’t cool to be a chef,” Bartelli told EBONY. “At this time, MySpace was around, but there wasn’t Instagram where you were able to go viral because you made mac and cheese, so I wanted to take that challenge on, and not only bet on myself, but bet on the whole aspiration of doing what you want to do from your heart.”
By betting on herself, she secured a consulting gig and subsequently cooked with Pharrell Williams, her first major client. “The way I fell into consulting was because of social media,” she said. “Pharrell Williams’ team found me from Facebook, and at that time, I only had 63 cents in my pocket.”
During a challenging period in her life, Bartelli faced the aftermath of an electrical fire that broke out at her mother’s house. “I lost everything,” she said. “My family lost everything, and I just wanted to feel good about the decision I made, [and] used my creativity and created cocktail cakes, and Pharrell teams found that, and that’s how we pretty much started working together.”
This adversity became a pivotal turning point, igniting her passion for cooking and her determination to succeed. Instead of letting the setback define her, Bartelli embraced the struggle as an opportunity for growth. Her resilience and creativity shone through as she sought to transform her circumstances, ultimately leading her to significant opportunities in the culinary world and beyond. “That was just honestly using social media and posting something innovative,” she said.
Through that opportunity emphasized the importance of intellectual property, leveraging her opportunities for business growth. “Every time I realized I was boxing myself in, I wanted to see how I could get out,” she told EBONY. “I learned about the importance of IP really early, so I learned that if I create something, I own it by protecting it in certain ways, and by doing that, I can actually leverage it with other people, [and] when I created the cocktail cakes, it’s something that I owned.”
Daniella Bartelli’s journey in the culinary world highlights a crucial lesson for aspiring chefs and food entrepreneurs: having the business side under control is essential, even after achieving viral moments or gaining celebrity endorsements. “I want to say the biggest piece of advice I have for others is to do what you can with what you have,” she said. “I learned how to advertise, market, create flyers and do as much as I can by myself, because you can see the same results if you actually learn something [hands-on], so take the time to invest in yourself if you don’t have the capital yet, and do that until you do gain it.”
In the fast-paced culinary space, a viral moment can create waves of attention, but it’s the foundation of knowing your audience and learning the business that ensures lasting success. “Whatever you put out there, just know who you’re trying to target and speak to that audience and know that you’re not going to like win everyone over, and that’s okay, but that niche that you have, just go ahead and tell your story because it’s going to resonate with somebody,” she said.
Bartelli recognized early on that owning her creations and understanding how to leverage social media would also allow her to leverage her brand in future ventures. “Post that recipe, and position it in a way where you’re a walking billboard,” she said “The space of advertisement, where a lot of people pay millions of dollars a year these big businesses, you pretty much have access to that, which has never been done before, and with social media, you’re able to have a piece of that, so just know that whatever you put out there, put it out so you can attract exactly what you want.”
Her story serves as an inspiring reminder that success in the culinary world—or any field—requires not just passion but also a savvy approach to business and preparation. As she encourages others to work with what they have, no matter what stage they’re in, her message is clear: it’s about making the most of what you have and daring to dream big. In doing so, we can all find our flavors, tell our stories and leave a lasting impact.
