Meet Christa Lynch | Owner and Executive Chef of Brooklyn Braised

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

Hi Christa, what habits do you feel helped you succeed?
The habits that I believe have helped me succeed are my resourcefulness and the ability to pivot (especially during 2020 when my line of business was devastated by the pandemic.)

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My desire to build a better food ecosystem runs deep. When not working as a sous chef at Google headquarters, Christa, founder of the event production and farm-to-table catering company Brooklyn Braised, is giving back to my community’s most vulnerable residents through hunger relief initiatives and equitable hiring practices for formerly incarcerated women and men.

My culinary approach reimagines fine dining for every day with sustainably sourced ingredients from local Black and Brown-owned vendors.

Brooklyn Braised offers catering for intimate gatherings, special occasions, workplace dining, and live virtual cooking classes! Complete with seasonal menus, house-made cocktails, vegan options and more.

I have been honored by Forbes as part of the Next1000, Serena Williams & Bumble as a Woman of Courage, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams as a Covid-19 Hero, and American Express as a ‘Founder of Change’

I had a completely different career pre-Brooklyn Braised–I moved to New York City 17 years ago to attend law school at NYU LAW graduated, and then attended Columbia University and graduated with a Masters in International Finance. However, my background in hospitality runs long–I have been working in restaurants for 20 years, and for the most part, working in the industry paid my school bills.

I launched Brooklyn Braised in Summer 2017 since that time I got married and divorced while pregnant. I nearly canceled my business because starting over in my personal life seemed like too much to bear. I kept with it–hired a new team and my business found its footing in 2020 when we were forced to pivot like many other hospitality brands. The launch wasn’t easy because I had no idea of how to start a business but 2020 was the WORST! However, we persevered and I discover my love for nutrition education and supporting food insecuriy.

Lessons that I have learned is visibility matters–once people identify with you (the woman) you are in the position to sell your services. You have to be approachable, talented, and authentic. I am naturally shy so it took me a while to get here.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Ok–since I live in Brooklyn, NYC I am going to keep this local to Brooklyn.

I happen to love the community of Brooklyn so we would spend our time here

Eating and Drink:
Ras Plant Based for Vegan Ethiopian Food
Pick up baked salmon bowl over brown rice and ginger at Food Sermon
Drive into the City to Omars Kitchen and Rum Bar
Duck meatloaf at Buttermilk Chanel
Swing by Las Lap on the Lower East Side for cockatiels
Oysters at French Louise
Mago Martinis at Cafe Mogador

Visits
Purchase some art at Richard Beavers Gallery
Check exhibits at the Brooklyn Museum
Any art installation that I can find such as Euphoria in Bed Stuy

Hangouts:
Picnic in Prospect Park and icecream at Domino Park
Brooklyn Botanical Gardens

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 am dedicating my shoutout to Caroline Schiff who is the pastry chef at Gage and Tollner restaurant in NYC. Caroline was instrumental in helping me launch a public service project [Meals on Us] last summer that fed over 4,000 meals to homeless families in a shelter in Brooklyn. This was the beginning of my investment in food insecurity.

Website: https://www.brooklynbraised.com/

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

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christa-lynch-09233012/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BKBraised/

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/brooklyn-braised-brooklyn

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSAms-YcuoN5YS6UNfp6fZw

Image Credits
Photo Credit for all three pictures: Troy Mathison