Meet Nikko and Dri Love | Chefs

We had the good fortune of connecting with Nikko and Dri Love and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Nikko and Dri, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
Dri and Nikko: Well the thought process was fairly easy. We spent a fair amount of time in the service industry, that’s how we got our insight into the behind the scenes of this. The two of us met on our last job (super popular restaurant in Atlanta) where the environment was super questionable and toxic. We both love to cook and realizing that people will be willing to pay us to cook for them and help cater their small events, we decided to make a small business for ourselves. We are both extremely talented in our crafts so we thought we should work for ourselves instead of clocking in everyday for someone else who doesn’t even appreciate the work we do for them. We figured we could give people what they want, in a way more intimate, affordable and accessible manner. We wanted to give people fresh and tasty food. We want to be able to hire employees and place them in a work environment where they feel safe, comfortable and compelled to aim for higher. Nothing has love in it anymore, and that was the start of the process behind The Main Ingredient. All Made With Love.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Our business is called The Main Ingredient! We offer catering, meal preparation and party trays in (metro) Atlanta! What sets us apart from the others is that we offer free contactless consultations for your events so we can thoroughly discuss the expectations and pricing. A lot of the concerns that we receive is that caterers only have a set menu that they can choose from. We offer more flexibility and we try to accommodate guests as much as we can while staying within their budget without cutting the quality of the food. We believe that’s a huge part of the reason we even get as much business as we do. Everything is made or done with Love and it shows.

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.
All we do is eat. Some of our favorite spots are Woodys cheesesteaks, The Vortex, Big Dave’s Cheesesteaks, Hampton & Hudson. You can go to Ponce City Market, or go to Fred’s meat and bread at Krog street market. Negril Village, Gocha’s breakfast bar, The Boiler and Busy Bee Cafe are also really good and Black Owned if you are looking to spend your coins there!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Of course we couldn’t have made it this far without the support of our family and friends! All the referrals, bookings and purchases! It’s too many to name individually!

Instagram: @themainingredientatl

Image Credits
Alana W. family portrait and taco night portrait