Us

Seasoned Food began when Hayley and Jameel moved from Brooklyn, NY (where they met in the summer of 2020) to the Bay Area to care and cook for Hayley's 95 year-old grandmother, June. While this did mean quitting their jobs in New York and starting over in so many ways, they saw this as an exciting opportunity to collaborate and apply the skills they'd already acquired.

Hayley's background is in theater and education and she most recently was the Director of Programs at a non-profit that does theater with adults with developmental disabilities. She had learned so much about community and caregiving through this work that she was eager to bring her learnings home to her family. Jameel was working in tech sales, across various spaces including education, cannabis, and food. All the while, he would dream up pop-up events at local bars or in his farm-like backyard, where he raised chickens.

One of the first times Hayley tasted his food was when he cooked up a giant chicken feast, featuring as many parts of the animal as possible, teaching his guests to think sustainably and holistically about the nourishment of the entire animal.

Since getting Seasoned Food started, they've prepared dishes and meals for private parties, small fundraisers, big birthdays, and, of course, nightly dinners for Hayley's grandmother, June. Jameel's lifelong education in cooking started in Jamaica working on the family farm with his grandfather, Clarence, and watching his grandmother, Pamela, transform sweat equity and produce into nourishing meals.

With humble beginnings marked by food insecurity, they see this business as an homage to everything their grandmothers have taught them about food: quality ingredients, taking your time, and, most importantly, making sure your food is seasoned.