A look into the life of a private chef for a high-profile NBA player (exclusive)

• Stephany Victoria started her career as a private chef in early 2019, although her passion for cooking started much earlier in life
• In October 2023, Victoria connected through an agency with an NBA player in Miami who was looking for an in-home private chef – a job she had never tried before
• In addition to developing menus, preparing meals and cooking, Victoria is also responsible for the groceries
• Since starting her client job a year ago, Victoria has continued to create content from her work on her TikTok and Instagram accounts, where she has amassed more than 676,000 and 444,000 followers, respectively.

Stephany Victoria gets up at 8am every day. Before she starts her job as a private chef, she spends her mornings on herself: going to the gym, showering, making breakfast and running personal errands.

Originally from Queens, New York, Victoria began her career as a private chef in early 2019, although her passion for cooking began much earlier in life. She tells PEOPLE that she always wanted to go to culinary school, but she was already studying physical therapy as a teenager and pursuing formal culinary training didn’t seem like the right move at the time.

Instead, Victoria, who goes by @stephanyvicx on social media, taught herself to cook, learning from Food Network shows and watching her grandmother and mother prepare traditional Dominican family recipes. “I just followed a lot of recipes online and experimented as well,” she says.

Eventually, Victoria, who is also a certified yoga instructor, started posting her food creations on social media, and a few people asked if she could prepare the meal for them. This led her to her first client, a fashion influencer, for whom she began preparing and delivering meals.

Then, in October 2023, Victoria was put in touch through an agency with an NBA player in Miami who was looking for an in-home private chef – something she had never done before. (She cannot reveal the player’s identity.)

“I did a two-week trial and they loved my food,” says Victoria, who moved to Florida for the job. “After the trial they decided to keep me, but they wanted to hire me privately. They didn’t want me to join the [agency]which made me feel bad. But I said yes, and now I cook exclusively for the customer under my own company.”

Never miss a story: Sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

“When I started this job I was nervous because my client is quite famous and I didn’t know what to expect. I thought they might not be so friendly,” she adds. “But they are actually very friendly and super cool. I really enjoy working for them. It was a really great experience.”

During her first month on the job, Victoria happened to cook a Thai-inspired dish while crying tiger steak. But “that was the only time something like that happened,” she said, adding, “They were very nice about it. They said, ‘The flavors were great. We prefer our steak a little less cooked.’ And I was like, ‘Okay, noticed.’ “

The evening before a typical work day, Victoria spends time developing a menu. What she loves most about her clients is that they allow her complete creative freedom, which she describes as a “chef’s dream.” Naturally, she makes sure to avoid any ingredients that her customer is allergic to or doesn’t like.

Victoria does not prepare breakfast for her client and their family; they prefer to keep it simple with eggs and fruit. Instead, when she arrives at their home, she focuses on preparing lunch, which often consists of egg whites, salad and some vegetables. She also always makes sure there are homemade salad dressings in the refrigerator.

“The meals are very healthy, nutritious and delicious,” she says. “I cook from a holistic approach, using high-quality ingredients that are not only good for the body, but also visually appealing.”

After preparing lunch, Victoria spends the rest of her time preparing fresh dinners, which she says can sometimes be the most challenging part of her day.

“I have to make sure I have enough time after preparing lunch to get dinner done,” she says. “I always like to make a starter, a main course and some nights I make a dessert. I have to make sure everything is ready on time. They prefer to eat around 6:15 or 6:30 p.m., so I have to make sure that everything will be ready by then.

“When it’s game night here in the hometown, they eat very late, around 11:30 or 12 noon, when he comes back from his game,” she adds. “So on those nights I have to be there with dinner ready for him and his wife, who usually goes to the game.”

“I try to keep the meals lighter since it’s so late at night,” she adds. “So I make sure it has a lot of protein, a lot of vegetables, and I try to keep it pretty low-carb so it’s easier on the stomach.”

Her schedule varies depending on whether her client is in town or away for a competition. When she goes to the grocery store, she says she typically spends between $300 and $500 each time, depending on the amount of food she needs. On the days she works, on average about 18 to 22 days a month, she regularly goes to the store.

“I know it sounds like a lot, but I’m not feeding just one person,” she says. “It’s my customer, his wife, and sometimes they have guests for dinner: friends, family or business partners. So I cook for them too.”

She adds that while the client’s kitchen is stocked with brand new, high-end appliances, if anything she needs is ever missing, she will ask her client’s assistant, and they will get it for her.

“That’s the beauty of working with this client,” she says. “With other clients, I would tell them what I needed, but I wouldn’t ask for too many things because it can get very expensive.”

Since starting her job, Victoria has continued to create content from her work on her TikTok and Instagram accounts, where she has amassed more than 676,000 and 444,000 followers, respectively.

Victoria adds that she asked her clients for permission before sharing content; they’re fine with it as long as she doesn’t show them on camera.

“Reading through the comments, I’ve been getting a lot of great feedback and support lately, which I love,” she says. “It really pushes me to keep creating content. There are times when I get negative comments, and it’s not the best feeling, but I try not to focus on the negative and just focus on the positive.”

On her days off, Victoria also tries to cook a little for herself. If she doesn’t have time for that, she will quickly put something simple together when she is at her client’s home. “I take a little break for myself to eat,” she says. “I just throw a steak on the grill, maybe some veggies, or fry up a salmon with some veggies and eat that quickly for dinner.”

“I also like to relax,” she adds. “I love what I do, but it’s a lot of work and can be a bit tiring. So it’s great to just be able to stay home and unwind. I still make sure I go to the gym. I also practice yoga which helps a lot. I’ve also been enjoying getting IVs for my health lately. So a lot of self care and just taking care of things around the house like cleaning and making sure everything is okay.”