Fairborn chef known for egg rolls moves business into food bus

Nuttall owns Home Cooked Vibes with her partner, James Highsmith. The Chicago natives moved to Fairborn in 2017 for more opportunities and a better life. That same year, Nuttall graduated from Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Chicago.

“I always knew I wanted my own business,” Nuttall said. “It was just the navigation of finding out exactly what I wanted to do.”

Before launching her business, Nuttall served as a Bob Evans general manager. Due to restaurant industry stress during the coronavirus pandemic, she quit in July 2020. One month later she received her membership in the entrepreneur-based Spark Fairborn.

She initially began making cheesecakes but once she made egg rolls for a friend’s Christmas party, her business ultimately took off.

Home Cooked Vibes features savory and sweet egg rolls. Savory egg rolls include buffalo chicken, Philly cheesesteak, chicken taco and veggie among others. Sweet eggrolls include strawberry cheesecake, Oreo and Reese’s cup.

Nuttall said the made-from-scratch egg rolls are pre-rolled and dropped into the fryer upon order. She described the egg rolls as flavorful and juicy.

“I’m not only a chef, I’m a foodie,” Nuttall said. “I make it to how I would want to eat it.”

Home Cooked Vibes is holding a soft opening from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Tuesday, May 9 at Spark Fairborn, located at 305 W. Main St. The food bus will offer an egg roll combo for $15 which includes two egg rolls with fried rice and a drink. They will also have bang bang broccoli for $6 and cheesecake slices from the CheezCake Lab. You can also order online.

In the future, Nuttall said they would love to sell the egg rolls to retail stores and upgrade the food bus.

“It’s just me putting fun and love in the food,” Nuttall said. “My motto is simple is best.”

Home Cooked Vibes also offers catering. For more information or to see where the food bus will be next, visit www.home-cookedvibes.com or the business’s Facebook or Instagram pages.