Science-Minded Chef Bronwyn Mitchell (Education ’23, M.S. in Commerce ’24) Puts Commerce on the Menu

Growing up in Richmond, VA, Bronwyn Mitchell often found herself surrounded by the scents and sounds of a bustling kitchen. For her family, cooking was a beloved activity, especially on Sunday nights, when they would come together to prepare a big dinner. Being raised with a love for the culinary arts would lay the foundation for Mitchell’s future endeavors, blending her love of food with her academic passions.

Her journey began with a strong affinity for math and science. And as she progressed through school, her interests were clear—she excelled in chemistry and other science subjects, which steered her toward a pre-med track when she came to the University. However, her love for experimenting in the kitchen mirrored her scientific pursuits, leading her to pursue her interests via an unexpected avenue.

Cooking Up a Proactive Approach to Nutrition

“I particularly enjoyed joining that love for science and experimentation with cooking and baking,” Mitchell recalls. A passion for culinary chemistry inspired her to explore nutrition deeply, especially as she had an aversion to eating most meat and dairy. Developing a keen interest in how food fuels the body, she began experimenting with a vegan diet, something she stuck with for six years before reintroducing fish and eggs.

“As a college student who doesn’t have ample time to prepare elaborate vegan dishes, I got super interested in nutrition-based podcasts, started taking in information from various sources, and learning more about that field,” she says. “I grew to have some frustrations with the reactive approach that medicine takes and wanted to take a more preventative approach in fueling the human body well with foods to prevent those illnesses and diseases.”

With time, Mitchell decided to shift her focus from pre-med to kinesiology as an undergrad, combining her interests in nutrition and physical well-being. Yet, she realized that her ambitions extended beyond the traditional role of a dietician. “I had bigger hopes and dreams of helping people across the country and maybe even across the world,” she explains. “By pairing nutrition and business together, I could have more of that widespread effect, and I’m hoping to pair the two together to really make a change and revolutionize the health world.”

To achieve this broader impact, Mitchell decided to stick around on Grounds an additional year and pursue the M.S. in Commerce degree at McIntire, believing that pairing her knowledge of nutrition with business acumen would allow her to make significant changes in the health industry. Her experience in the McIntire program has been both challenging and rewarding. “It’s more rigorous and challenging than I would have expected,” she admits. “But I’m incredibly grateful for all of those challenges.”

“I’m in the Finance Track, which is kind of funny because there are a decent amount of Kinesiology students in the program this year,” she notes, pointing out that most chose another track. “Venture capital is something that I might be interested in, investing in startup health food brands from that side,” she says, revealing that she’s also contemplating possibly working for operations of a health-focused company to ultimately start her own business.

A Hunger for Entrepreneurship

Mitchell’s entrepreneurial spirit was evident from a young age. In high school, she started a jewelry company, selling her creations through online platforms Etsy and Instagram. Later, she launched a small catering business, offering healthy meals to clients during school breaks. This venture was born from her food Instagram account @plantbasedpost, where she shared vegan recipes and connected with a local following of people asking her to make meals for them.

“I would also do fresh things like a chickpea salad, as an alternative to a chicken or tuna salad, or a potato salad,” she says. “And I tried to rotate the menu as I got feedback. So each week, the menu was slightly different.”

Her catering business, which continues during her school breaks, features a rotating menu of vegan, gluten-free, and refined sugar-free dishes. The most popular item, to her surprise, has been her granola butter—a spreadable treat made from a blend of cashew butter and granola. “People absolutely loved it. It tastes like dessert but is still fairly nutritionally dense,” Mitchell says.

Mitchell says that though neither parents are chefs, her mother’s passion for food and cooking for others definitely influenced her relationship with trying her hand at the culinary arts. “She is Italian and grew up with her grandmother cooking in the kitchen. She grew all of her vegetables in her garden and was definitely ahead of her time in recognizing the detrimental effects of preservatives and packaged foods,” she says. “And so she developed that love for not only cooking, but healthy, whole food sources. Because of that, it just it spread down to me and my siblings as a way for us all to do something together.”

(More Than Just) Meal Plans

Mitchell’s future goals are ambitious but perfectly represent the idea of using commerce for the common good. She envisions a company that partners with hospitals and schools to provide nutritious, affordable meals, ensuring that vulnerable populations receive the best possible nutrition. “I want to lean into helping other people,” she emphasizes. “Finding a way to do that is definitely a priority for me.”

Mitchell’s interests in science, nutrition, and business position her for a world of possibilities to discover within the ever-evolving health and wellness industry. Her determination and entrepreneurial drive are set to make a lasting impact, not just within her community, but on a much larger scale. As she completes her time at the Commerce School, Mitchell continues to embody the spirit of innovation and compassion that defines the best of what McIntire helps its graduates to share with the rest of the world.