Meet Chukwunonso Nwasike and Sakira Coleman | Food Bloggers of Our Blissful Bites

We had the good fortune of connecting with Chukwunonso Nwasike and Sakira Coleman and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Chukwunonso & Sakira, every day, we talk about how much execution matters, but we think ideas matter as well. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
We have always had an appetite for adventure. In the first year of our relationship, we had visited over six different states and two countries together and have always had a knack for finding the most unique and flavorful places in town. Friends and family would always ask us for our recommendations for the best brunch, booze and everything in between. Venturing out and trying to find the best happy hour, late night spot, food festival, or gimmicky bar has always been a pastime of ours. You could also just as likely find us fashioning different recipes out of the whims of whatever eclectic flavors we could marry together with the pots and pans in our kitchen. So, after the 100th time of us sitting in a restaurant critiquing the meal we had and saying to ourselves, “you know what, we should start a blog,” we went ahead and finally started Our Blissful Bites. To us, food is art; it is something created with joy and passion, but also something formed with precision, under a careful eye, and with focused hands. Being that our families are from Nigeria and the Philippines, we have developed a deep appreciation of international cultures and an understanding that at its core, food is something made to be shared. Whether it’s the food that we create in our own kitchen or the food that is shared with us in the many kitchens that we visit, we wanted to offer others a taste of what it’s like to enjoy a blissful bite with us.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
We believe Our Blissful Bites is unique in that we are one of only a few Black foodie couples. People frequently talk about lack of representation but it is not well known that this is an issue in the food marketing and influencer industry as well. We want to give a platform to those small and minority owned businesses who may not otherwise be given the spotlight they deserve. We also want to show the best of the best in food in all the places we visit. Some of the things we are most proud of are the fact that in less than one month of launching our blog we have been able to build significant relationships with local business owners in Houston, we have been able to highlight over 20 blissful businesses, and we have gained over 400 loyal supporters across our social media platforms. It has been a journey to get to where we are today and it certainly takes many hours of hard work and many rejections to get someone to take a chance on a small business like ours. We have had to learn to be marketing ambassadors, tech gurus, and food critics all at the same time but we are willing to put in the hours to learn because we believe in the joy we can bring others through what we do. We have learned that when you are passionate about the work you do, it becomes easy. We have also learned the value of building connections and supporting others in this industry. The foodie community is incredibly supportive of one another and is always willing to give you a word of advice or try a new restaurant with you. Our Blissful Bites motto is “Where Food Meets Love”. We truly believe that this is where connection, solidarity, and fellowship begins.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
For Lunch and Brunch: Barnaby’s for breakfast
The Toasted Yolk Cafe for breakfast
Black Walnut Cafe for breakfast
Grand Galvez for upscale brunch by the beach
Traveler’s Table for lunch or brunch
Katz’s for lunch or brunch
Wild Oats for a unique Sunday Brunch with live music
Underground Hall for variety of food options (love Birria Los Primos)
Lyric Market for variety of food options (1929 is our favorite)
Roostar Vietnamese Grill

For Dinner:
Sushi Haya for all you can eat Sushi
Kim Son for a mix between vietnamese and dim sum buffet
B&B Butchers for a wonderful steak and cheesecake
Casa do Brasil- our favorite brazilian steakhouse
Aria Suya for classic Nigerian food
Filipiniana Restaurant for a traditional Filipino buffet
Catch a beautiful sunset and tasty meal at Buffalo Bayou Brewing Company
Reverse happy hour at Ra Sushi

For a Snack:
Umbrella Fella’s for a hot dog with pizazz
Empanadas at Island Vybez Bodega
Acme Oyster House- Oysters

For Entertainment-
Thursday Latin Night dancing @ Sambuca
Central Market Cooking Class
Play some games and grab a brew at Cidercade
FAO for games and happy hour
See a Bunch of Hacks comedy show or jazz quartet at Leon’s lounge
Zumba or HIIT class with Fit Mix Communities at Midtown Park
Take a salsa class with Latin Dance Factory
Enjoy a show at the Houston Symphony
Ice skating at Discovery Green
Go to one of Houston’s many food festivals
Take a stroll through Buffalo Bayou Park
Travel to Galveston to walk by the beach
Slick Willie’s for a game of pool
See an outdoor concert at Miller Outdoor theatre in the summer

For Dessert-
Chill Works for some lovely gelato
Ms. Myrtle’s Bakery Shoppe for the best bundt cakes
Mama Marie’s Filipino Soul Food- Ube cheesecake
Voodoo Doughnut- for wild and unique donuts
The Waffle Bus- for sweet waffles and milkshakes

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Our families played a huge role in introducing us to the art of food. They brought us up loving the cuisine of our countries, Nigeria and the Philippines, and the countries of others. We always want to give a platform to small, international businesses because that’s where we had our start. We also have to shoutout one of our favorite food bloggers, Mark Wiens, who gives an authentic and exciting twist to his reviews on food. Finally, we have to shout out all the small businesses that have supported our new blog and took the time to let us into their food journeys (1929 Po-Boy Kitchen, Mama Marie’s Soul Food Kitchen, Umbrella Fellas, Island Vybez Bodega, Chill Works and so many more).

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ourblissfulbites/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ourblissfulbite

Other: TikTok- https://www.tiktok.com/@ourblissfulbites