- Words by David Wylie Photography by Darren Hull

quick facts:

X - Specializing in fitness-focused, high-protein, low-carb gourmet meals, BLK BOX opened in November in 琉璃神社鈥檚 Landmark District.

X - Surrounded by office towers, it鈥檚 perfectly located for people to pop in and pick up a quick dish鈥攐r stock up on a week鈥檚 worth of prepped meals.

X - There is a limited amount of seating for those who want to eat inside.

X - BLK BOX was founded by Greg Sebell and Lonni van Diest. They met while working for Third Space Cafe. Greg brings marketing and creative direction skills to the table, while Lonni brings years of experience as a restaurant consultant and regional and general manager.

X - Greg previously worked full-time in the music industry for nearly two decades as a two-time Juno award-winning singer-songwriter.

We asked Greg Sebell:

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What鈥檚 your vision for BLK BOX?

Lonni van Diest and I talked about bringing a healthy concept to the Landmark District. We both work out a lot and we both had experienced the pains of doing meal prep every weekend. It鈥檚 typically a lot of work, not to mention the time it takes to shop, prep, cook and clean up. You can only get so creative and we got tired of eating the same meals like rice, broccoli and chicken. We thought, 鈥淲hat if we could create healthy fast food and also have a meal-prep element with meals we were excited about eating?鈥�

What is the philosophy behind your food?

We try to hack our favourite meals that we would want to eat if we weren鈥檛 trying to watch our macros and calories. We tried to come up with meals that we just wanted to eat no matter what, then we brought down the calories as low as possible and raised the protein as high as possible. We want to make healthy food and fitness fun and accessible鈥攏ot intimidating or overwhelming.

How do you develop your menu?

Lonni and I worked closely with Andrea McClintock (Bouchons, Salt & Brick) to develop the menu. We also worked with Michael Buffett at Start Fresh on developing a few dessert items. We work with local chefs and local personal trainers. Our menu is primarily high protein, low carb and low fat. We focused on that model because good protein is the most difficult to find鈥攅specially when you are on the go. We also have a few keto dishes and we have a good number of plant-based dishes as well.

Where do your ingredients come from?

We try to source locally as much as possible and are always looking for new local vendors we can partner with. Our eggs are locally sourced from a farm down the road. We work with our Landmark District neighbours Start Fresh and their farm, Wise Earth Farms. We also use Stoke Juice out of Kimberley and all of our frozen berries and juices for smoothies. All of our baking is also done in-house, made from scratch.

What sets BLK BOX apart?

I think what sets us apart is, firstly, that we create meals to fit your lifestyle. The meals are pre-made and pre-cooked, so you can take them to go and warm them up or pre-order them for the week. We can also warm it up if you鈥檙e just looking for a quick bite on your lunch break. We are also unique in that we specifically focus on food for health and fitness. For so long food and fitness seemed to be at odds. The food doesn鈥檛 have to taste good, it just has to get results. That could mean dry egg whites or ground turkey with hot sauce on it. We wanted to put some love into fitness food and make it something people can really look forward to every day. You can have your cake and eat it too; in our case, it鈥檚 going to be lower in calories and zero sugar.

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How does the restaurant鈥檚 cuisine fit with the branding?

We wanted to make it accessible and not intimidating to your average person. Whether you鈥檙e on year 15 of your fitness journey or on day three, and you鈥檙e still not sure what to eat, we wanted this brand to be inviting and a little bit familiar. The space is simple, uncluttered and minimal鈥攋ust like the menu. Macros and calories on each dish are clearly laid out and there is no confusing diet plan. Just simple, good ingredients. The minimal branding also informs how we plate the dishes. Obviously, we start with a black meal prep container (hence the name BLK BOX) and then try to plate a beautiful meal from there.

What鈥檚 the one ingredient you can鈥檛 live without?

Swerve鈥攊t鈥檚 a natural sugar substitute with zero calories, zero net carbs and it鈥檚 non-glycemic, which means it does not raise your blood sugar. We created a zero-sugar NY cheesecake with Chef Michael from Start Fresh using Swerve. We also use it in our Twix bars which people can鈥檛 get enough of. It鈥檚 not an inexpensive ingredient by any means, but it鈥檚 a huge win for those of us with a sweet tooth.

What is your go-to meal when you鈥檙e low on time?

Spaghetti squash and meatballs. That鈥檚 something I made at home all the time. The nice thing about using something like spaghetti squash instead of real pasta鈥攅ven though I love pasta鈥攊s you feel lighter after, you don鈥檛 feel the weight of that.

What is the best recent food trend?

People are looking for higher-quality food. They鈥檙e looking for locally farmed ingredients. When the ingredients are high-quality and fresh, even the simplest of dishes are going to be delicious because the components are delicious to begin with. When it comes to the food you put into your body, you鈥檙e going to reap what you sow. Simple, whole ingredients, locally sourced where possible鈥攖hose are really great food trends in my opinion.

What is a simple piece of advice for pairing food and fitness?

Plan ahead鈥攚hen you don鈥檛 have a plan and you don鈥檛 think ahead you鈥檙e going to end up at the McDonald鈥檚 drive-thru.

What鈥檚 the significance of your location in the Landmark District?

Initially, Ken Stober of the Stober Group (and founder of Third Space Cafe) had asked Lonni about the potential of putting a healthy option in this retail space that had recently become available. It was important for the Stober Group and it was something that Lonni was passionate about too. While Lonni was exploring ideas in the early stages, he and I had coffee and from there we realized we could build something really special and unique together. We had both worked in the Landmark District for a while, and like many of the others in these office towers, we had limited time and limited options when it came to convenient, healthy food. Factor in that most of the gyms in the city are within a five-minute radius of us鈥攊t was a perfect location.

Story courtesy of , a Black Press Media publication
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