ABOUT

IT ALL STARTED WHEN...

as a little girl, maybe about seven or eight, I found myself enamored with Grandma Mae’s garden. It was expansive and wild, and I was a hungry child full of curiosity. Faint memories flood my mind of roaming between the rows of plump berries, fire engine red tomatoes, long zucchinis with their bright flowers, and, my favorite, magenta rhubarb, sneakily plucking and gobbling up anything within arms’s reach. Once caught nibbling on a stalk of her prized rhubarb, Grandma Mae decided it was time I learned her secret rhubarb pie recipe. And it was that day my heart knew.

Hi! I'm Monica. I’m best known for chuckling at my own jokes and bringing baked goods to bars. I believe we were put here to create, to inspire, and to bring a meaningful difference to others’ lives. Sharing a smile is one of the most simple yet profound acts in life, and I've always considered making others smile my purpose. Food just happens to be my medium.

I was once asked why I chose to cook. The love runs deep, and my response was and still remains "because I like to work with my hands and I like to make people happy." Few things in life are as satisfying as ripping into a warm loaf of bread fresh from the oven. That giddiness you feel from biting into a gooey chocolate chip cookie can make you dance from the inside out. A perfectly drippy egg sandwich at dawn can ignite your soul, feeding the passion to carry you throughout your day. This life chose me and said “cook from your heart and share that with others”.

In 2009, I received a diagnosis that flipped my world upside down — Celiac Disease. I didn’t realize that it was the food I was eating and the things I was doing every single day that were really hurting me. Rather than let this defeat me, I realized that I needed a deeper understanding of how to combine my love of food with optimal, nourishing health and decided to meet the challenge head on, forging a new identity as an innovative gluten-free chef. I researched, I tinkered and tested and tried and tried and tried again and again, so I could figure out how to create gluten-free foods that no one would know are gluten-free.

There were many times after my diagnosis that I felt excluded or like a burden when trying to eat with others. I had a hard time navigating menus and food choices and often wasn’t able to eat what everybody else was eating. I never want you to feel this way, so anything I do now is in an effort to make everyone feel included and eat well at the table; to bring people together because food is communal, food is community.

I’ve always been deeply interested in nutrition and wellness, so during the height of the pandemic in 2020/2021 I decided to pursue a health coaching certification through the Institute of Integrative Health. Since then, I’ve taken everything I that I learned and combined it with my belief that wellness is so much more than just yoga and green juice because food not only fills our bellies but it also nourishes our souls. You deserve to enjoy your life, take care of your body, eat well, be included, and feel really freaking good.

I'm a work in progress. A chef (perhaps you could say a recovering pastry chef), an entrepreneur, a business owner, a writer, a creator, an eater, a teacher, a musician at heart, a happiness enthusiast, a friend, a mover and a shaker when I laugh. I'm about living life simply, eating seasonally, and sharing smiles.

That belief — that food should never make anyone feel excluded, and that a good meal can hold both body and soul — split into two things instead of one.

Verveine Cafe & Bakery is what happened when I decided gluten-free guests deserved a real space where everyone eats off the same menu and nobody has to ask which part of the table is meant for them.

WLDFLR is what happened when I got tired of gluten-free flour that couldn't do what I wanted and isn't missing anything but gluten. It’s also the not-so-secret ingredient behind Verveine.

Different problems but the same root is the why behind everything I do. It has always been my mission to create a space (both here, physical with the cafe, and the space within your own home) to reflect, connect, and share what it looks like to eat well, be included, and live a life that's simply, seasonally, joyfully full.

FREE OF GLUTEN, FULL OF LIFE®.

IF YOU’RE HUNGRY FOR MORE...

Explore WLDFLR → Visit Verveine →