I grew up on a remote farm and was taught the importance of self sustenance and the relationship between congestions to the earth and our food. Eventually my love for food became my chosen profession. I enrolled in the culinary arts program at Florida Culinary Institute and finished both the culinary arts and the international baking and pastry program. I then moved to Gainesville and got a job as the sous chef at the University of Florida Hotel under Ivy Award winner Michael McBride. Influenced heavily by Charlie Trotter, I moved Midwest and earned a coveted internship with Chef Trotter. After some time working in and visiting some of the best restaurants around the globe, I spent the next few years working in hotel establishments. Eventually an opportunity landed me in Honolulu (where I met Sway).

From Sway: Having Damian on our team has been a blessing. I say that he’s “the guy that hangs around” because he’s the first person I would go to for industry consultations and odd jobs in the kitchen.

My love for food always brings me back to the garden. From a young age I can remember my family members in the garden, planting and harvesting vegetables and flowers, hanging with the insects, fruit trees and more.

Fast forward to college at Seattle Pacific University where I graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Nutrition based on my passion for food. There I started to deeply notice how food and community intertwined and supported each other. How making meals fed a community - not only physically, but also emotionally and spiritually.

The Community Kitchen I was a part of in college really demonstrated this to me. Serving a community that might not otherwise have easy access to fresh and nutrient rich ingredients mattered a lot to me. Gathering together to prepare a meal that as a group we would all share at the end was simple yet profound. It connected people whose paths may never have crossed otherwise. It was a gift for everyone.

I believe that all people are meant to enjoy healthy and nourishing foods. As we continue to see ingredients we can’t pronounce in the foods we find on the shelves of our local grocery stores, we are all getting further and further away from what food truly has to offer. Food offers us life, connection, beauty and fun!

The yearning I feel to know what is in my food fuels my desire to make food from scratch. The whole process from garden to table is something I delight in serving to others.

It is a joy for me to talk with others about what is in their food and to walk with them towards a more intuitive eating approach rather than a restrictive one.

There is nothing I love more than experimenting with food and then getting to share about it.

I love the question, “What makes your body feel good?”

Coming from this place of appreciation and celebration allows us to listen to our bodies and trust them which in turn brings the colors on our plate to life!

I’m a cell and Molecular Biology major at Cal State East Bay. I’ve been working in food service for three years. Working at a small cafe has always been a dream of mine, so being at Forest & Flour is not only an incredible and rewarding opportunity, but also a true dream come!

✨ What’s something - big or small - that you’re really good and/or bad at?
I’m really good at puzzles. It's almost like meditation for me.

I am a customer turned staff at Forest & Flour. I came across F&F after doing a web search for an organic and allergen friendly bakery. Soon after, I met Sway to pick up my first order and happily ate my way through the menu. I still remember the satisfaction of the first baguette bite, the unbelievable satisfaction of the first chocolate walnut cookie, the first batch of homemade brioche french toast, and that decadent chocolate cake! These foods play such an important and hopeful role in my healing journey. While my day job is in Tech Recruiting, I felt an inner calling to partner with this business somehow. I felt my own journey (still very much in it) with food and health could help to connect with the customer base. So, here I am!