Sweet Vegan grew out of my love of creating healthy and delightful delicacies for people. My journey started at a young age in the state of Indiana. My parents separated when I was six and my mother, a schoolteacher, was left to raise five children on her own. As the eldest daughter, I handled a lot of the cooking for the family.
In the kitchen, I learned to cook and to bake from my maternal grandmother, Georgia. It’s here where my journey to Sweet Vegan really began. She taught me all the essentials of the kitchen. I spent hours learning how to peel and dice vegetables, and chopping up a whole chicken in the most efficient manner - no small feat for an 8-year-old! While I am no longer cutting up chicken, I now spend most of my free time perfecting vegan dishes. The skills that I picked up in my grandmother’s kitchen have sure come in handy today.
My predisposition has always been towards the creative and making the world more livable. I have a love of making desserts and especially exquisite, decorated cakes. This same love for cake adornment fueled my interest in design. After working a stint on The Trans-Alaskan Pipeline, I left my home in Indianapolis for Parsons School of Design in New York City with a major in environmental design. After graduation, I pursued a successful career in interior design. My design work can be found in both commercial and residential locations, and most recently, in the packaging of vegan truffles!
The passion for the vegan lifestyle came several years later. While visiting New York City, my mother took a tumble and became my long-term houseguest. To aid in her healing, I hired a personal chef, Christine Waltermyer, to prepare vegan meals. Working alongside Christine in my own kitchen brought me right back to those wonderful, youthful days cooking with Grandma Georgia. My mother, while recuperating, explored and shared her love of greens. I learned more about the shared stories of her grandparents’ farm and her early childhood through these delightful cooking sessions.
It wasn’t long after my mother returned to her home in Florida that I decided to enroll in Christine Waltermyer’s own cooking school The Natural Kitchen Cooking School. In 2008, my proud mother returned to NYC to celebrate my graduation.
With the opportunities I had through the Natural Kitchen Cooking School, I began to blossom as a budding chef. I began teaching and cooking together with students at Integral Yoga, which opened my eyes to the joy of communicating and sharing my love for a plant-based diet. This experience eventually landed me as a private chef for the world-renowned artist, Peter Max. Peter is a true chocoholic and he has a passion for the finest, plant-based quality chocolate. His passionate animal rights/philanthropist wife, Mary, has also been extremely supportive and enlightening.
Although I couldn’t imagine operating my own food company, my love for creating beauty partnered with a talent for creating plant-based chocolate, Sweet Vegan was born in 2016.
Even though my company is barely a year old, my journey has been both stimulating and extremely rewarding. I’ve been invited multiple times to share my Dreamy Bites and Fruity Bites at Williams Sonoma’s artisan fair. This experience has been both gratifying and eye-opening. Meeting consumers and sharing my delectable truffles has confirmed that the desire for both delicious and nutritious delicacies is here.
I’ve been fortunate to make see my treats on the shelves of world-class establishments, such as The Ritz Carlton, and High Vibe in NYC. Recently, a new Sweet Vegan supporter can be found in the awesome start-up, Sweet Beet, in Granby, CT. Their market and gift shop share the freshest vegan meals, which now includes Sweet Vegan chocolates.
While all my chocolates are vegan, nut-free, dairy-free, and gluten-free, they’re not just for vegans or those with food allergies. I’ve dedicated myself to creating great tasting chocolates. I eliminate everything that gets in the way of experiencing the true flavor of chocolate and combine real fruit and fresh ingredients. Sweet Vegan chocolates are for anyone who really loves chocolate. Allergen-free, Sweet Vegan chocolates make the perfect gift for friends, family, and colleagues. I invite you to take a look at our range of flavors and try a box - I’m sure you’ll love eating them as much as I love creating them.