Guess I can let y’all in on a not-so-little secret…COMING SOON!!
THE one and only @kenoringer and I are opening Verveine Cafe & Bakery together!!
I had the best time working for Ken at Clio, and I’m humbled and honored to have him in my corner, now as business partner.
Also incredibly excited to be a part of the dynamic and vibrant Cambridge community!!
Give @verveinecafe a follow! We’re building something great, and there’s lots more to come. We can’t wait to feed you 🤗🤗🤗
#verveinecafe #verveinecafeandbakery #kenorigner #bostonchefs #phillychefs #freeofglutenfulloflife #newcafe #bostoncafe #cambridgechefs #cambridgecafe
Hi! I’m Monica, and I’m a celiac pastry chef.
I was with a friend the other night and showed her a photo of me at 20 (swipe left). She said, “I see you, but you look like a completely different person.”
Baguette eating, food loving me. 🥖
I had always felt a little sick but thought maybe that was just normal. My stomach always ballooned. My throat burned with anything other than yogurt or ice cream. It only got worse when my mom was diagnosed with ovarian cancer just after that photo was taken.
I remember I went to the college nutritionist when I was concerned my weight was too low and told her I felt sick after eating. “Drink milkshakes every day, you’ll gain the weight back.” 🤯
Fast forward a few years and still silently suffering while working at Le Bernardin, one doctor told me “you’re crazy”, “you’re just anorexic”. Another said IBS.
I felt so defeated. Food stopped being fun.
Desperate for help, I tried a natural path who alerted me to the word gluten for the first time. But it wasn’t until I passed out in Union Square that someone medical told me I had the lowest iron they had ever seen and I shouldn’t even be on the streets.
I was eventually diagnosed with celiac, gastroparesis, gastritis, and esophagitis all at the same time. I’ve had multiple iron and blood transfusions and physical therapy for things that do not make comfortable conversation, but I now feel comfortable sharing so you know you are not alone. You know you best. Advocate for yourself. ✨
From building small habits that encourage wholesome real foods, healthy fats, and allow indulgences (hey I like my wine and my Reese’s), and finding joy in the small moments, today (18 years from that Paris photo) I feel nourished from the inside and outside.
This is why I made it my mission to make foods no one would notice are gluten free. I believe I was put on this Earth to help you nourish yourself from the inside out and find your joy, too.
There’s a lot of new faces around here, so I wanted to say I’m so happy you’re here. Thank YOU for being on this journey with me. Please drop me a hello in the comments and tag a friend who needs to feel this today!
I felt stuck in a never-ending spiral.
Grieving from my mother’s passing, constant sickness, years of feeling gaslit by doctors + a diagnosis that would forever change life as I knew it.
Lost, confused, existing in survival mode, everything felt out of my control. I was going through all the motions doing all the right things on the outside, but, on the inside, it felt like an alien had invaded my body.
Living gluten-free doesn’t just mean eating GF. Food is so much more than just fuel -- food is culture, connection, community, memories, celebration, pleasure, love + more.
And I felt like a burden.
How can I go out to eat if I have to be that person? Will I have to change my career?
I had to come to terms that this was going to be my life. Eating + making my favorite gluten-full recipes would not be the same (or so I thought 😉). I started researching, asking questions, listening to my body. Focused on real, whole foods. Converted recipes, tested + tweaked.
Truth be told, even though everybody started to know me as GF, it took me a long time truly transitioning to a new “GF identity”. Yes I was feeling significantly better, but I still didn’t have that spark for life I once had. I was still going through my grieving process – I still didn’t fully accept it.
One day it literally snapped me awake. The city enveloped in a foggy blanket of snow, my eyes opened that morning + something felt different -- the fog in my head cleared, I finally felt connected to my body + understood that happiness is in my control.
I can 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘦 happiness.
So, bundled in boots, snow pants, the works, I stepped outside + walked, capturing photos of the beauty that opened so clearly before my eyes that I once blocked.
Magic is everywhere if you 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘦 to see it.
Suddenly living GF was not only doable but enjoyable. I love feeling at home in my body. While it’s been a work in progress, the final stage of grief for me was not just acceptance (per the Kubler-Ross 5 Stages of Grief), but embracement of this life as my own.
I share this not only because today is National Gluten Free Day + to bring awareness to how challenging this transition can be. But…cont. 👇
We’re having the tea with a side of matcha, please 💅🏻
We might be biased, but we think @verveinecafe at UPark is the perfect place to grab a bite and sip on the latest updates with a friend.
#matchalovers #glutenfree #cambma #newenglandfoodie #bostoneats
If you ask me what my favorite cafe in Boston is, there's a good chance I'll say it's this one ⬇️⬇️
📍Verveine Cafe & Bakery - 298 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139
I can now officially say I've been to over a hundred gluten-free bakeries, so I think I am a bit of an expert on the topic 😉
This may as well be a @verveinecafe fan account with how much I talk about them, but @chefmoni and her team just celebrated 2 years of Verveine!!!
Go wish them a big congratulations 🎉
On top of that, Monica was recently nominated as a semifinalist for the @beardfoundation award for Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker!!!
Not only is that a huge win for Monica and for Verveine, but also for the gluten-free Community as a whole 🫶🏽
This demonstrates that gluten-free food can be just REALLY good food!! Not only do we not have to settle for less, but it also shows that anybody can enjoy gluten-free food 💚
Here's the cheat sheet on everything I tried when I was there a few weeks ago:
•🍩 Passionfruit and Mango glazed Donuts - these are some of the best gluten-free donuts in the country, there is zero question 🥭
•🥑 Avocado Toast - Made using their in-house bread, I've been on an avocado toast kick lately and I loved the use of preserved lemon and pomegranate, absolutely divine 😍
• 🧀 Cookies & Cream Basque Cheesecake - I've been wanting to try this for so long, and it was well worth the wait, that's all I'll say 😉
• 🌶️ Pimento Cheese Bun - I love how all the breads and buns at Verveine are so light and fluffy. If you like savory baked goods, you will be well taken care of!
• 🍊 Citrus Maritozzi - This is something I could only *dream* about having after being diagnosed, Verveine is CONSTANTLY pushing the envelope and not taking no for an answer 💪🏽
• 🍋 Olive Oil Citrus Cake - very light and aromatic, with just the right amount of density on the sponge, quite nice to enjoy
• 🫐 Blueberry Corn Muffin - Don't sleep on their muffins, just because you can get a muffin elsewhere!! 🌽
I've said this before and I'll say it again: I have never had anything bad or that I didn't like at Verveine!! So please do yourself the favor and go check them out 💕
Two years!
Which honestly feels like 2 minutes…and also 200 years. Wild to say the least.
This place has pushed me harder than anything I’ve ever done. And at the same time, given me something bigger than myself. It’s given me people who make it worth walking through the door every single day.
To my team –
This place has asked a lot of all of us. There have been long days, early mornings, problem-solving in real time, showing up when it would have been easier not to. It’s not always easy work. In fact, most days it’s not. But what makes Verveine special isn’t just what we put on the plate, it’s the people behind it. It’s ALL of YOU.
To those of you who have been here from the beginning, thank you for believing in something that didn’t fully exist yet.
To those who joined along the way, thank you for stepping into the rhythm and helping shape what Verveine has become.
And to those who have moved on, your impact is still part of these walls. You helped build the foundation we stand on today.
Every single one of you has contributed to this story. Thank you for two brilliant years 🫶 (And I’m sorry I don’t have everyone’s IG to tag you!)
Verveine was never built to be just a cafe. It’s a thousand tiny moments:
the regulars who feel like family
the guests traveling from afar who share their stories
the team that keeps it all moving (even when it’s hard)
the learning and growing through our mistakes
the food that makes us feel normal
the smiles that make it all worth while
Created from the belief that everyone is welcome at our table.
So to everyone who’s walked through our doors, supported us, rooted for us, or fought over the last pastry in the case…THANK YOU!! We love you! Truly.
#verveinecafeandbakery #freeofglutenfulloflife #verveinecafe #glutenfreecafe #birthday
When everything is gone, community is what remains.
Two of our former team members lost their home in a fire on May 1st. They and their two adorable children are safe, but they are starting over from nothing.
Red Cross is their current help with housing (@americanredcross ), and we’re showing up the best way we can, together, to help them rebuild their lives.
Please, if you can give, share, or support in any way, it means more than you know. You’re helping to rebuild more than a home. You’re restoring stability, comforts and a sense of normalcy in these insane times. #verveinecafeandbakery #freeofglutenfulloflife #wldflrglutenfree #gofundme #redcross
@chefmoni built @verveinecafe , a fully gluten-free safe space in Cambridge, not because she spotted a market opportunity. Because she was diagnosed with Celiac disease and spent years feeling like a burden at every table she sat at.
She knew the problem from the inside out. And that's exactly why she was the right person to solve it.
The strongest ideas don't come from trend reports. They come from the moments that changed you.
Full episode of The Perfect Bite is out now! Comment ‘PODCAST’ and I’ll send it directly to you! 🎙️
"I didn't want anyone to have to feel like they were a burden again." 🌿
@chefmoni spent years as a world-class pastry chef at @lebernadinny and Gotham Bar and Grill. Then a Celiac diagnosis turned her world upside down and made her feel exactly like that. A burden at every table.
So she built a table where nobody ever has to feel that way. And that table is so good that she was nominated as a @beardfoundation semifinalist for Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker this year!
@verveinecafe in Cambridge, MA is a fully gluten-free, dedicated safe space born from that singular desire: For everyone to belong. For food to feel like community again. And for nobody, no matter their dietary needs, to ever feel like they're making things complicated just by showing up.
New episode of The Perfect Bite is out now at the link in bio. 🎙️
Bakery Confession: Not every loaf is a star 😬🫠
But in a good kitchen…nothing goes to waste. Every loaf can still become something great!
In our kitchen, waste-conscious is the norm.
Every ingredient saved, every scrap reimagined, and every crumb transformed contributes to a less wasteful, more sustainable future.
So we turned this “failure” into today’s special:
Pappa al Pomodoro 🍅🥣 😋
Of course, we had to play a bit first 🤪 (don’t fret, those two loaves had too big of holes that my hands could even fit into and were destined for the compost).
#bakerylife #sourdoughfail #foodwaste #pappaalpomodoro #bostonfood
When I was first diagnosed with celiac disease, I thought my life in food was over.
Instead, it completely reshaped my purpose.
I’m so honored and excited to be sharing my story with @glutenfreeandmoremag !!
If you’re navigating celiac, autoimmune disease, or learning how to cook differently for your health…I hope my story reminds you:
Your life isn’t smaller, it’s just being rewritten.
Read my “Share My Story” feature and tell me below —
when did food change your life?
#glutenfreeandmore #freeofglutenfulloflife #celiaclife #verveinecafeandbakery #wldflrglutenfree
