Monique Kauppi aka “Chef Mo”, Owner and Pastry Chef Monique has always had a love for baking. It started from watching her mom bake at home growing up. Monique and her siblings would take turns helping their mom in the kitchen. From an early age, Monique knew this was what she wanted to do. She studied Culinary Arts for 2.5 years in high school and later graduated as Valedictorian from The Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College in Philadelphia, with a Bachelor’s Degree in Pastry Arts. Monique worked as a pastry cook for the Starr Restaurant Organization in Philadelphia for 3 years before returning to the Eastern Shore of Maryland to manage a cake bakery at the age of 22. For the past 8 years, Monique was the Corporate Pastry Chef for the Herb Box Corp, where she became lovingly known as “Chef Mo”. After the tragic loss of her first child, Aubrie, and the onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic, Monique decided to leave the pastry profession and transition into social work as a way to make more of a difference. While working towards her Master’s Degree, she was working at a local retail store. There she met a friend who would not let Monique give up baking and inspired her to go for her dream.