Meet Francesca Avitto and Kate Wnek Avitto and Wnek of Lady and the Shallot

Today we’d like to introduce you to Francesca Avitto and Kate Wnek Avitto and Wnek

Hi Francesca Avitto and Kate Wnek, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
At the start of this journey, Kate and Francesca started off as Private Chefs/Event Planners.

We would create beautiful meals for clients in and around our area. From coursed dinners to business openings to weddings.

Soon after, we began a healthier journey for ourselves and our clients took notice.
After we began creating healthier meals for clients, we realized our passion, which was creating healthy, yet beautiful food for our community.

This was when we decided to take it to the next level and open a Farm to Table eatery at a location right where the farms are!

Veganism was always our driving point, however clean Vegan, Plant Forward foods was the focus of our business. Creating beautifully crafted, colorful, plant forward dishes which are aesthetically appealing and completely nourishing!

For us, the clean eating part is personal. Kate’s mom recently passed from early onset Alzheimer’s. From the moment her disease began to progress, we proactively began researching the correlation between food and Alzheimer’s Disease. As well, Francesca has struggled with Autoimmune diseases since the age of 24, most recently being diagnosed with Chronic Kidney Disease almost 6 years ago. Food has always been the best way to navigate these diseases. We knew that with the knowledge we’ve gained through the years, it was our duty to turn our talents/passion into a business that can nourish people’s bodies inside and out.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Besides Covid, our business has really been welcomed with open arms since the beginning. We were very fortunate to have the help of multiple vegan outlets as well as the support from our community.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
We specialize in serving our customers and community whole plant based, local, Jersey fresh food. We focus on Whole Foods, and stay away from preservatives and processed vegan foods. Our dishes are well thought out, beautiful and nourishing. We make all of our sauces, juices, baked goods and specialty items in house.

Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
We come from a long line of meat eaters. That’s usually surprising to people. In fact, Kate’s Grandfather owned a butcher shop and Francesca, an Italian, grew up with meat filled dishes on her dining room table every night!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Ladyandtheshallot.com
• Instagram: https://Instagram.com/ladyandtheshallot
• Facebook: https://Facebook.com/ladyandtheshallot

Image Credits
All pictures taken by Lady and the Shallot