Liza’s Story
Hi ya! I’m Liza, the founder of Florabelle Food & Festivities.
My mission for Florabelle is to provide deep nourishment through cooking and the soulful connection that comes from sharing a meal.
I’ve loved cooking ever since I can remember; growing up in a large Irish-Italian family taught me the importance of sitting down for a meal as a way to connect with my family and friends. In my early 20s, I followed my passion by enrolling in culinary courses, volunteering as a chef’s assistant, and testing complex recipes on my friends.
In 2018, I hosted a “How to Make Ravioli” party for my 26th birthday for 15 of my friends. A lot of red wine and flour later… we ate a fabulous meal that I will remember as the day Florabelle was born.
I spent the next few years teaching private cooking classes in Kansas City and Chicago. I utilized my travels to France, Italy, South Africa, Vietnam, China, and Central America to inspire authentic regional menus.
Re-envisioning the Future of Florabelle
In 2021, my life, and Florabelle, changed drastically. I relocated to Los Angeles to pursue my love for the outdoors and studied sustainable food systems at UCLA. Upon moving, I was diagnosed with a gut-related autoimmune disease called Ulcerative Colitis. My little Italian heart broke when I was told to cut out gluten, dairy, alcohol, and much more to manage my unmanageable symptoms.
But I love a challenge and focused on the foods I could eat by redefining my philosophy on what nourishment meant to me. I didn’t want to sacrifice fun or flavor in the name of health, so I taught a series of the best damn gluten and dairy-free Asian and Mediterranean cooking classes out of my Venice beach bungalow.
In early 2022, my health declined to where I could no longer teach formal classes. But I wanted to continue in any way I could, so I leaned into my love for gardening and spearheaded creating an after-school program at the Venice High School! On Tuesday afternoons, my students would gather in the school’s abundant garden and we would make plant-based recipes from ingredients we pulled straight from the ground.
Discovering Purpose through Healing
Despite my best efforts to heal with food, medication, and lifestyle adjustments, in February 2023, I had emergency surgery to remove my large intestine and had an ostomy bag placed (#humbled). I moved back to Kansas City to fully focus on healing and being with family.
Over the next year, eating became a highly-complex problem that I was determined to solve as I faced two more major surgeries to reconstruct my digestive system in hopes of removing my ostomy bag (which I named Gladys). As much as I loved Gladys for saving my life, I chose to have a “j-pouch” created, which further complicated my relationship with food.
In early 2024, I completed my final surgery and said goodbye to Gladys (yay!)! The experience of rebuilding my body from the ground up (many, many times) fueled my fire for continuing to learn about functional nutrition, herbalism, sustainable food systems, and Ayurvedic medicine. As my health improved, I expanded my offerings to include holistic catering and private cheffing. I’m excited and grateful to see what the future holds for this small, woman-owned business.
Thank you to everyone who has supported Florabelle over the the years! It is my dream come true to share my love for cooking, nutrition, and sustainability with so my incredible clients!
