Today we’d like to introduce you to Maria Franco.
Hi Maria, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your back story.
My name is Maria, and I was born in Brazil where I graduated in food engineering and worked in the beverage/fast food industry, in 2004, I transferred to the USA.
Worked in the citrus company for a while but my passion and skills in culinary continued to grow. In 2018, Mariapetit Food Boutique was born with the idea to bring back the comfort foods that I grew up with in a healthier, holistic, and good-for-your-body way.
At our store located in downtown Auburndale, you will be able to get your weekly meals as part of our fit-for-you meal plan, have a slice of cake, order a gift basket, or just enjoy a delicious Açai bowl… We have a bite for everyone, from our meal plan program, and gluten-free products to our catering services we are here to grow and learn with our community.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My biggest struggle in the beginning was to give up my career. To venture into entrepreneurial work.
You hear a lot of bad things, like “You are going to give up your career to start from zero.” You are going to leave your engineering to be in a kitchen and so on but you have to follow your passion and dream and I will always be an engineer, all the knowledge I acquired in the big food industry helped me overcome a lot of obstacles and become successful.
My advice would be to shut down all bad energy and listen to your heart only. Seek help with those in your community who are already in the business, take the time to research and learn.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We specialize in healthy meal plans and pride ourselves in the ability to accommodate food needs such as gluten and dairy-free.
Our idea as a food boutique is to be a place to promote not only our products but other local products. We partner with local, small businesses to help them promote and sell their products at our location.
Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
Staying with my grandparents at their farm on summer vacation.
My grandma would cook everything from scratch and most of the ingredients would come from our farm. I can close my eyes and smell the herbs from the garden, especially rosemary which was mine and my grandma’s favorite.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mariapetitfood
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mariapetitfoodboutique
