Meet Vanessa Fernandez Favreau | Chef & Co-Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Vanessa Fernandez Favreau and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Vanessa, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I think the most difficult thing was to start over in a new country, with a new language. understand that the situation in our country forced us to physically detach ourselves from our home, our family, our friends, to start a new life, and not feel bad because of that, and turn that into an impulse to rebuild our lives.

What should our readers know about your business?
My journey began when my husband Cesar and I got married and decided to start traveling around the world as backpackers, taking some time to breathe about the bad situation in our country Venezuela. During those years our minds expanded so much, we learn about food, traditions, cultures and the most important, we met people very different than us. But once you start traveling you can’t stop by yourself, so one day, my Cousin and partner Ivan called us and say: guys you need to stop, let’s do something together, what about pizza? And maybe destiny, we received the call while we ate in our favorite pizza place in Italy, so the idea sounds to me like something written in the stars. I am very passionate about everything I do, so after that decision, I decided to study to be a professional baker, I prepare myself for almost a year and at the same time we worked to get our investment visa and our restaurant ready. We had a tight budget, so we made almost everything by ourselves, big and small details, we bought the equipments in auctions fix and rebuild some on them. And here we are, a year and a half later. Our brand is well recognized because our product, service and atmosphere, we made our dough and sauce from scratch, with our own formulas, long fermentation process and really healthy ingredients. We work with overnight proofing and is fascinating, is one of the many things that makes our Pizza special, Less yeast, more flavor, and bubbles, those are “extra points” when you are a baker. Our service is the other thing that sets us apart from others, for us the studio is our home, so every client is like a friend coming to eat with us, we treat every single person as friends, we know our regular clients names, what they like, is a very nice atmosphere. Our studio is also an open space for different expressions of art, Before Covid, we used to have “Rehearsal sessions” on Tuesdays, Musicians from many cultures met, and without knowing each other, they played music together, magical! , We hope to have it back by 2021

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I love scenic cycling routes, from Midtown to Downtown and then to the Bayou Park. Couple hours at The Menil Collection and after that a picnic at the Menil park. Cafeza on mondays, The Gypsy Poet is a most for Rehearsal sessions on Tuesdays or any other day to share with friends and Dinner at Poscol on thursday. Walk on Hermann park and Rice University for a long talk and breath fresh air.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My husband Cesar encouraged me to take this big turn in my life. Even though I am a journalist and use to work on international projects, I always liked cooking, when he realized how I enjoyed it, he start over-emphasizing towards my dishes, He tried the food and hugged me, kissed me and raved about the dish (he still does that), He repeated to me that he would love that other people could enjoy the dishes that I prepared, that he felt selfish not sharing “with the world” LOL. He always makes me laugh about it, but honestly, I’m very shy and that’s what encourage me to take cooking classes and prepare my dishes for other people.

Website: www.thegypsypoet.us
Instagram: thegypsypoetstudio
Yelp: The Gypsy Poet

Image Credits
@eugene_drake (The Drakes)