Hey! I am
MICHAELA PONTIKI
The Journey to Creating Nutritious, Gluten-Free Vegan Meals
From blueprints to recipes
I grew up in Crete, Greece and moved to London to pursue my Masters in Sustainable Design. Being an architect by trade with a Masters degree I have worked both in the architectural and fashion industry, starting from very low positions each time I went into a new industry. I left architecture due to the lack of creativity in the industry to work in fashion and I resigned from the fashion industry due to lack of substantial’s company’s culture.
Discover the art of vegan baking with Lady M
It was time to build my own ethos, and choose the people I want to work with.
I have always been a good home baker, and since I was at the time vegan and gluten intolerant I started baking from home and selling in a food market in London. One market brought many and many markets brought the wholesale activity and private orders. I started doing everything myself and in a year’s time I was employing a baker at home, a sales assistant in the market and I was driving a borrowed car to deliver to wholesalers.
One of my customers from an existing business (wholesale) saw me doing well and offered to open with me a delicatessen. I accepted as I wanted to leave my home kitchen. A year down the line, we had outgrown the kitchen in the little deli and I had learnt everything I could. I sold my shares, made 300% profit and moved to an industrial kitchen. We rented a shared counter and learnt to work in a fast paced environment next to Michelin trained chefs.
Arapina
With a team of 5, we had outgrown our space, and decided to move to our own premises to continue wholesale and markets. With unintended retail sales exceeding every other revenue stream, all happening from an existing shabby shop, we decided that it was time for the next step. Against all odds and advise from those “who know best” in September 2017 we opened our doors to our existing and new clients with a full on vegan, gluten free and sugar free menu all offered within a wellbeing and zen environment that I had always envisioned Arapina to have.
