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The Wooden Spoon Cafe is located at 5714 Patterson Ave. in the former Lulabelle's Cafe. (Photo by Eileen Mellon)
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Beets, mustard greens and goat cheese salad: roasted quartered beets and a citrus balsamic vinaigrette, served on a bed of creamed goat cheese mousse with micro-mustard greens (Photo by Eileen Mellon)
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The cafe area at Wooden Spoon, which features an espresso bar (Photo by Eileen Mellon)
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The intimate space seats about 25 guests. (Photo by Eileen Mellon)
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Yvette Daniel, owner and chef of The Wooden Spoon Cafe (Photo by Eileen Mellon)
Yvette Daniel, 57, owner and chef of the The Wooden Spoon Cafe, has checked off quite a few accomplishments from her bucket list, and restaurateur is soon to follow. Her new venture is set to open Tuesday, July 17, at 5714 Patterson Ave., in the space once occupied by the now-relocated Lulabelle's Cafe.
Daniel’s life is a conglomeration of culinary traditions and tales. She once served as personal live-in chef to Stanley Whitman, owner and developer of Bal Harbour Shoppes — an internationally known open-air shopping mall — in Miami, where she lived for 18 years.
She spent a decade in Venezuela, rich with Spanish cuisine and indigenous food, basking in the “magical” ecosystem and tending a flourishing garden. Daniel says, “You could spit a tomato seed, and then a beautiful bush grows and multiplies. Everything grows.”
She grew up in Barcelona and from a young age saw the importance of food and quality ingredients that were ingrained in Spanish culture.
Daniel graduated with honors from Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Miami, a culinary and hospitality institution with multiple campuses worldwide attended by the likes of Giada De Laurentiis and Julia Child.
“Good food that is healthy and delicious is a lifetime passion of mine,” says Daniel.
So, what brought Daniel nearly 1,000 miles from Miami to Richmond?
In 2008 the financial crisis hit; that same year Daniel divorced her second husband and says it felt like her world was caving in.
“I was devastated, it was too much for me to handle,” she recalls.
After a chilling phone conversation, a friend of Daniel's expressed concern and drove to Miami to check on her. She told Daniel it was a time for a change and took her friend to Le Cordon Bleu, where Daniel would begin the next chapter of her life.
“The moment I walked through the doors of Le Cordon Bleu, I didn’t remember anything [that troubled me],” says Daniel. “I was happy and immersed myself fully, like with painting or reading, and I just went someplace else. After a year of that I felt a lot better about a lot of things.”
Daniel felt a renewed sense of comfort and happiness. Her passion for cooking and using her favorite utensil, a wooden spoon, had been rekindled.
“I [had] always wanted to go. ... You spend your lifetime not doing what you want to do, and the divorce was finally a chance to do something for me, to do something I’d been wanting my whole life,” says Daniel.
In December Daniel relocated to Richmond to open The Wooden Spoon Cafe with her daughter and son-in-law, who lived in the area. But life threw an unexpected curveball, and now Daniel will serve as the sole owner.
“It didn’t work out, but I’m taking it one step at a time, little by little,” says Daniel.
The menu at The Wooden Spoon Cafe is sprinkled with personal touches from Daniel’s vast culinary background. Gourmet sandwiches and salads are elevated with a lemon-cayenne mayo, adding a spicy, citrus-y touch to a traditional BLT or salmon, veggie/farro, and lump crab cake sandwiches. A caprese salad, patatas bravas and bocata iberico signal Daniel’s Barcelona roots.
A limited breakfast menu is offered from 9 to 11 a.m. daily. The full breakfast menu is available weekends (Sundays are breakfast-only) and features house-made yogurt — an uncommon offering on the local dining scene — quiche cups, fresh-pressed juices, smoothies, ginger and wheatgrass shots, avocado toast, and a breakfast wrap.
Coffee lovers can get their caffeine fix at the espresso bar. The cafe also offers house-made lemonade and fruit-herbal water — when I visited Daniel served a refreshing lemon and olive oil water.
The Wooden Spoon Cafe will also offer a daily soup, something Daniel is excited about. When she moved to Richmond she began selling soup through the app Next Door and had about 50 clients, including Pearl’s Cupcake Shoppe owner Laurie Blakey.
Daniel is joined by Chef Leroy Robinson, formerly of Tarrant’s Café, Beauvine Burger Concept and Cary 100.
“I like her attitude, the environment here," says Robinson, "and she’s always right there on my heels, which is good.”
Daniel says Robinson is the yin to her yang.
“I like his energy. I’m very nervous, and he’s very calming,” she says. “I feel supported by having Leroy on, and I want that sort of teamwork.”
Daniel has partnered with Flour Garden Bakery for fresh-baked local bread, as well as Charlie’s Produce for fruits and vegetables, and microgreens from Mary Jane Organic Farm.
In the near future The Wooden Spoon Cafe will offer a daily dinner special and extend its hours. Daniel is currently working to get a liquor and beer license for on-premise consumption. There are plans to offer catering and private events and to hold special culinary events and date nights.
“I fell in love with beautiful Richmond and its warm, friendly people,” says Daniel. “I really look forward to making The Wooden Spoon Cafe a warm, inviting fun place to come for breakfast, lunch and afternoon happy hour. I want to make a place people feel comfortable to sit and chat and stay.”
The Wooden Spoon Cafe will be open daily from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. except Mondays.
