Meet Helene Henderson | chef owner Malibu Farm

We had the good fortune of connecting with Helene Henderson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Helene, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I am not sure I ever had a real plan or a thought process. It was more of a one step after the other, following a path I did not plan or imagine.

When we lived in Los Angeles, I ran a catering company for about 12 years that was called Lavender Farms catering. I did not know anything about catering but one day I cooked a dinner for a friend, and then people, friends, acquaintances started hiring me to cater their dinners. One day a client asks for liability insurance and workman’s comp, which of course I didn’t have, so I had to hustle up to figure it out. I was learning on the fly as my parties grew bigger and more elaborate. Sales tax business license, invoices, billing, everything was new and a steep learning curve.

When we moved to Malibu in 2008 I transitioned to private chef work and for fun I started teaching cooking classes during the day from home. The class participants wanted recipes, obviously, so I started a blog where i posted the class recipes. I almost called the blog Lavender Farms, as I still had my insurance, sales permit, credit cards and everything needed for a business to operate, but very last minute I made the decision to start over and named my blog MALIBU FARM. I was mostly thinking that my catering days were over and this was a new start, but I really did not at that point imagine that it would lead to several restaurants. I had never even worked in a restaurant when I opened my the original pier cafe!

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
How did I get here? Ask myself that same question daily! I was catering and doing private chef work, when for fun I started teaching cooking lessons out of my backyard. I started a blog where I posted the cooking class recipes and then hosted dinners out of my home selling tickets on the internet. I actually can’t believe that I was inviting total strangers to dine in my home, but yup that is what I did. One thing led to another and I did a short term pop up on the Malibu Pier and somehow I now have several restaurants. What did I learn? A lot. It was definitely a road full of challenges, often I felt like I was free falling as there was so much to learn and so much I did not know. Although I had been in catering and private chef work for catering, for decades a restaurant is definitely another beast. I think the biggest learning lesson is that the restaurant business is definitely a people business, and anything that is people all day everyday definitely brings a lot of daily challenges, sometimes fun, often challenging. We have learned survival by weathered hurricane Marie in 2014, which sent waves crashing over the end of pier and several pylons swept away which lead to a lengthy closure during the repair. Woolsey fire in 2018 left us without power for weeks, spoiling our entire inventory which was a massive clean up operation. During the pandemic of 2020 we were able to partner with World Center Kitchen and “off their plate” sending out thousands of meals to hospital workers and volunteering on a farm. I think the number one thing I have learned is the path forward may be a challenge with lots of obstacles you never imagined..Regardless what the future holds moving forward, failure or success, I know I weathered and survived a lot for which I will always be grateful for.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would have them meet me in San Diego, do a quick tour around downtown and seaport village, and then take Amtrak surfrider train up to Los Angeles. Catch this ocean front train gem while you can and before the tracks fall into the ocean.

Then I would of course take them to Malibu and visit Malibu pier. Shop for vegetables at local family Larry and Laurle Thorne at their farmers market on Saturday from 9 to 1 pm. Then a hike on foot or by horses from Malibu riders at Zuma Canyon trail head.

Then drive north on the 101 and visit wine country. Shamra and Brian strange did an amazing job at Matties Tavern and cottages in Los Olivos and, and do a wine crawl through santa ynez.

Los Alamos is a must stop for breakfast at Bob’s well bread. I know Bob from when we both lived in Hollywood and our daughters were in school together.

My friend Sonja Magdevski has two tasting rooms is Los Alamos, Casa Dumetz wine and Babi’s beer. She is super fun and so knowledgeable. Full of life flat bread there is always amazing for dinner.

Then keep on driving north with a quick stop at the Ostrich Land USA , in Solvang, which is hilarious.

I often make a quick stop at Finca in Paso Robles which is super cute or I grab a coffee next door at the food hall.

Spend the night at Vision quest ranch which is on the Monterey zoo property in Salinas. Elephants bring you breakfast. I stayed there years ago, it was amazing.

Then an easy breezy drive to San Francisco. Visit our location in Tiburon by taking the ferry from San Francisco or drive over the golden gate bridge. A sunset cruise to an angel island ferry is always fun. Maggie the ferry boat captain is very entertaining. Wrap up the trip by a hike at Muir woods, and that is a wrap!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I recently went to a fundraiser for Malibu boys and girls club where they highlighted their program “1 in 5” https://bgcmalibu.org/1-in-5/ – and they deserve lots of credit and all the recognition for working towards making a difference in their school community.

1 in 5’ is a youth-led suicide prevention project created by dedicated members of Boys & Girls Club of Malibu. The need for help and awareness surrounding mental health issues are becoming more and more important and it was very touching to see high school students taking initiatives in supporting each other and creating safe spaces and safety nets.

Website: https://www.malibu-farm.com

Instagram: @malibufarm

Linkedin: @malibufarm

Twitter: @malibufarm

Facebook: @malibufarm

Image Credits
image of pier ERIN KUNKEL
image of back yard dinner MARTIN LOF