Q&A: Malibu Farm x TheFoodLegend

Helene Henderson

Miami Beach, FL – June 25, 2018 – Chef and Swedish transplant Helene Henderson is the founder and owner of Malibu Farm Pier Café and Malibu Farm Miami Beach, a farm-to-table destination beloved by Malibu locals and A-listers alike. Born to a Swedish mother and an African-American jazz musician, Helene’s passion for food is rooted in her childhood. Helene fell in love with cooking while waitressing during vacations at a French bistro in her hometown of Lulea in Sweden’s subarctic north. Strongly influenced by the fresh vegetables and seafood native to Sweden, Helene continued to experiment with Scandinavian cooking throughout her childhood until she moved to the US, first New York then Los Angeles, to pursue a highly successful modeling career. Years later, she returned to cooking because that’s what she loved. World Red Eye has partnered together again with Jennifer Chaplin aka TheFoodLegend, to explore Miami’s newest waterfront Malibu Farm Miami Beach located at the Eden Roc Miami Beach Hotel.

Helene Henderson

WRE: How did you originally get your start in the restaurant business? Have you always been interested in opening a restaurant?

HH: I started out in catering, and private events in Los Angeles, and later when we moved to Malibu I began teaching cooking classes out of my home and doing “farm” dinners in my backyard. The dinners grew in size and I began to look for a commercial location when a short term pop-up restaurant opportunity on the pier presented itself. Although I had always been in the food business, I never really thought I would open a restaurant, but then all the pieces just fell into place. Everything happened very quickly, and one thing led to the next thing. Sometimes I still can’t believe I actually have “real” restaurants!

WRE: What is your favorite type of cuisine? How would you describe the cuisine at Malibu Farm?

HH: Simple foods that are healthy and flavorful with lots of vegetables and grains but also accessible to the average diner. Eating healthy should be fun.

WRE: Where are you from? Did you always want to open an outpost of Malibu Farm in Miami?

HH: I grew up in Lulea, which is in the very north of Sweden near the Finish border. I never dreamed I would have an opportunity to open an ocean front restaurant in Miami, and so how crazy is it that I have a restaurant here?! I can barely believe it!

Watermelon Juice & Avocado Pizza

WRE: Where do you source your produce and ingredients from in Miami? Do you still only source from small farmers?

HH: Sourcing is definitely a lot easier in Malibu where we have farmers pretty much in our backyard. In Miami, we are still reaching out and meeting with vendors and hope to increase our local offerings and also hope more and more local farmers will reach out to us directly so we can continue to grow our local selections. Currently, we are working with produce king, premiere produce and farms to chef’s. Other local vendors include Mimmos Mozzarella, Miami Smokers, Zak the Baker, Collins Fish, New England Fish and Lobster, and Larry Klein Produce. Miami is blessed with lots of great breweries that we are still meeting with and sampling their products, currently featuring Funky Buddha, Florida Beer, Native Brewing Company and Miami Club Rum.

WRE: What is your favorite dish on the menu? What is the most popular item on the menu? 

HH: Our pizzas are super popular, in Malibu our vegetable crust pizzas are top sellers, and in Miami our only location with a real pizza oven, the avocado pizza is a best seller, but we have a great skirt steak, and whole roasted fish as part of our family style platters that also are super popular. And don’t forget we have an amazing all natural agave based cocktail program and fresh pressed juices, and great espresso drinks.

Avocado Pizza: Jalapeño ricotta, agave, cilantro, & lime

Chicken Ricotta Burger: Brioche bun, bacon, tomato, red onion, arugula, & spicy aoli

WRE: What are some of your favorite ingredients to work with? Which ingredients will you never use? 

HH: I love the most basic of ingredients, olive oil, lemon of course, no such a thing as too much lemon, the peppery punch of arugula and really good salt. We try to avoid processed foods as much as possible.

Kale Apple Juice

Watermelon Juice & Kale Apple Juice

Swedish Mini Pancakes: Whipped cream & seasonal berries, Watermelon Juice, I Heart Waffle, & Green Juice

I Heart Waffle: Quinoa gluten-free waffle, whipped cream jam, & seasonal fruit

Helene Henderson

At Malibu Farm our goal is always to make eating healthy fun and not homework.

Helene Henderson

WRE: If the Miami Beach community should know one thing about you, what would it be?

HH: I love home cooking and aspire for the restaurant to have the vibe and atmosphere of home cooked meal. Our journey and the Malibu Farm brand began in a small backyard in Malibu and although we are now in commercial locations we hope to bring the feeling of being a guest dining in someones backyard to our locations. We the dining experience feels like Sunday supper at home where you don’t have to cook or clean, just take a seat at the table, and break bread with friends and family.

WRE: How did you decide on the location for Malibu Farm at the Eden Roc Hotel?

HH: From an amazing location on the west coast to another incredible location on the east coast, Miami Beach is the place to be and we could not be more excited to join this vibrant community.

WRE: What are your hopes for Malibu Farm? 

HH: I hope for it to represent the fun casual healthy vibe of our original Malibu location while also incorporating some local flavor. Our goal is always to make eating healthy fun and not homework. The setting at night especially is magical and we hope the locals will embrace our little out of state operation.