This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Business & Tech

Culinary Institute Chef Starts Bonney Lake Pizza Business

She plans to sell her product that can be made into healthy pizza at the farmer's market in Puyallup as a start today.

Why would a woman who graduated from The Culinary Institute of America be excited about opening a pizza-making business out of Bonney Lake?

“Pizza can be healthy and delicious,” Rebecca Cameron said.  “I’m specifically excited about our pizzas because they are created for the barbecue (but can also be cooked in the oven) and cook within five minutes.  The barbecue also provides great charring, like a wood-fired oven.” 

After working in New York City and Florida while at the institute, Cameron moved to Lake Tapps and lived in her parent’s garage. Later, she and her husband bought a house in Bonney Lake, and she worked for five years as a registered dietitian at Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

She then worked with her husband’s healthy food business and now is venturing out on her own. She will be selling her Moxie Pizza Kit weekly at the Puyallup Farmer’s Market from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., starting Saturday, June 23.

Cameron uses all local ingredients for her pizza toppings and bakery items, often shopping at farmer’s markets and nearby farms. Her food is produced at a commercial kitchen at a Buckley farm. She someday hopes to have her own building locally.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

Cameron uses local products because they are fresher and to support local businesses. She gets rhubarb from the Scholz Farm, flours from Bob’s Red Mill, eggs from Olympia, and dairy from the Smith Brothers Farm. She does use premium tomatoes imported from Italy.

She became a chef because as a dietitian she could tell people what to eat but not how to cook it.  

“Food can be easily modified for dietary restrictions without sacrificing flavor,” she said. “When my hospital patients would say, ‘I don’t like vegetables,’ my response is ‘you haven’t had them cooked correctly.’ ”

She researched true Italian pizzas and found they are very healthy.

“I was blown away by the taste and nutrition factor of the pizzas I was making at home,” she said. “That’s another great thing about picking up a Moxie Pizza Kit at the Farmer’s Market, you have a multitude of additional ingredients to choose from and experiment.  My goal is to get people excited about what the market has to offer and let me know about their creations.

“This pizza is so fast and easy to make and the whole family can get involved.  I even get my one- and three-year-old making pizzas for dinner."

Her husband and a partner have a Soups kiosk in downtown Seattle, Chandy’s Natural Café at the Microsoft campus, and are going to open a third spot called Chip + Drew’s Filling Station. They specialize in healthy, gourmet food, soups and salads.

As for the name Moxie Kitchen, they refer to their 1-year old daughter, Isla, as having lots of moxie.

“I feel like the word just sums up this pizza adventure: pep, courage and determination,” Cameron said.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Bonney Lake-Sumner