Our Founder

People often ask Zoe what led to starting Yaygit Cafe in 2021 and Yaygit Foods in 2023. Often times she shares snippets of one of many stories which led her to owning a vegan, whole-food, gut-friendly business, but to be honest, Yaygit's story is not linear—rather a collection of personal experiences over decades.

Food sensitivity, food allergies, and gut journey

At the age of twenty, while working as a remedial therapist, Zoe decided she wanted to learn more about herbal medicine and naturopathy. She wanted to understand nutrition, as she had struggled with properly nourishing her body in her youth, and to support others the way she had learned to support herself. It was during this time she discovered that the bloating she had been experiencing was not normal for her body. She eliminated foods that left her bloated, nauseous, fatigued, and more. With all the acquired knowledge to pursue other passions, she began to nourish herself, her family, and friends. She later became a certified yoga teacher, yoga nidra teacher, artist, and soo much more.

Over time she felt so good with changes to her diet that she became curious about the changes in her reproductive health, and how she could support others, and so began the journey of feeding her body for wellness.

Life with endometriosis, polycystic ovaries, and a fibroid

Living with food allergies was one thing. Living with endometriosis was another. Zoe was lucky enough to get a diagnosis early in her life through a laparoscopy and ultrasounds. With her newfound knowledge, she once again became curious in understanding all three of her conditions. She learned how foods impacted hormones and ways foods could also support hormones. Zoe built a deeper relationship with her gut and its role in keeping and supporting wellness. She made foods at home with intention, creating combinations of foods to support all three of her reproductive conditions. She lived a low GI and gluten-free life, and found yoga and meditation. 

Today Zoe lives in Seattle, living a very allergy-friendly and reproductive-friendly life. Yaygit is a daily part of her nourishment—focusing on reducing inflammation, meeting macros as a vegan of over two decades, and maintaining a balance in hormones as she gets older. With all that in tow, she felt it was time to share what has nourished her with with those that desire nourishment. And so began Yaygit's journey.

Zoe - Founder & CEO