There’s a particular kind of Sayulita story that starts with someone showing up for a short visit and never quite leaving. Vero’s is one of them — except hers comes with homemade vegan Phở, coconuts collected by hand off the beach, and a growing following of locals and travelers who’ve come to depend on her cooking.

A Pandemic, a Surfboard, and a One-Way Ticket to Sayulita

Vero arrived in Mexico as a backpacker during the Covid years, traveling with no fixed plan beyond exploring somewhere new. In Puerto Escondido, she tried surfing for the first time and fell hard for ocean life. Not long after, a friend mentioned a small surf town up the coast called Sayulita — and that visit changed everything.

She fell for the town, the pace, the community — and eventually, a local boyfriend, which gave her one more reason to stay. Like a lot of travelers who put down roots here, she needed a way to support herself. So she started making homemade energy balls and selling them on the beach.

To her surprise, people loved them. What began as a simple way to get by slowly grew into a small business — and a real passion for cooking healthy, nourishing food.

From Dental Assistant to Self-Taught Cook

Vero’s path to the kitchen wasn’t a straight line. Before she ever picked up a knife professionally, she trained and worked as a dental technician and assistant. Right after finishing that program, she left to travel the world instead — and she’s never formally studied cooking. Everything she knows comes from passion, curiosity, and years of practice.

She became vegetarian about a decade ago, and that’s when cooking shifted from something she did to something she loved — a creative outlet and a way of taking care of herself and the people around her. When she arrived in Sayulita, she noticed there weren’t many vegan or vegetarian options around. She saw an opportunity to bring something fresh, flavorful, and healthy to a town that was clearly looking for it.

One especially memorable chapter: her energy balls were featured in a cookbook by a well-known Czech chef who had long inspired her. She was later invited to Costa Rica for a week-long internship with that same chef — an experience she calls unforgettable, and one that pushed her further down this path.

Vegan and Vegetarian Cooking, with a Vietnamese Soul

What sets Vegabond apart in Sayulita’s food scene is the fusion at its core: vegan and vegetarian cooking built around Vietnamese flavors and technique. There are other healthy food options around town, but very few built around this specific, homemade combination.

Vero makes almost everything from scratch, avoiding preservatives and processed ingredients whenever she can. She even collects dry coconuts from the beach herself to make fresh coconut milk. For her, cooking isn’t just about taste — it’s about care, creativity, and staying connected to nature.

“Fresh, homemade, and deeply connected to quality ingredients” is how she describes her food. “Colorful, flavorful food made with intention, creativity, and love.”

The Dish Closest to Her Heart: Vegan Phở

If one dish defines Vegabond, it’s Vietnamese Phở. Vero fell in love with a vegan version of the dish the first time she tried it — the depth of flavor, the fresh herbs, the aroma, the comfort of it.

What makes her story even more interesting: she started cooking Vietnamese food in Sayulita before she’d ever set foot in Vietnam. Years later, she finally traveled there and experienced regional versions of Phở firsthand — a trip that gave her even more appreciation for the cuisine and more inspiration to keep sharing it with the Sayulita community.

Part of the Community, On and Off the Plate

Vero says being part of Sayulita means being connected to people who value freedom, creativity, nature, and a slower, more intentional way of living. She’s especially grateful for how international and supportive the community is — people from all over the world who lift each other up and support local businesses.

That spirit goes both ways. Her products are now sold in local stores and coffee shops in Sayulita and surrounding areas, and she makes a point of supporting other small businesses too — recommending them, tagging them on Instagram, and helping them get seen.

Her own experience as a traveler shapes why she does this work. She remembers how hard it was to find genuinely vegan, well-made food on the road — sometimes hard enough to skip a destination altogether. Vegabond exists in part to make sure other travelers and locals don’t have to spend half their day hunting for a decent vegan meal in Sayulita.

Looking Ahead: Private Chef Experiences and Travel Inspiration

Vero recently signed up with SayulitaLife as a new way to connect with people and keep growing creatively. One goal she’s excited about: leaning more into private chef experiences. When she delivers food around town, the bumpy roads don’t always treat her plating kindly — and presentation matters to her. Cooking on-site would let her fully embrace the visual side of a dish, not just the flavor.

She’s using this quieter low season to slow down, experiment with new recipes, and shoot content for social media. Longer term, she’s hoping to travel through Japan, Thailand, and Vietnam to keep learning new techniques and flavors to bring back to her Sayulita kitchen.

How to Support Vegabond

• Book her services through SayulitaLife.com
  Friday Farmers Market (high season): Find Vero’s homemade products in person and say hello.
• Home delivery, year-round: Vero cooks healthy vegan and vegetarian meals for delivery 2–3 times a week. A new menu goes out weekly.
• WhatsApp ordering group: Join here
• Instagram: @vero_vegabond