Born an only child in Cincinnati, Ohio to an Irish-born mother and third generation German Father, Maeve’s life was destined to be greatly influenced by food! She attended an all-girls high school, St. Ursula Academy, and rowed her way into college being named by Sports Illustrated Athletes to Watch. After graduating from Boston University on a rowing scholarship, Maeve started her career quest!

After college Maeve struggled to settle on a direction… she checked out a few career paths in NYC and then spent several months in South Africa. While cooking dinner for the family she was living with in Walvis Bay, if finally became clear: “I’M A CHEF!” Looking back, Maeve realized she had been on this path since she was two. She moved to LA and landed her first job as a private chef. It was Maeve’s husband’s career that brought her to San Diego.

With the move, Maeve started all over again, but this time she followed her passion, threw caution to the wind, and in the middle of a major recession, opened Sugar and Scribe… a small upscale bakery in Pacific Beach. Of course, given the condition of the economy, the banks were more apt to call the psych ward than to listen to a business plan, so Maeve accepted the challenge with a shoestring budget, Mama’s savings and Dad’s American Express card. Sugar and Scribe launched in November 2010 winning Best Bakery 4 years in row and was listed in Sunset Magazine as 50 Best Shops in the West. The second Sugar and Scribe location opened in La Jolla, February 2015 and was honored with Best New Restaurant 2015 in La Jolla. In 2015 Maeve became Food Network Holiday Baking Champion and in 2016 was named Irish Woman of the Year. Most recently, Maeve was awarded California Restaurant Association’s 2019 Chef of the Year.

Maeve’s love of food and the memories that great foods inspire drive her to create morsels of excellence every day. “I think my keen understanding of flavor combinations comes from mixing leftovers, never being afraid of food and loving the experience of cooking. When I’m happy, I eat. When I’m sad, I eat. When I’m angry, I eat. So it’s important to have great food for every emotion!