Julie Houser is CEO and Founder of Flower Farma, an award-winning entrepreneur and premier celebrity plant chef. Known to her clients as The Flower Chef, she develops farm-to-table ingredient-inspired menus for celebrities, diplomats and heads of industry. She has enjoyed tremendous partnerships with restaurants and special event coordinators – developing upscale, plant-based, contemporary menu options and one-of-a-kind dining experiences.
Throughout her 25-year culinary career, Ms. Houser has always been devoted to sourcing the best local quality ingredients. When she founded Julie Summers Catering in 1999, she became widely recognized as one of the premier celebrity chefs in Santa Barbara. As a local business leader, she was awarded the Pacific Coast Business Times’ Forty Under 40 award – recognized for her unique plant-based menu creations using fresh ingredients sourced from a community farm.
In 2004, Ms. Houser relocated to Seattle, Washington where she worked as a pharmaceutical sales rep for Forest Laboratories. In this role, she gained an understanding of the pharmacology of many medications and how to communicate that with physicians.
In 2011, when she faced a battle with stage 3 breast cancer, her pharmacology knowledge became personal as she experienced side effects from the medications that saved her life. A chef at heart, she retreated to her kitchen and created a tasty cannabis oil that helped her manage her symptoms. This creation laid the foundation for Flower Farma, which uses cannabis as a delicious ingredient that serves as a superfood rich in vitamins and minerals. Today, she has created a line of cannabis products called OLA – the Irish word for “oil”, which is a nod to her Irish roots.
Ms. Houser lives in Seattle, Washington with her psychiatrist husband Jim, their two sons, and chocolate lab Winnie. She practices yoga, meditation, dances and regularly enjoys the fine art of painting.
Julie has a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of California, Santa Barbara.