We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Cindy Van Pelt a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Cindy, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.

Today, as co-owner, pastry chef, and COO of The Source Café, I lead our operations, guide an incredible team, and foster the mission of integrity at the core of everything we do. None of it happened overnight. It grew from one bold decision, a risk that quietly rerouted the entire course of my life.

Before The Source Café, there was The Sweetest Sin, my little world of playful, indulgent creations. Baking wasn’t a career, it was a passion project that brought joy and made me feel alive. I didn’t start with formal training; my background was an MA in religious studies, worlds away from flour and sugar. But passion has a gravity to it, and as it kept pulling me closer, I went on to earn my culinary credentials, not to prove where I started, but to honor how deeply the craft mattered to me.
Then came a moment that shifted everything: Chef Amber Caudle, a friend and soul sister long before she was my business partner, was bringing The Source Café to life, a wellness cafe before “wellness” became a trend. She asked if I wanted to help build the baking program. It felt like true alignment. Like stepping into something my heart recognized as home.

That invite became the real leap.
Saying yes meant stepping into a business I hadn’t built.
It meant blending friendship with entrepreneurship.
And I said yes, fully, boldly, without hesitation.

From there, my role naturally evolved: from the baker in the kitchen to the person who handled the systems, the staff, the structure, the decisions no one glamorizes but every restaurant depends on. I’m still our lead pastry chef, but with a talented team carrying the daily production, I can focus on the creativity, consistency, and operational heartbeat that shapes who we are. And while I’m so beyond proud of the pastries, I’m equally proud of the culture, consistency, and operational backbone I’ve helped build, the rhythm that keeps The Source Café thriving.

Thirteen years later, The Source Café is exactly what we dreamed of: an intentional, organic, seed-oil-free café and gluten-free bakery designed for conscious eaters who crave real nourishment. A place where every ingredient matters, every dish is made with intention, and every guest leaves a little more grounded.

People love to romanticize entrepreneurship, but the real magic isn’t in the opening day. It’s in the devotion, showing up again and again, choosing the hard things, evolving with the work, and knowing in your soul that it all means something.

Saying yes to this opportunity didn’t just change my career — it reshaped my entire life. Because sometimes the most beautiful risk isn’t launching your own dream from scratch… it’s saying yes to someone else’s and realizing it was your destiny all along.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’m Cindy — co-owner, COO, and pastry chef of The Source Café, an organic, seed-oil-free café and gluten-free bakery in Hermosa Beach, California. My path here wasn’t planned; it unfolded like the best things in life do; quietly, intuitively, with a lot of heart.

Today, The Source Café is exactly what we dreamed of: intentional food for conscious eaters. Dishes, pastries, and drinks crafted from clean, organic ingredients, free of seed oils and anything that doesn’t serve the body. Every bite, every sip, carries purpose. Every guest leaves a little more grounded than when they arrived.

What sets us apart isn’t just what’s on the plate. It’s our consistency, our integrity, our intention. We don’t chase trends. We build experiences. We nourish. We pour heart into every detail, every recipe, every corner of this space.

If there’s one thing I want people to know about The Source Café, it’s this: everything we do is intentional, energetic, and crafted to make you feel good. Because food is more than fuel; it’s care, it’s ritual, it’s connection… and yes, it’s joy, baked right in.

Do you sell on your site, or do you use a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc?

Launching our Nootropic Hot Chocolate on Amazon has been a wild ride; longer, trickier, and way more expensive than we ever imagined. It turns out translating the love, care, and intention of The Source Café into the online world takes a little patience, a lot of learning, and a touch of magic. Every step from sourcing ingredients to shipping has been a lesson in holding our standards and staying true to what we do. Now, our cocoa is finally ready to launch and carries the same nourishing heart and intention as everything in the café. The process has reminded us that e-commerce takes a lot of patience and persistence, and when you stay true to your values, the result is something worth sharing with the world.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

For the longest time, I thought I had to do it all myself. Quietly, it became my way of proving my worth, believing that the harder I worked, the better the business would be.

Everything shifted when I began to let go. I began putting people in roles where their brilliance could shine, and stepping back. Suddenly, the business grew, the team thrived, and I remembered why I started this work in the first place: joy, creativity, and connection.

Unlearning martyrdom has been liberating. Leadership isn’t about doing everything — it’s about holding space, guiding, amplifying, and honoring your own energy. That’s where the heart of The Source lives, and that’s where the real magic quietly unfolds.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://thesourcecafe.com
• Instagram: @the.source.cafe