At age 18, determined to experience life outside her parents’ home, Helena moved to São Paulo. While doing some modelling work, she was a waitress for caterer Neka Menna Barreto and an intern in the kitchens of Roanne, of Emmanuel Bassoleil, and Gero, of Fasano Group. Invited to lead the kitchen of Na Mata Café, now closed, Helena suspected that perhaps the cooking universe was really her own.
