Daniela Malavé remembers the exact moment she realized something was wrong inside her body.
“At the time, one of my survival jobs as an artist was working as an event coordinator,” she said. “I was sitting at my desk, and across the street was a small sandwich shop I loved. I had what felt like a very healthy lunch — an organic salad and a freshly baked baguette they made daily.
“Shortly after eating the bread, every joint in my body felt inflamed, almost as if it were on fire, from head to toe. It wasn’t digestive discomfort alone; it was full-body inflammation. That was the moment I knew this wasn’t normal.”
Malavé sought out a doctor and an allergist, coming to find she has a wheat allergy and significant gluten intolerance.
“Once I removed gluten from my diet, the change was dramatic. The joint pain and inflammation subsided, and my body felt like it returned to baseline,” she said.
That experience fundamentally changed how she relates to food and health, and ultimately, to her own body.
She founded Pawjackers, which offered organic and gluten-free treats for dogs. That business evolved into Doggy & Me cupcakes, which paired gluten-free treats for pets with similar cupcakes for their owners. And eventually, in June 2020, she founded Tres Fiori, a gluten-free dessert studio that she runs out of her home in Fishtown.
“I use organic eggs, organic butter, organic powdered sugar, and high-quality gluten-free flours. Tres Fiori is always gluten-free and celiac-safe, and I often use lactose-free or oat milk to accommodate clients with dairy sensitivities,” Malavé said. “A majority of my food colorings are Sugarflair Maximum Concentrated Food Colouring Paste and similar Sugarflair colors sourced from the United Kingdom, which are made to meet U.K. and European Union food additive safety standards and are widely used for edible decoration in those markets,” she explained. “I also use vegetable-based dyes, as I have many clients who are highly allergic to all food dyes and I accommodate them as well.”
Tres Fiori — which means “three” in Spanish, and “flowers” in Italian — pays homage to three generations of women in her family, all of whom created floral works of art: her grandmother Vera, her mother Kathy, and herself.
“Flowers have always symbolized presence and awareness for me,” she said. “They invite us to slow down, to notice detail, and to fully experience beauty as it unfolds. Flowers ask for attention — not because they disappear quickly, but because their impact lives in the act of observing them,” she said. “They’re also deeply personal. My grandmother Vera and my mother Kathy were both artists, and flowers were a recurring discipline in their work — through wreath making, painting, dried florals, and mixed media. Nearly every medium they explored found its way back to floral forms. Being immersed in that world shaped how I understand artistry, patience and care.”
The primary reason that Malavé operates out of her home bakery, rather than a storefront, is safety, she said. “Finding a commercial kitchen that is truly gluten-free and certified “celiac-safe” is extremely difficult here in Philadelphia. Difficult as in: they don’t exist. For me, this isn’t a preference—it’s a medical requirement. I can’t work in kitchens where wheat flour is present in the air; exposure causes an immediate and severe physical reaction.”
She does hope to operate in a larger space one day, and said she is actively exploring options to find a commercial space.
For now, she can take her time with each order, since her most intricate cupcakes can take up to 20 minutes to decorate — per cupcake! “Each one is piped by hand, petal by petal — with no molds or shortcuts,” she said.
Each cupcake is more than a delectable snack — though her favorite flavor, Orange Citrus Creamsicle, comes from her Italian-Venezuelan heritage. In both cultures, citrus is often infused into milk or cream, and vanilla is used to round out the brightness.
“There’s a visual moment, a tactile moment, and then the flavor. It becomes a multi-sensory experience rather than just a cupcake,” she said.
The largest order she has filled to date was a 300-cupcake order for the residents of the Tel Hai Retirement Community — and that is a significant accomplishment for someone who is self-taught as a baker and pastry artist. “Working with a client on a custom order is a deeply collaborative process. No two pieces I create are ever the same, and that’s intentional. I want each client to receive a one-of-a-kind piece of edible art that reflects their individuality and essence,” she said. “I don’t replicate other artists’ work. If a client brings inspirational images, I use them as a starting point, then reinterpret the idea through my own design language and the Tres Fiori aesthetic. Every piece is original and made specifically for that client.”
Surprisingly, Tres Fiori is not Malavé’s first extremely artistic endeavor. She was a dancer first, training intensively at Albany Berkshire Ballet in upstate New York. She joined the dance team for the Albany Patroons Continental Basketball Association for three seasons, and also served as the dance team’s event coordinator and public relations representative for a time. Then she became an actress; her first professional theatrical production was “The Awesome 80s Prom,” an off-Broadway show, in New York City. She completed the Shakespeare intensive at Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, Massachusetts, under Dennis Croll and Tina Packer. She is also a voiceover actor and has been a producer, working across live events, branded storytelling, and on-camera and voice-driven projects.
“The entertainment industry taught me resilience more than anything else — how to develop a thick skin, stay persistent, and keep showing up even after repeated rejection. You learn very quickly that you do the work for the love of the art, not for immediate validation,” she said. “To me, the entrepreneurial spirit is deeply similar to the artist’s spirit. It’s intuitive, disciplined, and almost spiritual — a force that keeps you going even when the path isn’t clear. That connection between creativity and persistence is how all of my passions come together, and it’s what has carried Tres Fiori to where it is today.”
For 2026, Malavé plans to honor traditional desserts from her heritage and create celiac-safe baked goods “that feel familiar, thoughtful and alive.” Through the Bloom de Flor Shortbread Collection, inspired by coffee culture and the ritual of cafecito, her shortbreads will be “an invitation to be present, to appreciate what’s in front of you, and to savor the moment rather than rush past it.”
“The inspiration comes from how I grew up in Venezuela, where bakeries were woven into everyday routines,” she recalled. “Before school, we would stop for coffee and a fresh sweet bread or cachito [a Venezuelan pastry]— everything made that morning, simple, warm, and full of care. I wanted to bring that feeling into Tres Fiori.”
Nonna’s Garden will be the cornerstone flavor from her Italian side, while on the Venezuelan side, Chicha Andina Pan de Casa is inspired by chicha, the traditional Venezuelan drink made with grains, milk, spices, and papelón.
“Florals will always be part of Tres Fiori, but this collection represents an evolution—using flavor as a bridge between culture, memory, and ritual. In 2026, my goal is to continue building in that direction: expanding thoughtfully, pursuing the right production space, and creating work that honors culture, care, and community,” she said.
For more information on Tres Fiori, visit https://tresfiori.com.
