DestinationDessert:

After a corporate career that took her across the globe, Monica Lee returned home to open Spoonful Desserts, which offers up Korean desserts, drinks, and a palpable sense of community in Creve Coeur and Edwardsville, Illinois.

(THESTl.com)

Monica Lee, a former public relations executive turned restaurateur, fell in love with travel as an undergraduate student at Kenyon College. After studying abroad six months each in Spain and China, she immediately moved to Beijing upon earning her degree. There, she embarked on a corporate job and a life of globe-trotting, exploring countries across Asia such as Japan, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Thailand, as well as European cities like London and Paris.  

The St. Louis native was vacationing in the United States during the onset of the 2020 global health crisis when she was locked out of China. This set off a chain of events that led her to leave behind the life she had built and undertake a new adventure: opening a Korean café in her hometown. Today, she is the founder and owner of Spoonful Desserts, a highly successful business with two locations in Creve Coeur and Edwardsville, Illinois, launched in 2022 and 2024, respectively. By introducing guests to the epicurean pleasures she grew up with as a Korean American and came to love as a world traveler, she brings a taste of South Korea — and Asia more broadly — back to her fellow St. Louisans. 

“It always helped me get over my fears to talk to locals about their food,” Lee says. “When they took the time to explain it to me, it broke down a barrier. That’s what I strive to do at Spoonful. I love introducing people to Korean desserts and seeing what they like and don’t like. It’s me bringing my travels home in a way, sharing that with people.” Read more.