My name is Milena Pagán and I do a little bit of everything! Thank you for being here. A little about me:

I was born and raised in Caguas, Puerto Rico, a tiny archipelago colony of the U.S. in the Caribbean. I was restless and rebellious as a little girl, and I spent my childhood trying a lot of new things. As a teenager, I was a skilled seamstress, pattern-maker, illustrator, spelling bee queen, ballet dancer, cook, calculus & math tutor, decorated science olympian and weekend party animal. I’m a scorpio sun (super intense, deep, passionate and layered) and a capricorn rising (structured, determined, ambitious, always forging ahead).

At 17, I moved to Cambridge, MA to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a full scholarship. My time at MIT was easily the most challenging and rewarding four years of my life, and I loved every minute of it. I am a proud graduate of the class of 2011 with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and I had the opportunity to return to the institute in 2019 for my M.B.A. studies at the MIT School of Management (yet to be finished!).

My career path took me to Providence, RI in 2013 to work a corporate job that taught me a lot but ultimately wasn’t a fit for me. I opened Rebelle Artisan Bagels in 2017 on the East Side of Providence with my modest savings and some help in the form of a Kickstarter campaign. With Little Sister’s opening in 2020, I became a proud two-time small business owner on the East Side a few steps away from where I live.

How did I end up working with food? Food is my love language and I have been cooking and baking since I was a little girl. As a child, cooking for myself gave me a sense of independence and self-reliance. Before I was admitted to MIT, I talked myself out of applying to culinary school for fear I wouldn’t be able to make a living out of it. Now I am happy to have realized my teenage dream of working with my hands and doing the honest work of feeding people. In a world that feels increasingly shaky and fake, cooking for others keeps me grounded.

Do I get to toot my own horn here? My endeavors have received recognition from national outlets like Bon Appétit & The New York Times, as well as the local media in RI. I was recognized by EY as Entrepreneur of the Year in 2020, the year the pandemic pushed me into overdrive and I pivoted Rebelle into a online bagel store with delivery / bodega with fresh produce and biweekly donations to a local food pantry. In 2023, I was recognized by the James Beard Foundation as a Best Chef: Northeast semifinalist.

Currently, I do a lot of things: I cook & bake at Little Sister, I’m gearing up the relaunch of Rebelle in Cambridge, I travel in search of good wine and good fun, and I cook for private events (book me for your next party!). Every now and then, my existence causes a stir on the local Internet, so you can call me a professional pot-stirrer in more ways than one! But I’m having fun staying grounded and learning lots of new things :-)

I currently split my time between Providence, RI + Boston, MA + San Juan, PR… and I like to travel a lot for inspiration too! If you want to say hello, fill out my inquiry form. Looking forward to meeting you!