Celebrity Parents Pinky Cole Welcomes First Baby, Daughter D Ella: 'Life as a New Mom Is Amazing' Pinky Cole, the owner of the famed Slutty Vegan restaurant empire, recently welcomed her daughter with partner Derrick Hayes By Georgia Slater Georgia Slater Twitter Georgia Slater is a writer/reporter on the Parents team at PEOPLE. People Editorial Guidelines Published on February 14, 2022 04:33 PM Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: Derek Blanks Pinky Cole is loving her first taste of motherhood. The Slutty Vegan restauranteur, 34, recently welcomed her first baby, a daughter named D Ella Hayes, with partner Derrick Hayes, and PEOPLE has an exclusive look at the couples' first photos with their little girl. Hayes is also dad to two daughters from a previous relationship. Cole, who is known for her vegan comfort food, tells PEOPLE that she and Hayes are "excited" about their daughter's moniker as "she is the only person we've ever heard of that has only one letter in her first name." "Derrick thought he could only make girls, so when we found out we were having a girl, we decided to make her a girl junior," she says. "[She's] such a special baby with a simple but unique name." The owner of the plant-based burger chain says that "life as a new mom is amazing," sharing that her daughter is "such a calm baby" as well as "smart, funny and a joy to be around." Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. L: Caption . PHOTO: Derek Blanks R: Caption . PHOTO: Derek Blanks RELATED GALLERY: Celebrity Babies Born in 2022 "Every day we learn something new about her and it brings us closer together," she says. As a working mom, Cole says having help is key to balancing her food empire along with her daughter. "I am so fortunate to have my mother and Derrick's mother, as constant support in our household," she says. "We are both so very busy growing our food empires, we wouldn't be able to do what we love without our village. " Derek Blanks Following in her mom's footsteps, baby D is "definitely a full-time vegan baby," adds Cole. "Although Derrick is not vegan, he is very supportive of my lifestyle and allowed me to make the decision on the type of food our daughter consumes," she continues. "I'm so happy that it wasn't a struggle." "Next step, turning Derrick vegan," she teases.