The Commercial Kitchen

I spent my first full day preserving in a commercial kitchen this week. When I first learned that if I wanted to sell my preserves at a farmer's market I would need to make them in a commercial kitchen I was disheartened. How the hell does one find a commercial kitchen? Well it turns out it is really not all that hard, you just have to hit the ground running.

My first stop was Craigslist. I looked in housing, under 'office/commercial' and stumbled across a couple of ads similar to this one. I got in touch with a couple of them and went and checked two of them out. Both of them were looking to get in the $15/hr range.

My next stop was to simply bottle up any insecurities I might have and walk into a local restaurant that I really like and sit at the bar for 30 minutes while I waited for the owner to become available. We chatted, I told him what I was looking for and he was intrigued. He promised to think it over and be in touch. Whew, that wasn't so hard :).

Then I did some research on local churches and community centres. There are actually quite a few with kitchens that would do the trick. Fortunate for me, before I could even begin to knock on doors, I heard back from the restaurant. The answer was 'yes'. And better yet, he suggested we barter rather than exchange funds - perfect.

The morning of my first day in his kitchen I packed up all the supplies I would need, and I mean ALL the supplies. I wanted him to not even know I had been there. Pots, measuring cups, bowls, tupperware, soup ladle, funnel, jars, every ingredient I would need, pot lifter, towels, dish rag, knives, paper towel, hand soap, timer. I brought it all.

I also brought him a jar of my orange onion jam with sage and thyme and in true creative fashion, he began to talk about the different ways you could use the jam. Some of them had never even occured to me. Within minutes he was making a pizza with the jam, parm, prosciutto. It was delicious.

I don't think you could have punched the smile off my face.

Belfiero and Mrs Preserves

There are some days when 'doing your own thing' are harder than others. Last week I had about 7 of those days. Each day I wondered why I don't just take a job in marketing. I have done it for 18 years, make a decent living and know that I am good at it. Exploring this whole preserving thing is a different story altogether. I think I am good at it. I doubt I will make a decent living and I don't really know what I am doing. Each day I discover another barrier and wonder how I will ever get past it.

Well thanks to 2 people last week, I made it through some significant barriers. Let's start with Barb who is also known as Mrs. Preserves. I was introduced virtually through a friend of a friend who said Barb was willing to take some time and speak with me. In our call she was open and not at all unwilling to share information that some might have been less than willing to share with someone. She told me where to get pectin in bulk, what she has noticed flies off her shelves at the farmers market, where she gets great produce, how many jars of preserves she sold last year. We spoke about liability insurance, commercial kitchens and some of the things she has learned over her years of selling at farmers markets. I got off that call feeling a little more positive about my preserving addiction and once again thought chasing this little dream might be worthwhile and that I shouldn't cave for the golden handcuffs of my career in marketing just yet.

Then there is Dennis at Belfiero. My husband and I were so excited when this restaurant opened it's doors last summer. We love where we live but have often called it the wasteland for good restaurants. The thought of a place that made it's own pasta, served delicious veal and was locally owned and managed excited us. Just before Christmas I approached Dennis with the idea of me using his kitchen during his off hours and in January we met again to firm up the details. Tomorrow is my first day in his commercial kitchen making preserves to sell at the farmer's markets this summer and I am so excited. I plan on making Grapefruit marmalade again as well as Meyer Lemon Marmalade. In exchange for the use of his kitchen, I get to put my social media skills to use and help him evaluate his marketing plan. I think it is a wonderful exchange and I am excited to get started on both fronts.

So thanks to Dennis and Barb for keeping me on track and reminding me that good things come from hard work and perseverance.