Community Kitchen (Part 2)

All I have to say right now is ... WOW!  Okay, that's not ALL I have to say but I am overwhelmed by all the love and support that has followed my announcement about the Monroe Community Kitchen.  You certainly know how to make a girl feel loved.😌  I've read each and every one of your comments, text messages and emails - most them, more than once.😅 I've listened to your voicemails and treasured each and every encouraging word that you have passed along.  And although I haven't been able to respond to each of you individually, please know that your reassurance and positive feedback has meant a lot and given me the inspiration that I needed to continue on this journey. 

​I feel like my initial blog post really only scratched the surface when it came to identifying the intended purposes for this amazing space.  I have so many BIG plans for the community kitchen that it may actually take a couple of blog posts for me to accurately describe all of the ways that I want to use it.😅  

For those of you who don't already know, I own a cottage food business.  I enjoy all different kinds of cooking but the fact that I buy 60 pounds of butter at a time should give you an indication of the type of food that I make most often. 🧈🍰😅  Baking is my stress relief --- most of the time.😂  And it's been the avenue that's allowed me to meet so many wonderful people in our community.  I truly consider it an honor and a privilege to be able to share the food that I make with my community. 😅

As much as I love baking and as rewarding it is to see the smile on the face of a child when they see their birthday cake for the first time, I've always felt like my there was a piece of my business that was missing.🍰 And it really wasn't until I took on this community kitchen project that I fully realized what that was.  It wasn't that I needed to add more recipes to my repertoire - it was a desire to share my knowledge of food with others.  I don't want to just bake cake and cookies for people - I want to educate people about the importance and value of quality, nutritious food.  And yes, I realize that this sounds pretty hypocritical coming from someone who earns their living as a baker, but I feel like my experience in the food industry have given me valuable insight that I can pass along to others.  

We can all agree and food is a necessary component to life and it's intricately connected to our health and well being which is why I'm so excited about the prospect of having a space in Monroe to educate people about the importance of quality food.  My dream would be for everyone in my community to be able to join us in the community kitchen. 

Children who are learning how to properly use kitchen equipment and young adults who are preparing to move away from home for the first time.  Young families who want to learn how to meal prep in large quantities, people who want to safely prepare and reheat small meals for themselves and community members who may not have access to any other kitchen.  I want to invite people who want to learn how to make charcuterie boards and those who want to sit back, sip a lemonade and watch me prepare a charcuterie board. 🤣🍱 I could go on and on, but I think you get the idea.  The goal is to make our community kitchen available to as many people as possible. 

We're still at the very beginning stages of this massive project and I feel like there are mountains to climb so for now, I'm trying to focus on taking one baby step at a time.😅  On that note, there are several pieces of kitchen equipment in the space now (see photos above) that are not going to be used in the remodeled kitchen so if you're interested in purchasing any (or all) of them - please reach out to me.  We will need to clear out the existing equipment to make room for the studio kitchen.  Also, anyone out there in desperate need of a boiler?🤣 😬
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I honestly feel like I can't ever thank you enough for supporting me and my dream of creating a community kitchen.  Having a community of support is critical and I'm thankful for everyone of you that has reached out to me and those that have prayed over this project.  Whether you know it or not, you are all helping to advance the Grace Community Kitchen.  

Ciao!