Fresh Food for Thought

The latest news and views impacting our craft food community

Central Kitchen Contemplates All Plant-Based Accelerator in Cleveland.

In 2019, Central Kitchen began exploring the viability of launching an all plant-based accelerator program in Cleveland, Ohio. With the goal of helping plant-based entrepreneurs scale their businesses and contribute to the growth of the local food industry, the program was (Read more)

Teens in the Kitchen with Chef David Miller

Teens in the Kitchen:  Knock, Knock, David Miller: Who’s There? Teens: Pasta… David: Pasta who? Teens: Pass the Lasagna; we’re hungry! Chicken & Broccoli Lasagna w/ Alfredo Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 40 minutes Total Time: 55 minutes Serves: 9 (Read more)

Teens in the Kitchen with David Miller

Soul food is an ethnic cuisine traditionally prepared and eaten by African Americans, which originated in the Southern United States. The term originated in the early 1960’s when the word “soul” was a popular buzzword. Soul food is closely associated with (Read more)

Teens in the Kitchen with David Miller

The current weather outside may be frightful, but that’s ok, because it just makes delicious comfort food even more delightful! 😜 Earlier this week, our very own David Miller was our resident chef and had a blast putting on a special (Read more)

Pandemic Pivot at Destiny Farm Cattle

Words by Rebecca Ferlotti Photos by Kaitlin Walsh The moment you start down the gravel pathway at Destiny Farm Cattle-quintessential red barn in the distance-you hear the excited squeals of hogs. “We weren’t quite ready for the hogs,” says Hendrick Leibrandt, “but (Read more)

Screen Time: Triggering Binge Eating in Young Adults

Words by Shelly Kelley According to the Pew Research Center, by 2018 95% of teens aged 13-17 owned a smartphone and 97% used a social media platform such as YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, or Snapchat. Many adults believe these platforms negatively impact (Read more)

Hubbard Squash Parfait with Miso Fluff and Buttermilk Ganache

Photo by Barry Jarvis Food Styling by Anthony Reasor   Ganache: ½ cup buttermilk, shaken 1 cup dark (70% +) chocolate 1 tablespoon butter or ghee Gently warm all ingredients over low heat, whisking constantly, until smooth and melty. Store in (Read more)

Hubbard Squash Chutney

Photo by Barry Jarvis What to do with the dozens of pounds of leftover squash? This chutney will last weeks in your refrigerator if you don’t eat all of it in one sitting like a pint of ice cream. 2 shallots, (Read more)

Roasted Hubbard with Yogurt and Bengali Five Spice

Photos by Barry Jarvis   Tadka is the Hindi word for tempering whole or ground spices in oil or ghee. It’s also the word for the infused oil itself. Gently toast ground spices in a little oil to make a thick (Read more)

In Search of the Great Pumpkin

Photos by Barry Jarvis It wasn’t a typical fall pursuit. The search was more difficult not just because farms need notice for such things but also because it was a particularly unusual year. We were coming out of a global pandemic, (Read more)

Grass-fed Beef Liver Patè

This is not your typical liver recipe! Serve this mouthwatering dish paired with bread, carrots or on cucumber slices. Featuring bacon, garlic, rosemary and thyme, this recipe is not only packed with nutrients but it’ll delight your palate too. Ingredients 8 (Read more)

The Unsung Superfood: Organ Meat

Words by Dr. Marcus Cirelli Liver. Heart. Kidney. Tongue. Although these might not be the first cuts of meat you purchase from your local butcher shop, they are by far the most nutritious. Organ meats have been a staple in the (Read more)

Cast Iron Deep Dish Pizza

Terry Thomsen’s pizza dough is delicious, organic and highly versatile. Make everything from cinnamon rolls to pretzels plus many styles of pizza. You can find Feel Good Dough in the frozen foods at Heinen’s Grocery. Ingredients 1 Feel Good Dough ball (Read more)

Craft Food Classroom Podcast Heinen's

Craft Food Classroom, the Podcast | Series Continues

One of America’s most extensive food hubs, Central Kitchen, talks with thriving food entrepreneurs about their journey and vision. Each episode, produced by Central Kitchen Media, features live testing of products from minority craft food entrepreneurs while diving into each guest’s (Read more)

Plant-Based Stadium Dogs

Plant-Based Stadium Dog with Local Sauerkraut, Mustard & Seasonal Veggies

You might be as skeptical as we were on our Craft Food Classroom podcast when we cooked up some plant-based hot dogs. We were wrong; they were delicious, not to mention quick and simple! Cook these Field Roast stadium dogs using (Read more)

Sales Planning

How to Build a Sales Plan for Your Craft Food Business

Your sales plan establishes a strategy for identifying sales targets, i.e. prospective customers, retailers or even funding partners. It lays out the steps you will take to connect with them and the tactics and tools used to do so. Sales are (Read more)

Heinen's Fine Foods

The Four P’s of the Retailer Pitch

Kim Heinen is the Manager of Packaged Goods at Heinen’s Grocery Store. Kim currently leads the Category Management team for the Grocery, Dairy and Frozen departments. Kim and her team are primarily responsible for product assortment, pricing and promotions within the (Read more)

Summer Salmon Salad

Ultimate Summer Salmon Cobb Platter

Sockeye salmon are one of the most beautiful types of fish in the world. The deep red color is so stunning that it always makes me pause in awe. This simple preparation for Alaskan sockeye salmon allows your guests to have (Read more)

ROASTED VEGETABLE SPINACH SALAD WITH GREEN CHUTNEY DRESSING

Roasted Vegetable Spinach Salad with Green Chutney Dressing

2 servings Salad Ingredients 1 cup root vegetables like potatoes, carrots, etc chopped into 1in pieces 1 green onion cut into 1in pieces 1/4 cup mushrooms 2 cups spinach 2tbs melted ghee salt and pepper to taste Optional toppings: golden raisins, (Read more)

Behind the Scenes with Craft Food Classroom

Central Kitchen Launches Online Training Program for Craft Food Businesses

Central Kitchen was founded in 2013 as a non-profit food business incubator, offering a 4,300 sq ft shared-use commercial kitchen and an in-person training program. Today, Central Kitchen has grown to include a 137,000 sq ft for-profit food hub featuring custom (Read more)

Food Corridor Kitchen Rental Spaces

7 Shared Kitchen Incubator Programs Supporting Growing Food Businesses

There’s nothing better than enjoying delicious food crafted by a local producer. You can taste the love and experience the care that has gone into it in every bite. And you know that the money is staying in your community. At The (Read more)

Chilaquiles Quiches Edible Cleveland New Recipe

Chilaquiles Quiche

Chilaquiles is a Mexican breakfast dish designed to use leftover tortillas – similar in function to french toast, but drastically different in flavor! In the traditional dish, tortillas are cut into pieces, lightly sautéed in oil, simmered in salsa, then served (Read more)

PUR Spices Masala Paste in Center with Ingredients Laid out on Plate

Ideas for PUR Spices’ Harissa Sauce

Barry Jarvis, managing partner of Central Kitchen Media, worked with CK Member, Sonya Patel of PUR Spices, on this fun video featuring her Harissa sauces and Marsala Paste and ideas on how to use them to create uniquely flavored dishes! Want (Read more)

Fire Roasted Duck Recipe

Fire-Roasted Duck

Animals raised on pasture, close to their biological design, end up with superior nutrition, flavor and texture. It’s always tempting to get super creative and bathe something like a duck in a ginger-soy marinade or baste with hoisin-mandarin compound butter. However, (Read more)

Nicole Lazar with Health Junkie Elderberry Syrup

Health Junkie Holds #1 Spot at Heinen’s in Elderberry Syrup for 2nd Year!

Why did you start Health Junkie Elderberry? In 2016, an ill friend visited while I was pregnant. Knowing I was particularly susceptible, I did everything I could to boost my immune system: lots of kale in my green smoothies, extra vitamin (Read more)

Love Local Collective Central Kitchen Bundle of Meats, Cheese, and Fresh Vegetables

Love Local Collective Spring 2021 Relaunch

Central Kitchen is preparing to relaunch its year-old nonprofit Love Local Collective program with a new, improved website including delivery and subscriptions. The site is powered by a local software company called Farm Fare. It’s robust inventory and ordering system will (Read more)

Amazon Warehouse

Selling Your Craft Food Product on Amazon

Want to sell on Amazon, but unsure how to get started? PUR Spices Owner and Central Kitchen Member, Sonya Patel, shares her experiences bypassing traditional channels and taking her brand directly to Amazon. Sonya is so knowledgeable, she recently partnered with (Read more)

Embracing the Label African American Black Female Chef

How has your heritage shaped your career? I fell into entrepreneurship cause I always wanted to sell some kind of food product. One of my role models was Mr. Wilson, a nice man whose kids I went to school with. He (Read more)

Apple with a Nutrition Facts Ingredient List

5 Common Pitfalls Foodpreneurs can Avoid

At Central Kitchen we talk to dozens of craft food entrepreneurs every day. We understand the hurdles and roadblocks they face and help to overcome them. Beyond general business set up, there are a handful of common food startup issues: Licensing (Read more)

Christmas Gifts

10 Tasty Holiday Gifts From Cleveland’s Central Kitchen

Local makers create artisanal Cleveland gifts It’s the holiday season, but this year, you won’t be watching people fight their way into stores for Black Friday and Small Business Saturday. Clevelanders are resilient, and we’ve found ways to shop for presents (Read more)

Ready to Join a Business Incubator? 4 Tips from Foodpreneurs Like You

How A Food Business Incubator Gives You Resources & Support Many of today’s most successful businesses began in a similar place: a business incubator. Designed specifically for new- and early-stage entrepreneurs, an incubator offers the mentorship, education and resources you need (Read more)

Baker with Bread Product Ready for Selling

4 Undeniable Signs You’re Ready for a Food Entrepreneur Program

Many of the world’s greatest food entrepreneurs started right where you are today: considering whether to take a passion for food to the next level. While it can be a bit scary to start your own food business, the good news (Read more)

How to Start Your Own Successful Food Business

The decision to start your own food business is an exciting one. But it can also be scary and overwhelming, especially if this is your first entrepreneurial endeavor. Fortunately, there are plenty of resources available, like the Central Kitchen Craft Food (Read more)

How to Fit a Craft Food Accelerator Program Into Your Schedule

If you’re ready to take your food product or business to the next level, look no further than a craft food accelerator program. Designed for early-stage food entrepreneurs, a craft food accelerator program provides the education, mentorship and resources you need (Read more)

Cleveland Food Entrepreneur Perfecting his Recipe at the Central Kitchen

Turn Your Passion into a Profession with Food Business Courses

Do you have big dreams of turning your passion for food into a new career? You may be testing new recipes, discovering new culinary methods, or selling a product out of your home or the local farmer’s market. It’s entirely possible (Read more)

love-local-collective-central-kitchen-bundles

Central Kitchen Teams up With Local Farms to Offer End-Around to National Meat Shortages

Like many of us, Eric Diamond kept reading about increasing meat shortages as supply chain interruptions resulting from Coronavirus continue to mount. At the same time, he was talking to local farmers who no longer have an outlet for their fresh (Read more)

Nomaste Cheesecakes

Central Kitchen Sets the Table for Minority-owned Craft Food Startups to Flourish

Eric Diamond was on vacation when he got a call from his Central Kitchen partner, Gordon Priemer. “We were looking for 30,000 square feet of space,” says Diamond. “Gordon called me and said, ‘Hey, I just toured this building. It’s got cooler space, (Read more)

Growth is on the Menu for Northeast Ohio’s Food Sector

What started as a shared kitchen and food incubator called the Cleveland Culinary Launch and Kitchen is growing by leaps and bounds as it tries to meet the demand for space to store food products. Its growth is just one indication (Read more)

How Eric Diamond & Central Kitchen are Making Cleveland into a Craft Food Mecca

We recently sat down to chat with Eric Diamond, Partner and COO of Central Kitchen in Cleveland. Eric is using his twenty years of banking, lending and community development experience to turn Cleveland and Central Kitchen (formerly Cleveland Culinary Launch Kitchen) (Read more)

‘Cleveland Food Hub’ Scheduled to Open on Carnegie Avenue

A new kind of business is coming to Northeast Ohio. Planners are calling it the “Cleveland Food Hub.” It is a food-business incubator plus, a food manufacturing and warehousing space. Cleveland Culinary Launch and Kitchen COO Eric Diamond said It’s the (Read more)

ARE YOU READY?

We're here to help. Let's get started.

Contact us