In it for the long haul....

I had a discouraging realization this week. I've started developing a "business plan" for myself which had a few beginning steps:

1. Develop a strong menu of 10-15 items that are fully vegan.
2. Rename business, develop a new look/logo, and packaging.
3. Go through the steps to get my apartment kitchen licensed & products FDA approved.
4. Obtain business insurance.
5. Begin visiting local businesses to get product sold in various places around the city.
6. Eventually, rent out a commercial kitchen and start doing local and shipping orders.
7. Dream - open a store front.

My good friend Kelly found me an article posted on the Maine Organic Farmers & Gardeners (MOFG) website by Cheryl Wixson who does workshops on how to get your kitchen licensed. The article is called Licensing the Home Food Processor Kitchen and goes through a lot of the requirements needed to get your kitchen licensed. Unfortunately, after reading this, I realized I would need to literally re-model our kitchen....which is in a rented property. I don't have a 2-bay sink, no dishwasher, no screen door, no granite or steel counter tops, and the floor is probably less than desirable. Huge let down. I sat on the couch close to tears as I realized my plan was now wrinkled quite a bit. My incredibly supportive and generous fiance asked if we should move. He said we could try to remodel this kitchen ourselves. And then he told me we would do whatever it took to have my dream fulfilled. What an amazing guy - I am so lucky!

I don't think we should move yet; between the two of us, we've moved 6 times in the last 2 years and it's getting really old. We also love our apartment despite the kitchen's "flaws" and the fact that the bathroom is wicked narrow/tiny and only has a stall shower. We love the location, that we have a driveway, that it's fairly quiet, and that we have an incredibly sweet landlord who lives in the building.

So plan b: find a commercial kitchen now or just sit tight, be patient and wait. I found a local commercial kitchen which rents for $10/hour, but I'm not going to jump into it right now. I think I'm just going to work at perfecting my products and will call on friends and family to promote my business, name, and quality products to everyone they know. Word of mouth is a powerful thing and I think it can get me far. I have some incredibly supportive friends who will call me rather than buying a cake somewhere, who will taste-test and give me real feedback, and who help me brainstorm through problems like these! I'm also going to look into going to some MOFG conferences focused on kitchen licensing and businesses planning. It'll be a great way to gain some new ideas/skills and to meet some locals with similar goals.

In the kitchen, I've been fervently baking each week and perfecting many of my recipes. Yesterday I baked up some vegan Nom Nom Carrot Cake Cupcakes with faux maple cream cheese icing. I took a few with me to a bar to meet friends and they were certainly a hit!

Vegan Nom Nom Cupcakes, photo by Justin Lewis, filmaperture Photography

A friend has also asked me to do an event for her in May, so I'm really looking forward to working with her to develop some new flavors. I will probably experiment with a vegan lemon cupcake with berry compote filling, topped with vanilla bean frosting with candied lemon rind. Reminding myself that although there was a set back, it's minor in the grand scheme of things and I will still see this thing through!

Change, Change, Change

It's official - From Scratch & Sniff is going to be a 100% bona fide vegan bakery. As of the 1st of January, my fiance and I changed to a vegan diet and have decided this is the life for us. Not only are we cooking compassionately and promoting conservation, we're losing weight and feeling incredibly more healthy. It's fantastic!

This change in our diets left me with a problem though. How could I change my ideals and habits around eating, but still use eggs and cream and butter in my baking? I was nervous as I began to dive into the world of vegan baking. I'd tried vegan baked goods before, always with the same thought, "This is dry, dense, and tastes more like health food than a dessert." Although I'm all for health food, I believe that when we want dessert, dessert we shall eat! If I want a healthy snack at night, I don't grab a cookie, I reach for an apple, and so I began to worry that my baking would lose it's desserty qualities.

Not so! Around my birthday, good friends of ours gave me The Joy of Vegan Baking by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau. What I love about this book is the in-depth exploration into the chemistry behind baking. I have learned the methods and madness behind substitutions and have tried out several of her recipes to get a feel for how each substitution works.

Vegan Blueberry-Orange Bundt Cake from The Joy of Vegan Baking

Photo by Justin Lewis, filmaperture Photography

After practicing a bit, I started a new baking notebook, rolled up my sleeves and got to work! So far I have veganized 6 of my standard recipes:

-Kelly's Oreo Truffles
-Italian Polenta Cake with Orange Marmalade Glaze
-Ginger Cookies
-Awesome Crunch
-Irish Cream Cupcakes
-Treasure Chest Cookies
-Cranberry Almond Biscotti

Vegan Treasure Chest Cookies

Photo by Justin Lewis, filmaperture Photography

Vegan Kelly's Oreo Truffles (Chocolate, White Chocolate, & Peanut Butter)

Photo by Justin Lewis, filmaperture Photography

Italian Polenta Cake with Orange Marmalade Glaze

Photo by Justin Lewis, filmaperture Photography

And so far - I've received very positive feedback and have even been told that some of the vegan versions are BETTER than the non-vegan ones! Horrah! The goal is to make them taste the same or better, and thus far I'm succeeding.

The next step - we've realized that maybe it's time for a name/branding change. Although From Scratch & Sniff has served me well for almost a year now, it doesn't quite convey the type of baking I'm trying to offer, and on top of that, there are already two bakeries in town related to kitties/animals. So I'm going through the difficulty of trying to decide what sort of image I want to convey.

Some people are telling me not to include "vegan" in the name - to try to "trick" people into ordering/coming in. Some are telling me I should not only offer vegan treats, but should supplement my stock with some "regular" baked goods. I know want to stand proud and not shy away from the fact that I'm vegan and this is what I have to offer. I don't want to return to cooking with animal products and I think there's a real market for it in Portland; there aren't any fully vegan bakeries up here yet. I want my name to reflect the goodness and simplicity of my product. At least I know these things for sure - now I just need a name and logo, ideas are welcome and much appreciated!

What About

Lately, more and more I'm really thinking my dream of owning a bakery someday will be more than just a dream. I can already see the curved front of the glass display case, the retro cash register, the miss-matched bar stools in front of the smooth wood counter, art from good friends plastering the walls. I can hear the ding ding as another customer enters, the low sound of The Beatles playing, smell the warmth of the oven in the back. If I shut my eyes, I'm there.

But alas, it's going to be a steap climb before I can hang my shingle and wipe floured hands on my apron front.

As I sit, day in, day out, behind a desk on a computer frantically typing, attending meetings, shuffling papers, contributing to corporate America, I feel an urgency. A whisper in my ear, "Escape." But there's all these "what abouts" lurking behind that urgency. "What about my mound of student loan debt?" "What about my lack of pastry school training?" "What about health insurance?" "What about retirement funds?" "What about rent?" I start drowning in a sea of What About. As some neighborhood kid bounces a ball in front of my house, my What Abouts come out in rhythms. A steady song of self-doubt and excuses.

Last night my boyfriend and I snuggled on the couch as we watched Julie to Julia. It's a moving film based on a true story about a woman who takes on the task of cooking her way through Julia Child's famous cookbook. In the end, she's got millions of blog followers, lands a book deal, and obviously a movie. Afterwards, as we threw on our jackets to move our car for the Monday morning street sweepers, my boyfriend looked at me and said, "I want what happened to Julie to happen to you." How did I ever end up with somemone this supportive?

If everyone around me thinks I can do this, then I'm going to start telling myself I know I will. It is no longer a matter of "If" but a matter of "When!" I won't drown myself in the What About Sea, but gently sail along on my When Raft, setting a course for calmer waters.