La Cocina Gives Emerging Food Businesses Ingredients For Success

San Francisco has always been an incubator of food entrepreneurs. So it's no surprise to see the ambitious La Cocina Community Kitchen assisting budding low-income food businesses. The nonprofit organization, located in the city's Mission District, provides the tools and services that a start-up culinary venture requires, but at a much lower cost than it would normally take.

Just over two years old, La Cocina has nurtured over a dozen program participants who have needed an affordable professional kitchen to expand their small, woman-owned businesses.With the fiscal support of The Women's Foundation of California and private donors, the 4,400 square foot commercial kitchen has been stocked with every type of food preparation equipment imaginable. La Cocina also provides technical training and marketing support to those who need it.

Like all staff members at La Cocina, Program Coordinator Caleb Zigas recognizes the difficulties in starting a food-related business. "The benefit of an organization like this lies in our ability to make food and business work together in a sustainable way," Zigas explains.

"We are looking for the 'hidden entrepreneurs‚' the women who make food that tastes like home for the communities and sub-communities within the Bay Area," says Zigas. "The work we are most interested in not only creates a viable business but also encourages entrepreneurs to use their food to connect to a larger community." It's this aspect of the program that people most often experience when they are in the kitchen or tasting the food, he explains.

Many of the participants began simply by cooking food in their own homes. Most of the women, like Yumna McCann, have used the familiar dishes of their own cultures to create a bridge to their lives in the Bay Area. A native South African, McCann missed the savory pies from her mother's kitchen, so she launched her company Mystipied. She now runs a very successful business, with accounts such as Rainbow Grocery.

"La Cocina is a great program offering guidance to start-up businesses," McCann says. "The most amazing thing for me has been the opportunity to meet industry professionals such as Barb Stuckey, Traci Des Jardins, Patricia Unterman and Rob Zaborny." Barb Stuckey is a San Franciscoo Professional Food Society member and Vice President of Marketing at Mattson, Inc.

The San Francisco Professional Food Society is currently establishing a mentorship program, matching its members with La Cocina participants. "The partnership," says SFPSF member John Birdsall, "shows that our members value a thriving local food scene and honor the life histories of the La Cocina entrepreneurs."

SFPFS member and Principal of Torani Syrups & Flavors Lisa Lucheta has seen her involvement come full circle. One of the early volunteers, she feels fortunate to have had La Cocina participants help her with her business. "I'm pleased to share my experience through the mentoring program," Lucheta says. "I expect it to be a mutually rewarding experience and look forward to learning from someone with an entrepreneurial spirit in the early stages of her business."

For more information or if you'd like to get involved, visit www.lacocinasf.org or call 415-824-2729.

(Photo credit: Victor Wong)