Food Fort All-Stars at Pecha Kucha February 21st

Pecha whata? Pecha Kucha is a world wide organization that has been expanding the minds and interests of the citizens of Columbus for over five years. Topics range from what is cool about our city, to eating local, going green or anything a person has a passion for and can place key concepts on twenty slides.

The Food Fort has worked in partnership with Pecha Kucha since 2011 helping to source food for the event. This time around, we are taking some of our kitchen members inside the Gateway Film Center to add great food to beer and concesssions at the theater. The menu will include:

Bleu & Fig Catering:
Brown Sugar Thick Cut Candied Bacon
Red Pepper Flake Kale Chips

Destination Donuts:
Maple Sausage
Blackberry Sage
Lemon Thyme
Thai Peanut

Dinner Rescue Crew:
Mini Mexican Calzones with Taco Sauce (vegetarian)

Brown Sugar Bologna, Kettle Chip and Mustard Aioli Sandwich

Buffalo Chicken Sandwich with Blue Cheese Slaw

Treats 4 Everyone
Baklava
•Pecan/walnut
•Pistachio
Cupcakes
•Two-hearted Ale with Vanilla Buttercream
•Young’s Double Chocolate Stout with Chocolate Buttercream
•Gluten-free Lime with Cardamom Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
Cookie Sandwiches
•Loaded Chocolate with German Chocolate Filling
•Snickerdoodle with Cinnamon Buttercream
•Gluten-free Pistachio with Rosewater Buttercream

To learn more about Pecha Kucha, check out their Facebook page. Rumor has it that attendees will be able to see a movie for free after Pecha Kucha concludes. The only condunrum with the event is trying to figure out how to pronounce it: Pecha-Ah Kuch-Ah? Pee Cha Ka Cha? Peach_A Kucha……, it is safest just to say PK.

You can get a sense of PK February 2012 from our Facebook Album.

Bleu and Fig Valentines Day Cooking Class

Who needs a date when you get to use a blowtorch!

Come to the Food Fort For a cooking class with Bleu and Fig on Valentines Day from 7-9 pm!

We cook, we eat, we enjoy wine (BYOW)!

Come join us for some hands on fun cooking. Learn to make the recipes, and taste all the class creations!

Menu:

Warm roasted garlic mozzarella focaccia bread pizza

Hot and sassy spicy seared scallops

Cheddar grits

Steamed artichokes with clarified butter

Raspberry brulee

RSVP HERE!

Food Fort Innovation Station: OH! Burgers Donuts

Always on the look out for something different – Brian from OH! Burgers was mulling on something new and different on his menu. His sweet potato chips have been a customer favorite since he launched in the Spring of 2012. Taking the sweet potato core of his menu to another level, Brian launched OH!-Nuts this month. Sweet Potato donuts served as a side. For the culinary daring there is the OH-Donut-Burger.

Here is a review from Wasserstrom written after the world premiere at their site.

02/05/2013

Today I tried something new the “OH” Donuts! Let me tell you, at first sight I think I was imaging my hips getting bigger just from the way the donuts looked. Glistening with caramelized brown sugar atop a big round ball of cooked sweet potato infused dough. What I didn’t know was how I was going to be surprised by the light taste of this donut. I expected something heavy and overly sugary, but what a got was something that slowly melted in my mouth with just a hint of sweetness. And just like the sweet potato chips these donuts compliment the OH mini burgers very well as a light desert after you indulge yourselves in the “OH” Burgers.

JobRaising Challenge Update: Help ECDI earn up to $150,000 with your support

The Economic and Community Development Institute (ECDI) was selected as one of the finalists in the Huffington Post JobRaising Challenge.

The contest began on January 21st and will conclude on March 1st.

The three non profits that raise the most donations will receive up to $150,000 (from a pool of $250,000) to invest in their community.

One of the primary missions of the JobRaising Challenge is to tap into the job-creating potential of nonprofits to raise money, awareness, and help put Americans back to work.

How can you help us? Donate!

Follow this link to the ECDI donation page for the Job Raising Challenge.

With every donation, ECDI is that much closer to bringing the $150,000 grand prize home to the state of Ohio. The funds will be used to educate, invest in and innovate the businesses and people we inspire.

ECDI is competing with 74 non profits from across the nation – some big, some small, some local and others national so the competition to be one the three organizations that raises the most money will be fierce. Every donation will count but with some tough competitors out there, we need your help to get the word out. Winning the grand prize would make a big difference in the work ECDI does to create jobs in the community (including The Food Fort).

So please Tweet away, share on Facebook and anything else you can think of to help (including a donation).

Thank you in advance for your continued support of ECDI and our programs!

Support ECDI in our fundraising efforts with the JobRaising Challenge!

We are pleased to announce that ECDI has been selected as one of the finalists in the Huffington Post JobRaising Challenge. This is an effort to tap into the job-creating potential of nonprofits to raise money, raise awareness, and help put Americans back to work. This link will give you an explanation of the Challenge in Arianna Huffington’s own words.  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/the-jobraising-challenge-_b_2517273.html

Our first official blog, written by our own Douglas Craven, has been one of the first to be posted on the Job Challenge site. You may see Douglas’ blog about ECDI and what we do, posted at:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/economic-and-community-development-institute/small-business-jobs_b_2517689.html

Log on and let the world know about the great things happening at ECDI!

Valentines Day Dinner for Two!

Instead of going to a restaurant, surprise your Valentine with a romantic dinner for two at home!

Melissa has prepared an incredible menu for pick-up or delivery 2/14-2/17. Order your dinner today!

And by special request – here is the Vegetarian Menu.

Treats 4 Everyone (now known as Local Bakeshop)

Kelly Provost  is the owner and head baker for Treats 4 Everyone.  She started using the Food Fort at the end of 2012.  She has been growing her business with sales at The Columbus Winter Farmers Market and a New Year’s Eve event at St. James Tavern.  She is also starting to get more inquiries on catering for weddings and other special events. (Note: Kelly changed her business name to Local Bake Shop in 2013).

Describe your business.

Treats is a bakery based on the idea that everyone, regardless of dietary needs or choices, should be able to enjoy a special treat. Even within one family, there can be people that, due to their diet, can’t enjoy the chosen birthday cake. So Treats strives to make things that allow everyone to participate in the celebration, or just to enjoy on their own.

Where did the name of your business come from?   Who doesn’t like treats?!

What one word should your customers think of when they think of your business?

Variety. The flavor combinations that Treats has are so varied, people have never heard of some of our combinations – like: Brie and Fig, Pistachio and Rosewater, Avocado and Goat Cheese. We even have a line of treats that pair beer and liquor with other flavors to create unique “grown-up” flavors.
What sparked your passion for your product or service?
I watched my father, after his diabetes diagnosis, have to turn down desserts, even at family celebrations. I wanted to find a way to make sure that he could healthfully enjoy treats with the rest of the family while making sure the family didn’t feel that they were making a sacrifice.

What was the biggest challenge to getting started?
Making the decision to start was by far the hardest. I knew it would take all my free time and tons of energy. But once I decided it would be worth it, none of that mattered.

What has been your biggest surprise since starting the business?
The biggest surprise has been seeing how excited others are for my business. Everywhere I go, people want to know how I started and where I’m planning on going. It’s incredibly encouraging.

What do you like best about owning your business?
The freedom. I’m responsible for my success or failure. And people are really receptive to trying them. I love it when someone tells me they won’t like a certain flavor and after they try it, they love it!

Where do you hope to see your business in 1 – 3 years?
I want a little storefront, in an up and coming area of town and several stores and restaurants around Columbus that carry Treats’ items.

Any advice for new food based businesses?
There’s still so much for me to learn myself! But I think one important thing it to be open to anything. There are so many knowledgeable people that want to see new food businesses succeed, and they are happy to give you advice – so just listen.

If you could rid yourself of one fear what would it be.
The fear of failure. I don’t jump out of planes for a living so what’s the worst that can possibly happen? Take the risk!

Find out more about Kelly and Treats 4 Everyone Local Bakeshop ->HERE