BUSINESS
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came away with an offer to manage the kitchen for them. He
jumped at the chance. And he opened the kitchen in October.
MARKETING PLAN
“The kitchen helped my catering business take off,” he
says. It now can handle larger events — for example, the
hundreds of meals he was getting ready to produce for six
clients over the next few days. The commercial kitchen, with
its many work stations, allows him to call in extra chefs to
work, not only helping take his own business to the next level
but putting money in the pockets of more people.
Now that Sunshine Kitchen is open, Piscitelli and county
staff are working on a marketing plan to get more clients
for the kitchen. Piscitelli says he gets around to the farmers’
markets where he talks to vendors about using the kitchen.
Two of the kitchen’s clients, Mike Nattis and Stephanie Lee,
already sell at farmers’ markets.
A commercial kitchen is required by law under certain
circumstances for anyone who wants to prepare food for the
public, whether selling in local bakeries, stores, restaurants,
farmers’ markets and catered events, or working out of a mobile
food truck. Workshops on the ins and outs of the cottage
food industry law are given at the Sunshine Kitchen, with the
next one planned for March 16.
There is always the option of setting up a commercial
kitchen at home, but it’s expensive and not easy to meet the
health requirements. Some people rent space in someone
else’s kitchen during a restaurant’s off hours.
The two licensed and inspected commercial kitchens inside
are stocked with the equipment needed to produce professional
quality food and baked goods. Multiple stations inside >>
Sunshine Kitchen
manager, Chef
Matthew Piscitelli,
shows off his
signature chicken
marsala with
cremini mushrooms.
/www.atouchofbrooklynpizza.com