THE BUSINESS
The Book Kitchen is a teaching kitchen, a cooking classroom that provides an intimate, hands-on experience. Nicole founded the business as the sole employee. Now, the staff also includes Susan Lamb Parenti, the Culinary Director, and Krista Loomans, the Culinary Assistant.
Courses are designed around specific cookbooks and the team helps clients understand both how and why to complete the steps in specific recipes. For example, instructors might explain why it is important that the butter is cold or how to properly whip heavy cream. Nicole said, “We help students learn specific skills and techniques by discussing the science behind cooking and baking, but they are also having fun and getting creative in the kitchen. At the end of our classes, we include a discussion of exactly why we chose items and performed tasks as well as what worked well and what didn’t work well to help students learn,” Nicole said.
The successful small business offers hands-on classes, food tastings, and demonstration classes, such as Lunch & Learn or Demo & Dinner options. Classes are available to children, teens, and adults.
THE COMMUNITY
The Book Kitchen loves being part of the Mineral Point community. “Part of our mission is to involve a local food maker or producer in each class,” Nicole said. They currently partner with Shooting Star Farm, Marr’s Valley View Farms, Meadowlark Farm & Mill, and more. The business itself is located within the physical space of Republic of Letters, a bookstore that also partners with the local arts center Shake Rag Alley during writers’ retreats.
She and her team create picnic baskets to-go as many residents love to take the prepared meals to the local Jammin’ on the Porch outdoor concert series. Cooking Around the World, the kitchen’s four-day summer camp, inspires area kids ages eight through eighteen to learn about food preparation. The Book Kitchen added knife sharpening services for kitchen and garden tools to its offerings as well due to the need in the community.
“Mineral Point has a great tourist community as well. Many of our classes appeal to tourists, so we help boost the local economy when they come and spend time at restaurants and local events, stay at local hotels, and more. We love to help welcome a diverse group of people into the community,” she said.
Accomplishments with Southwest WI SBDC:
- Business strategy
- Capital infusion
THE OBSTACLES
Like most entrepreneurs, the path to success was not always smooth. “Our charming, historic building brought some challenges when trying to add a commercial kitchen due to the need to meet current building codes. The build-out process was long, taking almost ten months,” Nicole said.
Financing a kitchen is also expensive. “We really needed support finding capital, and I found help at the Small Business Development Center (SBDC),” she said.
THE ASSISTANCE
Nora Roughen-Schmidt, a consultant at the Southwest Wisconsin SBDC, introduced Nicole to various funding opportunities. “Nora helped me understand what I qualified for, and what I needed to do to obtain funding. She was really helpful and her expertise was so valuable. Nora gave me the right homework to do to keep me moving forward,” Nicole said.
Ultimately, The Book Kitchen was able to secure a Revolving Loan Fund that provided a lower interest rate than a traditional bank loan.
THE FUTURE
Nicole said, “I first try creating and eating recipes at home. If a particular book is a good fit, I contact the author for confirmation on teaching the recipes in my class. In the future, I would love to invite more cookbook authors themselves to present in class. We’re always looking to connect with more chefs, farmers, and other culinary experts from the Driftless area who would be interested in leading classes, tastings, demos, and more.”
