Innovation Kitchen partners at the Food and Wine Show. Post 2. RP's Pasta

Another great Innovation Kitchen Partner at this year's Madison food and Wine Show was RP's Pasta.

RP's Pasta was working from the Willy Street Co-op booth, sampling their wonderful pastas, including their amazing pumpkin tortelloni. Thanks, and great to catch up Kira!

We help Peter and friends at RP's prepare fillings for their amazing pastas, including pumpkin. We are proud to support RP's goal of 'Farm to Fork with a Conscience'.

From an earlier blog post quoting a Capitol Region Business Journal article:

"Although several commercial suppliers could make processed foods available, Robertson opted to go with the Mineral Point facility to provide vegetables for his stuffed ravioli and tortellini."

"They did it fast. They did it efficiently. And it’s 100 percent Wisconsin products, he said."

What a partnership! RP's pumpkin tortelloni was served at President and Mrs. Obama's January 2011 White House Super Bowl party (Packers win!).

Thanks RP's Pasta for your partnership and support for the Innovation Kitchen!

Original post about our Innovation Kitchen partnership with RP's Pasta.

RP's Pasta

Wisconsin Innovation Kitchen

Willy Street Co-op. Thanks from my family, loyal Willy Street Co-op owner/members!

Innovation Kitchen partners at the Food and Wine Show. Post 1. White Jasmine.

The Wisconsin Innovation Kitchen is proud to support the food preparation needs of a wide variety of wonderful food companies.

At this year's Madison Food and Wine Show we got the chance to visit with a few of our favorites.

One of these is White Jasmine, an amazing food company based on a passion derived from providing fresh, natural and delicious spices to their customers.

Their President, Ms. Huma Siddiqui is a local food star in Madison, WI.

Photo above is our friend Samir Karimi, VP Sales of White Jasmine at this year's Madison Food and Wine Show.

Thanks White Jasmine for your support of the Wisconsin Innovation Kitchen!

White Jasmine's Facebook page

White Jasmine web site

Wisconsin Innovation Kitchen

Join us - Urban Economic Development Association's 10th Annual Community Development Summit

I'm honored to be asked to make a presentation to the 10th annual Urban Economic Development Association of Wisconsin Conference. This year's event will be Tuesday, Nov. 29 in Milwaukee. Join us!

Here is info from their site (link below).

"A Call to Action! This year’s Summit will focus on how the regional food economy can serve as a driver for economic growth and job creation in southeast Wisconsin.

UEDA's 10th Annual Community Development Summit will focus on what food manufacturers, producers, distributors, retailers, urban farmers and others are doing to:

- Support the growth of regional food systems;

- Attract food and beverage manufacturers to the region; and

- Address gaps in training and education for employment in the food sector.

Be a part of it!

Attendees will participate, listen and identify approaches to forward this emerging sector."


This looks great. Keynote speaker will be Jeffrey O’Hara, Agricultural Economist in the Food & Environment Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists. I get the opportunity to make a presentation in the afternoon session.

There is a great group of presenters and participants at this year's conference:

Dr. Rich Busalacchi, Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC)
Giacomo Fallucca, Palermo’s Pizza
Lincoln Fowler, Alterra Coffee Roasters
Cathy Henry, Sysco Food Systems
Shelly Jurewicz, Milwaukee 7 Regional Economic Development Partnership
Young Kim, Fondy Food Market
Emmanuel Pratt, Sweet Water Foundation
Sandy Syburg, White Oak Farm Premium Organics
Mitch Teich, WUWM Lake Effect
Olivia Villareal, El Rey Foods


Keep up the great work UEDA! Thanks for the invitation.


Urban Economic Development Association of Wisconsin's conference site.

Innovation Kitchen partners Karen and John, Wisconsin's 2011 Rising Star Award winners!

New photos just came in from the Wisconsin Marketplace 2011 award ceremony in Green Bay honoring the outstanding diversity and value businesses in Wisconsin can bring to life.

Did I mention (with great enthusiasm) that our Innovation Kitchen partners Karen and John won the 2011 Wisconsin Rising Star Award?

Our kitchen's production capacity helped John and Karen's amazing new food enterprise launch and grow.

Top photo is Karen acknowledging their award. Bottom photo is the award presentation featuring Karen, Governor Scott Walker and Secretary/CEO Paul Jadin, Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation.

Our kitchen partners run a wonderful B&B in Elkhorn, WI. You should visit for the inside ambiance, the beautiful outdoor environment, and (as my kids would say) OMG, the food. (linked below)

Congratulations Karen and John on your wonderful award! Thank you for supporting the Wisconsin Innovation Kitchen and thank you for letting us help you grow your new food enterprise!


Post about Karen and John's Rising Star Award

Original post about John and Karen's new food enterprise

Visit their wonderful B&B, Ye Olde Manor House, in Elkhorn, WI.

Wisconsin Innovation Kitchen

Happy Halloween 2011!

The link below brings up a photo page of some of the pumpkins I've carved over the years.

Now, when I go to work, I'm surrounded by thousands of pounds of pumpkins destined to become delicious ingredients at the Wisconsin Innovation Kitchen.

What a wonderful time of year.

Boo to you all!


Some of my pumpkin carving through the years

Wisconsin Innovation Kitchen

Welcome Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA) to our Wisconsin Innovation Kitchen!

This past week Mr. Wyman Winston Executive Director of the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA) visited our Innovation Kitchen in Mineral Point.

Mr Winston brought along new and old friends from WHEDA. What a great visit!

We were able to show off the proven record and the growing possibilities our Innovation Kitchen has for making jobs, as well as starting and growing small businesses.

Our Innovation Kitchen business model has developed an experiment worth pursuing. We're proving this kind of processing facility can operate profitably for all involved.

This model can help rural and urban communities utilize local foods and smart, nimble business planning to build some valuable new economic development tools for Wisconsin and beyond.

Many thanks for a great visit WHEDA Executive Director Wyman Winston!

Join us next week - Rehabilitation For Wisconsin In Action 2011 Economic Summit

I have the opportunity to speak next week about our efforts at the Wisconsin Innovation Kitchen to create jobs for people with disabilities and low income people. I'll be joining the 2011 Economic Summit for Rehabilitation For Wisconsin In Action at Kohler on Wed. Oct. 26.

I really like the conference title: 2011 Wisconsin Economic Summit. From Poverty to Financial Security.

Here is a short piece from the conference site:

"There’s more to poverty than a lack of income.

Wisconsin’s overall poverty rate rose from 12.4% in 2009 to 13.2% in 2010. Wisconsin’s pre-recession poverty rate in 2007 was 10.8%. Between 2007 and 2010, the number of people in Wisconsin living in poverty increased by about 143,000.

But in Wisconsin, there IS an effort underway to find practical, hands-on solutions to increase collaboration between the private and public sectors to lift people out of poverty toward financial security."

Through the efforts of the Wisconsin Innovation Kitchen and its parent organization, the Hodan Center, we're helping support over 90 jobs in Wisconsin. We've also created employment opportunities for more that 30 people with disabilities, while helping start and grow dozens of new businesses.

Join us if you can in Kohler, WI next Wednesday Oct. 26. Link to the RFW home page and their conference registration page is below.


Rehabilitation For Wisconsin Home page.

RFW In Action 2011 Economic Summit information.

Wisconsin Innovation Kitchen

Hodan Center

Congratulations Innovation Kitchen partners Karen and John! Wisconsin's 2011 'Rising Star' Award winners.

Last week our Innovation Kitchen partners Karen and John were awarded Wisconsin's Minority Business Enterprise 'Rising Star' Award for 2011.

Congratulations Karen and John!!!

Karen and John utilized the Innovation Kitchen to launch their own private label food business.

No matter where you live, you can too.

They own a beautiful B&B in Elkhorn, WI and have their amazing recipes prepared, packaged and private labeled for them at the Innovation Kitchen.

The fact that they are helping make great jobs for my friends with disabilities through the Hodan Center in Mineral Point is a great bonus for all involved.

Thank you for the opportunity to help launch your wonderful commercial food business through the Wisconsin Innovation Kitchen.

Forward!


Wisconsin Innovation Kitchen

Previous post about Karen and John's wonderful private label food startup

Hodan Center

Photo from Marketplace 2011. Wisconsin Governor's Conference on Minority Business Development - Congrats Karen and John!

Madison Food and Wine Show this Friday through Sunday - Oct 21-23

The Madison Food & Wine Show is coming up next weekend, Oct. 21 through 23.

Our Wisconsin Innovation Kitchen Kitchen will be exhibiting under the Something Special from Wisconsin program.

We will be sampling wonderful jams from the Innovation Kitchen that can be given as holiday gifts to friends and for business gifts year-round.

You can even buy our great jams and jellies and have your own private label put on the jars. Your purchase helps support the employment needs of people with disabilities employed at the Wisconsin Innovation Kitchen in Mineral Point, WI.

The Madison Food and Wine Show is open to all food and wine lovers, 21 years of age and older. Join us!

Wisconsin Innovation Kitchen

Photo is from last year's Madison Food and Wine Show, with my friend Christine Lindner, Wisconsin's 2010 Alice in Dairyland.

Visit Heck's Farm Market

One of our favorite Innovation Kitchen partners is the wonderful Heck's Farm Market near beautiful Arena, Wisconsin, gateway to the Wisconsin River valley.

Heck's Market is a valuable partner of the Innovation Kitchen. We are preparing some wonderful private label recipes for their great farm and market operations.

If you're in the greater Madison area, or making the drive on beautiful Highway 14 (University Avenue) west of Madison, stop in and visit. Links below.

Hard not to love a farm when their 3 year old granddaughter, potentially their multi-generational family farm's future leader, is giggling and blowing kisses at her Grandparents during our meeting.

I've bought many of my carving pumpkins from Heck's for years. While I was at Heck's last Friday I got the best one I've found in years. If you're looking for great carving pumpkins this year, you should check out Heck's.

Thanks Heck's Farm and Market in beautiful Iowa County, Wisconsin!

The Innovation Kitchen is honored to support our local farms and help preserve their artistry as growers into new food product lines that can be sold year-round across big regions.

Heck's supports Badger Honor Flights

Wisconsin Innovation Kitchen

Iowa County Wisconsin economic development