How do you develop a food product? Where does that happen? What team is necessary to make a food product successful? 
These are just some of the questions that Joi Chevalier of The Cook’s Nook is hoping to help food entrepreneurs answer. While planning her transition from technologist to culinary student, she noticed that the culinary industry did not have some of the basic talent development or product management practices so common in the tech field. According to Joi, “All of these questions kept coming back to missing pieces – repeatable methods and environments to create and produce regularly, along with the knowledge and influences to repeatedly engineer, productize, go to market and operationalize a successful business.”
About The Cook’s Nook:
The Cook’s Nook is a culinary incubator. We provide shared commercial kitchens, business development and community space for artisans, mobile food vendors, and caterers to make successful food businesses. The Cook’s Nook prides itself on providing a fabulous kitchen and business environment for members to develop their business in their way.
Features Include:
Clean, professional facility – cleanliness leads to godliness! Members are required to keep the kitchens clean. In addition, our team also cleans, and we bring in deep cleaners on schedule.
Large Culinary Kitchen – there are 8 stations, and each station has space for two to three team members, prep table, metro shelf. Each station is within reach of hot line, sinks, same-day refrigeration and dish.
Dedicated Bakery – there are 2 stations in the main house to ensure high-quality baked goods, with convection ovens, proofer, mixer and day refrigeration.
Members’ Kitchen – with stations, burners, ovens, and decorated tastefully for member meetings, client tasting, and food testing
Walk-in refrigeration and freezer – for eligible members with large production
Dry storage and service goods storage – for eligible members with large production or caterers with service items
Delivery and receiving area – receive and dispense large product delivery for same day use to yo
ur station
Outdoor space for smoking and grilling – barbecue if you have to, or just hang out in the garden area
Day lockers – secure your valuables while in production
Wi-fi and secure 24/7 access – stay connected, feel safe. If you need to cook overnight, we get it and want to make sure you’re secure while doing it.
Co-working environment – know your fellow members, their business aims and goals. There are no strangers in The Cook’s Nook.
Professional Business Environment – open, professional kitchen for members, clients, and vendors – our members can run their businesses from The Cook’s Nook, show their product, host tastings and engage with potential clients, customers, and vendors
Business Incubation – peer and chef-led meetings and consulting to help your product, operations, and business stay on track
“Three Things”
Hardest things about being an entrepreneur:
- Planning for changes within our family. Most don’t realize that transitioning to entrepreneurship affects others around you: financially, emotionally, physically. Sometimes, you are not really present in the household in more ways than one. Gotta stay connected and let them know what you’re doing and how you are developing as a business owner.
- Accepting the money flight from the household budget. No matter how much it’s planned, money will leave to start the business. Just trust in your financial planning.
- Second-guessing yourself is natural, but don’t let it eat into your psyche. Plans are great, and things may change. Patience is required to move through the anxiety of second-guessing.
Advice for entrepreneurs (new or seasoned):
- Plan many paths and be ready to switch roads.
- Align your passion with patience. Serenity is necessary when you are alone and with others. Watch the road develop in front of you – you’ve made the right choice. Sometimes, you have to pause the energy and anxiety to see the next step or fork in the road.
- Get an awesome team. Next best investment, after yourself, is in quality partners, vendors, and thinkers around you. They will remind you about 1 and 2.
Of course we have to ask…words to describe Tech Ranch® 🙂
- Open
- Many Modes and Methods of Entrepreneurial Development
- Options to Help with Success
Fun Facts
- Favorite Word: prescience
- Favorite Activity: astronomy
- Something we don’t already know about you? I race my Porsche Cayman S, dive, grow roses, and have a degree in Latin.
Finally, please share with us any news or exciting opportunities for our readers about The Cook’s Nook:
Absolutely – we’re looking forward to the submission of the final permit set for The Cook’s Nook to the City of Austin in the next 3 weeks. Once submitted, we begin the renovations of the property that will become The Cook’s Nook.
