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5 GOURMET NEWS SEPTEMBER 2019 www.gourmetnews.com News & Notes NEWS & NOTES BRIEFS Queens Incubator Hatches Hundreds of Food Businesses their needs were, so I filled the need for these women, but, since I don't like being sexist, it was men, too." These new business owners needed space to work in, but they also needed guidance on licensing, insurance and how to take their businesses further, she said. In addition to helping them with those issues, Gregory wanted to help them with staffing and job training. Instead of taking that on herself, she Artisan Baking Center, a non- profit in Long Island City, that was housed in a building complete with a large kitchen space, storage space and classrooms. "They did the job training program dur- ing the day. I would come in and work with them and rent the kitchen at night," she said. "The best part about the job training program was that I would be able to take these gradu- ates and filter them in with the entre- preneurs, the 'food- preneurs,' giving them access to staff. In the begin- ning, because many job training pro- grams had paid in- ternships, they would have free staff." "It was a real win-win situation there," Gregory added. "You had an equipped kitchen, and the nonprofit running the job training program got extra income at night from renting out. And at the same time, their graduates were getting on-the-job training, whether through a paid internship or directly paid by the entrepreneurs." Eventually, Artisan Baking Center dropped its culinary training program, but that worked out for the better when the Queens Economic Development Corpora- tion moved into the space. "Then we created a full- fledged incuba- tor where the kitchen was rented 24/7," Gregory said. "Before that, it was only rented in the evenings and weekends." To replace the training pro- gram, the two organizations partnered with Fortune Society, a program dedicated to providing support and job training for for- merly incarcerated people. That's largely where the kitchen staff at Entrepreneur Space comes from. And because they have hands-on commercial kitchen experience, BY GREG GONZALES "If I didn't have Katherine, it would've been scary," said Chocolatier Milène Jardine. "She helped me set up the licenses I need, she's so connected — she just knows! She has good instinct, knowledge and experi- ence. I went through three different incu- bator programs, but I knew this was the one." Jardine is a client of Entrepreneur Space, a food business incubator in the Queens Borough of New York City, and its Founder and Managing Consultant, Katherine Gre- gory, who helped her grow her eponymous brand of couture, travel-inspired truffles and bars. The line is now selling in 15 stores, spas, florists, co-branded labels and, soon, private airlines. "They partner with you, and they're be- hind you the whole way," Jardine said. "If you're smart enough to ask questions, you'll succeed." Since 2010, Entrepreneur Space has been giving local food producers the chance to take their businesses out of their home kitchens and to commercial production fa- cility. It also provides professional consult- ing and staff for clients, along with job training and employment for disadvan- taged populations. The incubator has helped hundreds of local producers — 672 clients since the start and currently 135 of them — grow enough to find a copacker or start production in their own independent facilities. Entrepreneur Space is the passion project of Gregory, who has 45 years of experience in the food industry. It's now funded 90 per- cent by revenue, she said, and the other 10 percent comes from a mix of local, state and national grants. But the idea she had for the incubator started when she was working with a trade organization called Roundtable for Women in Foodservice, at the nexus between nonprofit and for-profit food business. "I came across so many women who were looking to start food businesses — not sure what they needed to do, how to do it," she said. "So I started in- formally mentoring, gave seminars, things like this. I got a good understanding of what was going on with them and what they can provide support for the incubator's clients. "All our clients get two hours of staff time, free, every shift," Gregory said. Those staff members might be washing dishes, chopping vegetables, scooping cookies, packaging — whatever the client needs. And because the staff members have been trained in a commercial kitchen, they can show clients how to use the equipment on site, whether it's a 20- to 80-quart mixer, hearth oven, proofer, sheeter or a technique to be more efficient. The difference could be 120 dozen cookies in a shift versus 20 dozen in the same shift, Gregory explained, "which means you've amortized the cost of that shift considerably, which means you're probably making more of a profit." Entrepreneur Space clients get help out- side the kitchen as well, including access to several consultants, most of whom are current or former business owners and ex- perts in their fields. They include market- ing consultants, strategy consultants and financial assistants. The consultants help each client work through common prob- lems such as understanding worker's com- pensation and other kinds of insurance, how to build a brand identity online and in the physical marketplace, how to budget ingredients and price products, how to build a long-term plan and listen to the needs of their target consumers. They also help the fledgling entrepreneurs get into street markets and retail. From inspected licenses to ingredients labels and kitchen assistance, it's these in- dividualized teaching moments that set this incubator apart from the rest, Gregory ex- plained. "When I say incubator, I'm really fussy about this," she said. "Most commer- cial kitchens, shared-use kitchens, are for profit. An incubator refers to a space that's nurturing. If you have an incubator for a chick, if you have an incubator for a baby, it's warm, it's comforting, you're being fed until you get big enough to grow. I'm look- ing at growing businesses, taking someone who's possibly pre-revenue or somebody Continued on PAGE 6 Chocolate Makers UnConference Tickets Available Now The ultimate gathering for members of the craft chocolate industry will be held November 7-8 in Seattle, Washington. The sixth annual edition of the groundbreaking Chocolate UnConference tickets are now on sale. Two-days of workshops, networking, and open dialogue. Includes lunch, happy hour, coffee/tea, light breakfast. Visit www.nwchocolate.com/conference. Anuga 2019 Returns in October Anuga, the world's leading food fair for the retail trade and the foodservice and catering markets, celebrates 100 years of food innovation since its first exposition in Stuttgart, Germany, in 1919. The 35th installment of Anuga will take place at Koelnmesse in Cologne, Germany, October 5-9, 2019. This biennial event is a central business and communications platform for all players involved in the development, manufacturing, marketing, distribution and sale of food and beverage. Anuga is best described as 10 trade shows under one roof, as the exposition is a well-arranged layout divided up into themed areas. The halls are: 1) Bread & Bakery, 2) Chilled & Fresh Food, 3) Culinary Concepts, 4) Dairy, 5) Drinks, 6) Fine Food, 7) Frozen Food, 8) Meat, 9) Hot Beverages and 10) Organic. For the first time Anuga is offering participation opportunities for start-up companies in special pavilions located in each of the show halls. Maple Leaf Foods Releases 2018 Sustainability Report Maple Leaf Foods has released its 2018 Sustainability Report, which outlines the company's key achievements over the past year and targets for the current year. Among those, Maple Leaf Foods is actively addressing consumer demand for "real food" by reducing artificial ingredients, and sodium levels, leading in production of meat and poultry raised without antibiotics and continually advancing leadership in food safety. The company is also broadening its reach into protein alternatives through its Lightlife and Field Roast brands. GMA Hires D.C. Talent The Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) has made two hires to complete the organization's senior leadership team under President and Chief Executive Officer Geoff Freeman. Bryan Zumwalt was named as GMA's Executive Vice President of Public Affairs and Stacy Papadopoulos is its new General Counsel and Senior Vice President of Operations and Special Initiatives. Zumwalt, previously vice president of federal affairs for the American Chemistry Council, will lead all advocacy activities for the organization, including government relations, communications, research and ally development. Zumwalt has a proven track record of success, including his work on bipartisan congressional efforts to modernize the Toxic Substances Control Act, that make him uniquely qualified to lead these functions. Papadopoulos, previously general counsel and interim CEO of the American Gaming Association (AGA), will oversee GMA's operations and initiatives, including SmartLabel. During Papadopoulos' tenure, AGA grew its trade show revenue by more than 50 percent and launched valuable new business initiatives to diversify its revenue.

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