Community Gifts: Chef Space

By Carrie Vittitoe

(L-R) Sherry Miller of Mama's; Kortney Warfield of U-Chews; Lucretia Thompson of Lucretia's Kitchen; Viviana Dias Ferreira of Revolution Confections; Andrea Wells of Wells Made Co.; and Vy Howard of Syndesi.
Photos by Melissa Donald 

At its core, Chef Space is a 13,000-square-foot licensed commercial kitchen, but it is really much more. Community Ventures launched Chef Space in November 2015 to serve a multi-pronged mission in West Louisville.

Lucretia's Kitchen

Jessica Morgan, director of marketing and public relations for Community Ventures, says Chef Space provides technical assistance to entry-level food entrepreneurs, providing them access to a commercial kitchen and all the gadgets and appliances they may need. This kitchen access ultimately helps them grow their revenue so they can move into their own space.

Syndesi 

With 25-30 small businesses operating out of Chef Space, it is an incubator for new talent, but it draws on the experience of its partners. Texas Roadhouse, for example, is a community partner that is using Chef Space as a training kitchen. Jessica says one of the benefits of experienced food companies coming into the facility is “sharing best practices to improve the service model.”

U-Chews

Jessica has numerous leads every week from chefs interested in a membership to Chef Space, either on a full-time basis, which gives them 24/7 access to the kitchen, or on a part-time basis, which allows them to schedule time in the kitchen to create. Whether an individual is an up-and-coming entrepreneur or a hobbyist chef, Chef Space provides space and an opportunity for creativity and dreams to flourish.

Mama's 

The big winners, though, are community members who like to eat and drink. Chef Space has helped a number of entrepreneurs develop distribution networks so that consumers can purchase the items at local stores or via food trucks.

Wells Made Co.