|
Cooking idea
Concept:
The idea is to provide a grateful audience to the many wonderful cooks we have in our area.
How:
We could establish a community commercial kitchen where those who enjoy cooking could come down whenever they wanted and cook up a storm, and freeze in set portion sizes, (bloke size, girly size and kiddy size), for others in the community to purchase or trade.
· All set sizes sold frozen.
· All products would need to be labelled with the name of the cook, date cooked, ingredients and price.
· Could also be used as a trading point for all the excess fruit and vegetables coming out of our collective gardens.
· Could also become a bulk food supplier.
Pros:
· By removing the middlemen they should be quite affordable for the buyers, and still be reasonably profitable for the cooks.
· Maximum flexibility for the cooks, they cook when they want and the kitchen is available. Could be a great flexible extra source of income for Mums and Pensioners that love to cook.
· No shortage of single men in this area, who would benefit greatly from a more varied and healthier diet.
· Could also be sold to tourists through the Shop, hotel, and motels.
Cons:
· There will need to be some accounting and Admin
· A commercial kitchen will need to be sourced, built or upgraded. The kitchen at the back of the hall springs to mind as having suitable space and accessability, but would need to be upgraded.
· All cooks may need to have a safe food handling certificate.
Cost:
· A commercial kitchen as mentioned above.
· A continuing power and gas bill and possible rental, that will need to be payed for somehow, possibly through membership contributions, or a cut of the sales.
· Someone will need to be paid to look after the accounting and admin, and for ensuring stock rotation, and the disposal of out of date stock.
Financial Benefits:
· For those who like to cook, and whose cooking is popular, they could make a fair income directly relevant to how much they cook.
· A part time flexible position for the administrator.
· Additional sales to tourists and work crews possible.
· Could work quite well as a business incubator, in getting food based businesses such as jam and spread manufacturing going.
Social Benefits:
· Improved social interaction amongst the community.
· Affordable quality meals for the community.
· The collective health of the community should improve with an improved diet.
Environmental Benefits:
· Less food wastage
· Less food miles
Summary:
A community building initiative that creates employment and income opportunities, has the potential to expand with demand, and improves the diet of the local population, and could provide individuals or groups with a commercial kitchen, from which to start their businesses.
Idea from Michael O’Brien.
|
