It’s About Being Delicious

Just a few months ago Rose Reilly and Kevin Toledo were elementary school teachers, splitting their time between their jobs in NYC and their weekend home in Hortonville.  They had been vegetarian / vegan for a long time, but found themselves struggling to find 100% plant-base options.  Sure they could get veggie burgers easily enough but it wasn’t the same as having a real, plant-based meal.  So they turned to their own kitchen and started to collect cookbooks, to feed their family and friends. and to experiment with their own recipes.  They quickly found their health was getting better and they were also feeling satisfied with the food they were creating.  With the encouragement of their friends and family, they decided to take their healthy kitchen out into the community and the Sprouted Root Kitchen was born.

 

A Plant-Based Addition to a Food-Loving Community

After doing some research Rose and Kevin started renting commercial kitchen space at Narrowsburg Union.  Most of the area’s farmers’ markets have waiting lists but the timing was right for the Narrowsburg Farmers’ Market, which was just starting up again, and seemed like a good fit for plant-base fare. More than anything, Rose and Kevin wanted to be part of the community, a community that enjoys food.  Understanding many of their neighbors at the farmers’ market would be dairy and meat vendors, they were anxious to see how they fit in.  They wanted people to enjoy what they ate and enjoy the healthy aspects of their food.  The response has been overwhelming, selling out their full stock each weekend (their baked goods sell out within the first hour!), and customers not only asking for more food but also cooking classes.

 

A Menu Inspired by the Season (And Their Customers!)

The menu at Sprouted Root Kitchen is always evolving, inspired by the season, and very much driven by the community.  Customer requests for gluten free lead to the introduction of their extremely popular gluten free Savory Waffles. Their cheeses are in high demand, with Rose constantly experimenting with new creations, including a Chipotle Cheese that is getting a great response from customers.  Now that Fall is officially here they are transitioning to new seasonal menu including Spiced Apple Cider, Apple Cider Donuts, Pumpkin Soup and Chili with Seitan Chorizo.

 

If Not Now, When?

Their advice to other potential entrepreneurs with an idea and an itch to turn it into a business? Starting a business might not be as hard as you think.  While the idea might feel daunting, and it can be easy to get caught up in the logistics of starting a business. Just take the first step to move forward with your concept and everything else will fall into place.  You’ll never know if it will work or not until you actually start doing it.

From Farmers’s Market to the Open Road

For the rest of the Fall season you’ll find Rose and Kevin at the Narrowsburg Farmers’ Market on Saturdays (10am-1pm, through October 26) and at the Roscoe Farmers’ Market on Sundays (11am-2pm, through October 11).

After that, they will be literally taking their show on the road.  After taking some time off for the holidays Rose and Kevin plan on hitting the road in their RV, spending 3-4 months traveling throughout the US and visiting places with vegetarian / vegan offerings to get inspiration for new recipes for their menu.  Under consideration for the future are cooking classes and potentially a brick and mortar space for a full time menu offering.

Be sure to get out there and catch them while you can!

 

Tell us what you think!

Please comment below if you try the Sprouted Root Kitchen and let us know how it goes!  Or if you want to open a business, what would it be?  Find all of Brooklyn to the Catskills‘ recommendations in the Life section of our site.  We’d love to hear what you think about our other content too!