A new shared commercial kitchen in Yellowknife is set to open on September 15, giving aspiring food entrepreneurs a place to develop recipes, prepare products and build their businesses.
Flavour Forge, an initiative of the Territorial Agrifood Association, is designed as a common cooking space for people who do not have access to suitable facilities at home or elsewhere.
“It’s really the maker space for food,” said Janet Dean, the executive director of the Territorial Agrifood Association.
The space is intended for a wide range of users, from someone looking to bottle a family hot sauce recipe or create a unique spice blend, to people hoping to develop products for farmers markets or retail and wholesale markets.
The kitchen will also offer cooking classes, tourism activities and opportunities for people to work with an in-house chef to develop and fine-tune recipes.
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Flavour Forge is located in the basement of the 50/50 Mall at 5004 50 Avenue. The association is completing its final inspections and hopes to open the space on September 15.
Its first planned event is a pickling and preserving workshop with the Tree of Peace Youth Program, with the aim to get youth interested in preserving food.
People wanting to use the kitchen can contact the Territorial Agrifood Association to join its notice list. Once open, users will be able to reserve the space through an online system.
Dean said the association wants the space to be flexible and accessible. New businesses may initially use the kitchen without paying rent, with costs gradually increasing as their businesses begin generating revenue.
“We will scale with them to make sure that we’re giving people the opportunity they need to grow their business.” Dean said.
The association is also open to suggestions for other uses of the space and specialized equipment that could help meet community needs.
