Connecting and Creating Memories with Food
When people ask us how we started our family business, we point to the recession and the collapse of the newspaper journalism industry. It was early 2010. I was a national correspondent and my newspaper’s parent company had filed for bankruptcy. My editors were closing my office and moving my job from the Midwest to Los Angeles. David and I were newly married. We assumed that David would be able to find work fairly easily in California.
We were wrong.
Months passed. We longed to be together. So we started to cook at the same time – three time zones away from one another – and talk on the phone or over Skype. Cooking became our date night, a way we could connect, create memories and share stories of what happened during our day.
Money was tight. But my parents had raised me to believe that you don’t have to be rich to eat well. So for holidays and special occasions, we gave our loved ones edible luxuries of our own making. Hand-made infused sugars and salts, for baking cookies or sprinkling over popcorn. BBQ seasonings whipped up to make friends sweat. Homemade spice kits filled with ingredients discovered at organic markets or off-the-beaten-path farms.
A friend suggested we look into opening a shop online and sell some of our spice mixes. Maybe, she said, it could help offset the cost of our cross-country flights. It did that. And so much more. The shop helped us reunite back in the Midwest, where the two of us create, mix and package our popcorn seasonings, BBQ spices and cocktail bar supplies. The lessons we’ve learned along the way will carry us throughout our lives. Everyone has a story to tell, so be a good listener. Change is scary – and inevitable. Go ahead and give it a big hug. Ginger helps reduce stress. (But sometimes, all you really need is a good laugh and a glass of great whiskey.)
In September of 2012, David quit his day job at an engineering firm and runs the business full time. I’m a journalist by day – and I work with David in the evenings and weekends on our family business that has become a passion for us both.
Now, we’ve built out our own commercial kitchen and a small retail shop inside an old barber shop in Chicago’s Old Irving Park neighborhood. Visiting Chicago? Come by and say hello – we’d love to share a cup of tea and hear your story!
Dell Cove Spices & More Products
Dell Cove Spices & More has their 13 oz bulk bag of sustainably grown popcorn which I love because it is the kernels that you cook over your stovetop. This brings back memories of my childhood when that was the only way to cook and eat popcorn. To top it off, Dell Cove has more than 20 different popcorn seasonings. The spice blends are hand-mixed. Many of their spice blends use only organic seasonings – and absolutely none have chemical fillers or artificial colorings. The Most Popular Movie Popcorn Seasonings Gift Set that comes in four delicious flavors: Buttery Garlic, Salted Caramel, Spicy Cajun, and White Cheddar Jalapeno. You cannot go wrong with either flavors. My two favorite flavors were the Buttery Garlic and Salted Caramel. Those flavors are even better when you combine them together.
The prices of their products varies, depending on how many tins of kernels and seasonings your readers select – and their most popular sets sell for $30 to $45.Dell Cove Spices & More has a special just for Kelly’s Thoughts on Things readers. If you use the code: VIP10, you can get 10% off your first order.
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