Menu for pick up 5/3 and open meeting 4pm Sunday (tomorrow) April 29, 2017

Good day! I hope you are enjoying a warm, cozy snow day! I’m reminiscing about these delicious carrot cake roulades from yesterday and secretly wishing there had been 1 left for me:)

The menu for the coming week, for pick up starting Wednesday May 3rd, is posted and you can view it here. I usually have a little extra prep help during the off hours, but not for the next 2 weeks, so I encourage you to pre-order if you have specific things you like. If you want to pre-order, but the quantities are too big, let me know.

Also, I am exploring some options for my space and am holding an open meeting tomorrow, Sunday April 30th at 4pm at Julia’s Kitchen. This is to assess interest and to explore different ideas. I plan to keep it to 1 hour.

In summary, I want to keep making nourishing food and can use support there for sure, but need it to be from people who want to be involved long term. I’m happy to continue with “mom hours” if that makes sense, or I’d be happy to expand if I have some other people to lean on. I can also envision working alongside and in cooperation with others who are aligned in integrity, mission, etc, but have something different to offer. Kind of like a creative collective or cooperative. There are so many amazing and talented people in Boulder and I have this great space; maybe this could be a kind of incubator? These are all just initial thoughts and I have many more floating around in my head. My only real goal is to find a way to keep doing what I love and making an offering that I think is important in a way that is balanced and sustainable. If you are interested, please come if you can. If you know someone else who might be, please pass this along.

Enjoy the snow! Julia

Menu for Pick Up Starting April 26th April 21, 2017

Hello!

I’ve posted the menu for pick up starting next Wednesday April 26th. Check it out here, Remember to please place your orders by Monday April 24th at noon. Sooner is even better!

If you don’t get an order in, you can always check out the grab and go and bakery selections. Both are available Tuesday-Friday 11-3, or anytime someone’s at the kitchen. If you can’t make the hours that are posted, you should ask about other options.

Lunch is served noon-2pm Tuesday-Friday and the selection rotates daily.

Have a great weekend. See you soon! Julia

 

 

Lunch is served noon-2 today; still open 11-3 for bakery and grab and go April 18, 2017

Good morning my friends. This will be the schedule for this week, and possibly ongoing. More info to come when I post The menu later this week. Kitchari is up today, and sweet potato and spinach dosas while they last! 

April 19th Menu April 16, 2017

Hello! Happy Passover or Easter or beautiful day!

The menu for pick up this week has been posted here.

To clarify, I am still offering lunch, grab and go and bakery are still available, and the hours of operation remain as they have been: Tuesday-Friday 11am-3pm. In an effort to simplify the lunch service and to make sure the focus can remain on the food, 1-2 main items are generally available plus sides, drinks, bakery items and other yummy incidentals. Sometimes there might be more choice, sometimes less. You can rest assured knowing that whatever is on the menu will be nourishing and delicious, and up to Julia’s Kitchen quality standards which means organic*, sprouted, nutrient-dense, minimally processed, and made with intention to highlight the natural tastes and textures of the ingredients.

If you are particular beyond these standards, I highly recommend pre-ordering so you can have what you want how you want it. You can pre-order full meals, meal components to mix and match with your own, and batters and staples to use as a starting point for your own creations. I think there are many benefits to connecting to your own food in that way and eating in your own home. Of course, pre-ordering also makes management of the kitchen much more efficient, which I personally very much appreciate.

I currently am offering and plan to continue to offer lunch, as I enjoy the connection with you all, and I know that sometimes it’s just nicer and more realistic for you to grab a bite out and focus on the other aspects of your day. I am looking for ways to make this more sustainable and keep the focus on the real need, which is nourishment and a comfortable space to enjoy it. Please be open to changes that might arise.

*regarding organic ingredients, I do periodically choose to use ingredients that are not certified organic. I never make this decision based on cost or even culinary quality (I am more inclined to choose a different ingredient in those cases), but I may do so based on other sustainability factors such as local and responsible but not certified organic, or packaged significantly more responsibly and grown responsibly but not certified organic. Even in those instances, you can count on the vast majority of my ingredients to be organic because even though the system is imperfect, I still believe that it’s making a statement about which direction I want the food system to go, if nothing else.

 

 

Menu for pick up starting Wednesday April 12 April 8, 2017

Hello friends! What a gorgeous Saturday; I hope you are enjoying it!

I’ve posted the menu for pick up starting on Wednesday; view it here. I want to clarify a few things for you too…

• I am shifting to more of a pre-order and grab and go model, but do still serve amazing, nourishing, delicious food during the lunch hours Tuesday-Friday. The menu will rotate as I look at the space essentially as a test kitchen; what’s served will generally be based on the pre-orders received for that week or new recipe testing. There will continue to be grab and go available, and as this new system gets established, it will be expanded.
• While pre-ordering during the weekend order period (until Monday at noon) is the very best way to get what you want, you can make requests other times during the week and if I am able to accommodate them, I certainly will.
• There is a general baking schedule (posted below) for our regular items like bread, muffins, focaccia, etc. that is separate from the meal pre-order schedule and is available for walk-in customers as long as it lasts. If you are pre-ordering both meals and bakery items, I can almost always accommodate the same pick up day for both, but if you are just ordering something from the bakery, pick up will likely be on the scheduled baking day.

If anything needs more explanation or clarification, please let me know.

Have a fabulous weekend! Julia

Menu for April 5th pick up, and a biz update (seeking a team of partners) April 1, 2017

Hello! I’m so happy to have come home to a bit of much needed water in the air!

The menu for this coming week has been posted and you can find it HERE. Please note that pick up times have changed; I am sure that this will continue to happen as this new process evolves and I’ll always try to point it out. Pick up times for this week are Wednesday 4pm-7pm, Thursday 11am-3pm, or Friday 11am-3pm; other arrangements can be made if needed. As many of you have heard me say, I am in the kitchen many hours beyond our hours of operation, and I have a couple helpers who are as well. We are happy to find another time that works.

In terms of a biz update…Julia’s Kitchen has been open for over 5 years (yay!). I’ve been through so many iterations – from a staff of 14 to a staff of zero and all over in between; from 7 days a week and 12 hours a day to 4 days a week and 4 hours a day; from me being constantly in the kitchen to me barely being able to make it into the kitchen and then back. I have learned a ton, and apparently still have plenty to learn. And, I’m still looking for the right formula. I don’t think I can find it on my own.

I’ve been looking for a business partner for a while and haven’t found that perfect match, but I’m thinking maybe it’s a team that I should be seeking. Perhaps 4 people who are aligned with the mission of Julia’s Kitchen, who have different skills, experience, and strengths than my own, but who want cross train in order to understand and contribute to the business holistically, and who want to co-operate cooperatively.

What might be the focus for those skills/experiences/strengths?

• management and operation of the front of the house
• execution of physical branding/interior design
• oversight of community nights, special events, etc.
• kitchen manager/support
• bookkeeping

I would hope to create a team of people who aren’t afraid of, and in fact thrive on, hard work and getting their hands dirty, but who seek a healthy work-life balance.

In the meantime, I plan to continue to build on this pre-order concept, as well as offering daily bakery and grab and go options for those who want to stop in during lunch hours. I do need to simplify the lunch service as long as I am on my own, but I do plan to continue to have healthy, nourishing food available for lunching Tuesday-Friday 11am-3pm.

I hope those who has Spring Break last week enjoyed it and I hope all have a happy and healthy weekend!