HARTFORD, CT, May 9, 2022 –reSET, a non-profit business support organization, announces the graduation of 15 CT-based food businesses from the 2021 Food Incubator marked by a May 25 live pitch event - FOODIE SHOWCASE 2022: WOMEN WHO ROCK THE KITCHEN. Parkville Market (Silver Sponsor) will host the public event from 5:30-8 pm. The evening is also sponsored by Webster Bank (Gold Sponsor) and Nassau Financial Group (Silver Sponsor.)

Join us at Parkville Market for an evening of meeting new people & enjoying delicious food! Mayor Luke Bronin will kick off the event along with other speakers. After hearing from the business owners, the tasting begins. There is $5,000 on the table for Judge's Awards and Audience Choice Award - yes, audience members get to pick a favorite up-and-coming foodie!

Since 2019, reSET has been offering a Food Incubator program in partnership with Hands On Hartford and the Hartford Culinary Collaborative. The program is designed to help early-stage food businesses launch and sustain their growth in Hartford primarily and beyond. As we emerge from a pandemic, reSET celebrates this fourth cohort with a pitch event open to the community, plus all attendees get to taste-test the food this year. For the last few years the event has been virtual due to the pandemic, and we’re finally able to convene in person to celebrate the amazing assortment of tastes and food varieties this cohort brings to the table. 

Since 2019, reSET has had 67 businesses come through the food incubator, including the 15 in the current cohort. 88% of this year’s businesses are BIPOC-owned and 100% are women-owned. The 2022 class includes a wide variety of offerings including vegan, charcuterie, baked goods and so much more! 

The 2022 cohort had three intensive months to work together to incubate promising food business ideas through peer feedback, mentorship, and one-on-one guidance from reSET. Stefanie Robles, reSET Food Catalyst, facilitated this year’s program along with leading the Hartford Culinary Collaborative. Hands on Hartford provided the shared use kitchen leveraged by many participants.

Stefanie Robles, reSET Food Catalyst, shared “I'm so excited for the 2022 Food Incubator cohort, and for the first time ever, we've got an all women's cohort! This year is jam packed with amazing and talented chefs with products ranging from plant based options to concierge and custom bakers. Your tastebuds will be delightfully dancing throughout the Foodie Demo Day!”

"The food incubator has impacted me by putting me out of my comfort zone to talk to more like minded, foodie entrepreneurs in order to do a partnership or collaboration. To be more outspoken instead of in my shell. These past  9 weeks, just being out of my comfort zone, talking to others and networking, I know something will come out of it." - Avery Beamon, founder of Craves by Aves & Food Incubator Participant 

Graduating Food Businesses:

• CakeSpell Delightful Baking is a concierge bakery providing cakes, cupcakes, & dessert tables founded by Tracey Joseph.
• My Vegan List mission is to bring Vegan food options to food deserts and teach veganism as a way of life that is attainable and achievable no matter your status founded by R’Ryana DeCordova! R'Ryana is the owner of 
• CrAves is all sweets and everything you crave including custom cakes founded by Avery Beamon.
• Fish N Tingz is an authentic West Indian restaurant that serves authentic West Indian food. Our goal is to bring a little piece of good island vibes and cuisine to you founded by Patricia Samuels.
• Blue Dahlia Curated Charcuterie offers gourmet charcuterie boards & styled tables founded by Tracy Odlum.
• RastaRant is Caribbean-infused vegan cuisine providing wonderful eating experiences through aroma and taste while helping people on a journey to healthier lifestyles founded by GiGi Lawrence.
• Puff's Sweet Spot is a home based treat shop specializing in custom sweets & treats made from scratch founded by Desiree Valencia.
• Earth Bar is a smoothie/juice bar located in Hartford on a mission to produce products free of white sugar and syrups to help our community be more conscious of their health founded by Julie Nguyen.
• Golden Heart Foods is a manufacturer of authentic Caribbean ethnic food seasonings, spices, and marinades on a mission to help people turn their meals into a tasty sensation one spoon at a time founded by Flavie Noel
• Wildwood Granola is healthy, tasty granola with no added sugars or chemicals using CT maple syrup as a sweetener and staying gluten free, vegan, dairy free, egg free, peanut free founded by Tamara Ketchian.
• Toss-It-Up Gourmet Salads is a Meal-Prep Food Service Business that specializes in creating salads that tantalize any taste buds for salad connoisseurs, weight watchers, weekday warriors, and more founded by Felicia Mierez.
• Jade Eatz is a vegan cooking company that offers stress free meals for individuals and small groups made with love and local ingredients founded by Sydney Livingston.
• Dája’s Goodies is a Hartford-based catering service, offering you the best variety of soulful eats and homemade sweets Founded by GlenDaja Woodard.
• Black Sesame is an online bakery founded by Mimi Cheung, who discovered her passion for baking sweets during the pandemic shutdown and loves to deliver smiles and happiness to her clients through her cakes and cupcakes.
• Ridge Roast is a farm-focused mobile coffee & treat trailer encouraging customers to learn about where their food is coming from and to feel a connection with the farming locations we serve founded by Sarah Bailey.
  

About reSET

reSET is a nonprofit organization in Hartford, CT, whose mission is to advance the social enterprise sector. reSET specializes in social enterprise ― impact driven business that have an environmental or social mission. In addition to providing coworking space, accelerator and mentoring programs, reSET aims to inspire innovation and community collaboration, and to support entrepreneurs in creating market-based solutions to community challenges. reSET’s goal is to meet entrepreneurs wherever they are in their trajectory and to help them take their businesses to the next level. www.reSETCo.org

About the Hartford Culinary Collaborative

Hands On Hartford, Parkville Market, reSET, Swift Factory, Forge City Works, Knox Inc., and Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner have joined forces as the Culinary Collaborative based in Hartford, CT, to provide a sense of community, support, and synergy for food entrepreneurs. The purpose of the Culinary Collaborative is to establish equitable pathways for food businesses to grow and thrive in Hartford, by supporting individuals and businesses along several stages of development.