Following two years of assisting local foodies, businesses and instructors promote their cooking classes, workshops and sell their goods, the Cochrane CookHouse will be closing its doors Oct. 30.
But while the local foodie haus, complete with a commercial kitchen, may be coming to an end — foodie entrepreneurs are seeking to expand on what the CookHouse began and to put Cochrane on the map for local food and agritourism.
Council approved a request from members of the ‘Cochrane Agritourism, Food Hall and Culinary Hub Initiative’ to donate the current CookHouse commercial kitchen equipment (valued at $70,000; purchased with community grants and donations) to the local initiative that has a community vision large in scope.
The initiative is seeking to open what would essentially serve as an all-in-one food hall and hub (gathering and food distribution centre), cluster of local retailers and food producers, satellite classroom and centre for culinary and agriculture education, indoor year-round farmer’s market and commercial kitchen.
Valerie McCracken (vice-president of the Cochrane Environmental Action Committee, which sponsors and operates the Cochrane Farmer’s Market) and Loraine Bon (whose background in food and tourism is extensive) delivered the presentation to a highly receptive council.
“It’s a bigger vision than we ever had for the CookHouse,” said Mayor Ivan Brooker, applauding the group for their vision.
“I love everything about this,” said Coun. Gaynor Levisky. “It makes me think of Granville Island in Vancouver.”
Coun. Tara McFadden stressed, “the success of this is going to be all about partnerships”.
The CookHouse opened its doors (beginning with its Artisan Market) in 2012 as ‘a municipally-driven social enterprise initiative with the intent of transitioning the operations to the community’.
Funded by grants and donations, the CookHouse met with shortfalls and was not able to be transitioned to the community; included in the 2014 budget, council directed administration to give notice to the landlord and to terminate the lease for Dec. 31, 2014. Members of the ‘Cochrane Agritourism, Food Hall and Culinary Hub Initiative’ expressed interest in taking over the CookHouse. The group delivered a proposal to town administration, which worked with the group to conduct a feasibility study on the CookHouse.
The result of the study is the decision to carry the CookHouse concept to the next level and to find a larger space (with a downtown location) that would be better suited to house all the components of the multi-faceted vision. The Main Street location of the former Bargain Shop (now vacant) was brought up as a possible suitable location.
In the coming months the group would work toward achieving official not-for-profit status and applying for grants.
The town would stipulate to house the kitchen equipment for a set period of time at the RancheHouse; should the initiative not come to fruition, the town would then sell off the equipment.
“This is a very big dream for our community and we are inviting the town (council) to sit down at our table,” said McCracken.
