With the unusual thaw outside, the heat had the Cauldron bubble with activity yesterday.

Starting at 8 am, a new client, Rise and Shine Products, took over the kitchen and organized themselves to make their special blend of hot sauce. In their family unit, 3 generations, Rise and Shine Products chopped, processed, and boiled the hot peppers and veggies. Grandma Veda’s recipe made the Cauldron smell wonderful and we look forward to seeing their product at different stores.

Rise and Shine Products processing hot peppers.

Double time hot sauce in prodcution

Soon after, a festive group came into the Cauldron to stir up the place with Creole cuisine. Meroudjie and Jean-David are the head caterers for a Haitian community festival. That day, the community was celebrating an anniversary and so the food needed to be over-the-top. Jean-David did not spare much in the seven hours of cooking. Seafood and stews bubbled and whistled (pressure cooker in action) all afternoon. The kitchen was in a buzz as plans were made, changed, and adapted again and again. The organizers were anticipating a large gathering and the number of people coming and going, was a testament to the size and coordination of the event. We hope they had a blast and that Chef Jean-David got some time to relax.

Chef Jean-David and his homards

Creole Goat Stew bubbling

David was given a sample of Creole Beef Stew. So yummy!!

The crew busy buzzing and busy

All through this, our friends, Savoury Pursuits was toiling away in the Baking Centre curious at the activity in the main kitchen. They were planning and baking for Sunday Market at Lansdowne Park. Their pies and tarts are super delicious and all handmade in The Cauldron Kitchen.

Bonnie and Paul preparing their fruit tarts and pies… oh my!

I like it when the Cauldron looks like this… food laid out for prep and baking!

But wait… who is this?? Right, our resident ghost, Detroit Soul Food. They came later in the afternoon to prep for a caterering order. They started in our small Prep C space while the kitchen was used by our Creole clients. When 7 pm came there was a transition to Kitchen A in tune with the familiar Ding-Dong of the UberEATS orders coming in as soon as the virtual doors opened. What a busy day!

Detroit Soul Food waffles stacking up for the first orders of the day.

Chef LeRoy frying up chicken and making Mac n Cheese.

But wait again… that familiar laugh and smile… GongFu Food Cart also booked time today. They have a big day on Tuesday night as they are taking over Fontenelle’s Restaurant on Montreal Road. GongFu was in the Baking Centre making dough for their signature steam buns (bao). If you have not tried them, I suggest you make plans for this Tuesday.

So this One Day in February, the Cauldron was filled, emptied, filled again, emptied, and filled again. With lots of action all day long, it was a joy to experience and to see the potential continue to boil over!