Editor,

A commercial kitchen is alive and well on Whidbey Island.

As I read The Record from June 24 edition about the Port of South Whidbey and Goosefoot thinking about a commercial kitchen, I was led to believe that there aren’t any kitchens on the island for start-ups and farmers markets, and even basic food processing.

In the 16 years of having my 1,400-square-foot, 24-hour access kitchen at Kens Korner, I have had people who needed a place that is certified by Department of Health and the Department of Agriculture to start a food business, a space to use because their equipment broke, or a place to process their berries to make syrup.

Some of these businesses have moved on to either find themselves with a thriving food business, while others have discovered that this industry is not for them. I am proud to have given all of these people a place to develop their ideas, help them with suppliers and get culinary and promotional feedback from the other foodies in the kitchen.

Currently I have four full-time tenants, including myself, with one monthly vacancy; I always have room for daily rentals.

And that is the way it goes. I don’t advertise the kitchen because those who are serious find me through word of mouth from others in the industry. I do this to promote small food businesses on Whidbey Island, and often without breaking even financially. Here are a few businesses that have used my incubator kitchen:

J.W. Desserts, Whidbey Island Fudge Company, Tres Gringos, Cultivar Catering, Fireseed Catering, Midnight Kitchen, Joe’s Pizza, Whidbey Island Baking, Sweet Mona’s Chocolates, The Big Wierzbowski, Island Chef, Chef 4 Hire, The Kitchen Door, Paige Elizabeth Caramels, Whidbey Rice, Roaming Radish, Kiichli’s Bagels and Tree-top Baking.

I have a lot of respect for many of these hard working people who know it’s not all fun and games, but blood, sweat and tears, and even then there is no guarantee to be successful.

Sincerely,

JOHN W AUBURN

J.W. Desserts