Fireside Kitchen: Jam packed with community spirit and deliciousness

Over the past two years, I’ve had the opportunity to visit restaurants and food producers across the province. I’ve been lucky enough to hear many inspiring stories about the businesses and individuals that make our Bluenose taste buds sing with delight.

It is hard to say which story or business has been the most inspiring, but after a recent visit to the Fireside Kitchen, I think there is one business on the Nova Scotia culinary scene that takes the cake (the Christmas cake, in this case).

The Prescott Group has been busy operating as a true social enterprise since it was founded in 1979 as a means of offering meaningful skills training to adults with intellectual disabilities. They provide a supportive environment for citizens of Halifax to hone skills through meeting community needs via a variety of locally-operated businesses.

A True “Social” enterprise
Wikipedia defines a social enterprise as an organization that applies commercial strategies to maximize improvements in human and environmental well being, rather than maximizing profits for external shareholders.

The Prescott Group (formerly the Halifax Adult Services Centre), which currently operates on Prescott Street in Halifax’s North End, manages a suite of businesses including bag manufacturing and mailing services as well as the reason for my visit on a recent Friday – the Fireside Kitchen.

I was able to witness a bit of the spirit that embodies the Fireside Kitchen’s operations. Cindy Kingwell, Sales Manager for the Prescott Group, who has been with the organization for over 30 years, let me in on the Fireside’s recipe for success. Ingredients: locally sourced fruit, a spoonful of sugar, and a heaping scoop of sense of pride in what is accomplished.

Since 1995, the Fireside has been a member of Taste of Nova Scotia and what started as a small jam manufacturing business has evolved into a full-blown bakery and catering operation.

Fireside Kitchen offers a range of tasty jams and cakes made with all natural ingredients, including a number of locally-sourced fruits. Cindy beams when talking about how moving it is to watch each client [1] develop skills over time, progressing from knowing very little about how to operate in a kitchen to being able to take all the steps in preparing a Christmas cake. Being in the kitchen for only a short period of time, I am inundated with smiles and a sense of family.

I chat with Gerald (pictured above) who tells me he has been with Fireside for eight years and enjoys working as part of a team. His culinary inspiration was his mom, who was a prolific baker.

The Fireside Kitchen is much more than a business. It is a community and a family.

Jamtastic

Now, this wouldn’t be much of a food blog if I didn’t get down to talking about the food, which was fantastic. I took home a three-pack of Fireside Jams, which included Wild Blueberry, Strawberry, and Raspberry.

On the advice of Cindy, I paired the Raspberry jam with Fox Hill Havarti Cheese and crackers. The video below approximates how my taste buds felt….

And jam is not the only delicious treat that Fireside Kitchen offers up….

A Classic Holiday Treat

Quick…name the first thing that pops into your head when you think tasty Christmas treats…

I’m not a betting man, but if I were, I’d make a wager you said Christmas cake (or maybe Egg Nog, which technically is more of a tasty Christmas beverage than treat).

Egg Nog. Delicious, but slightly less appetizing when you use Google Translate to convert the French name, chair de poule, that appears on its carton (go ahead…see for yourself).

Moving on…

Fireside Kitchen has become well known for its Christmas cakes, which are full of fruit, soaked in sherry and covered with almonds, walnuts and cherries. The presentation is immaculate. Available in both 1lb and 2lb varieties, they are as tasty as they look (and make a great gift)!

Annual Christmas Tea Sale: November 24

On Saturday, November 24, members of the community are invited to visit the Prescott Group building at 3430 Prescott St. from 10am to 2pm for the Group’s Annual Christmas Tea Sale. Entering its eleventh year, the sale is a great opportunity to meet the amazing people who bring the Fireside to life, pick up holiday gifts (jams and Christmas cakes make great stocking stuffers!), and sample tasty treats from the kitchen (including chili). I’d encourage you to check it out!

Footnote:
[1] Prescott Group refers to its employees as clients, symbolizing that they are more than employees; they are clients learning and applying new skills.