Cortland Avenue offers delicious, gourmet food for omnivores, herbivores, and even canines. But until now, there’s been no place that caters to high-powered babies who need hearty, healthy food to go. You know the type: The kind of kid who will one day roll down the window of his/her Rolls-Royce at a traffic light to politely borrow your Grey Poupon.
Luckily, those discriminating kids won’t have to suffer much longer. If all goes according to plan, Big Dipper Baby Food will open at the artisanal food marketplace at 331 Cortland in late May. From the press release:
Local Mom Claire Hoyt knows how hard it can be to put a freshly made organic meal on the table every night for a small child — she’s been doing so for her son Forrest for the past 18 months. For hard working parents who want nothing but the best for their precious young ones, Big Dipper Baby Food is poised to serve fresh, organic, and delicious baby food from the Bernal Heights community in a convenient and affordable manner.
Making the transition from her career as an art director with a corporate food and house wares company, Hoyt is pursuing her lifelong dream of being a business owner. Her mother was a chef and always had her own successful restaurants and food businesses. When Hoyt became pregnant, she knew that in the next few years she would be making adjustments in her life to accomplish similar goals. When she came upon the community at 331 Cortland, she and the vendors (Paulie’s Pickling, Bernal Cutlery, Spice Hound) knew it was a perfect match for the neighborhood’s incubator space.
“I’m most excited to get started at 331 Cortland. Big Dipper has been a business plan I’ve had for over a year and having my own business is a lifelong dream,” said Hoyt.
The Bernal Heights community filled with young families is a perfect fit for a quick and healthy stop where Hoyt’s bulk creations of simple purees for infants’ first foods will be available. Purees will include items like Baked Fuji Apples with Sweet Potato, and Roasted Pears and Pineapple.
For babies graduating to the more textured and complex foods, Roasted Parsnips and Apple Mash with Cardamom; Braised Butternut Squash; and Brown Rice Pudding with Mango and Coconut Milk; are sample seasonal offerings.
There will also be selections for toddlers featuring simple classics like Chicken Potpie with some “hidden” super foods. For instance the “cream” sauce in the potpie is a yummy cauliflower and leek puree, and the biscuit topping is made with sweet potato. By sneaking in those extra vegetable servings in a way in which kids crave, parents are also happy.
PHOTO: Quinn, Krisna, and Tommy
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