Will teaching your craft compete with your own artisan food sales? Maybe, but the truth is people who want to learn to preserve are even more likely to appreciate your own foods. In the bay area, June Taylor, Happy Girl Kitchen, and Blue Chair Fruit are just a few of the crafters who supplement their product sales with classes ranging from $50 to several hundred dollars. Many chocolatiers take the approach of teaching skills to make candy at home, or writing a book–as Nina Wanat of the former Bon Bon Bar did for home confection making–without sharing trade secrets.
I had the pleasure of attending a marmalade class with Happy Girl. It impressed me how Jordan Champagne gave us the full scoop on how they make their marmalades. Much as when I learned how difficult it is to craft silver jewelry in a metal-working class, I now feel “closer” to their products with an affinity and more likely to appreciate the products’ pricing. That makes me happy.
Heard any “horror” stories of those who learned to fish?
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