Photo by Tyler Nelson
MKE Kitchen is a commercial kitchen in Riverwest with a laundry-list of tenants. Owner, Kathy Papineau, built the kitchen about eight years ago for her catering company, MKE Localicious, but wanted to help new businesses get off the ground and smaller, existing operations take their food business to the next level.
“My kitchen is busier now than it’s ever been,” says Papineau. “With people that have pivoted to figure out how to make it in this crazy time.”
One of the new businesses MKE Kitchen is helping get off the ground is Happy Chik, who specialize in tofu made from chickpea flour. Papineau also instructs classes at the kitchen, including some for the Shorewood Recreation Department. Mr. Greens food truck does some of their prep at MKE Kitchen along with many other businesses that just need to use the commercial space.
“It’s always something,” says Papineau. “No day is like the one before.”
Tikkun Ha-Ir, which means “repair the city” in Hebrew, spends Tuesday mornings at MKE Kitchen prepping around 600 meals to give to local shelters and food pantries in the area. The food they cook is sourced by volunteers who glean from local farmers markets and local gardens, looking for produce that’s either going to waste or is excess.
Photo by Tyler Nelson
Sarah DeNeve (left) and a volunteer from Tikkun Ha-Ir inside MKE Kitchen preparing food.
“We receive donated and surplus food from area farmers markets,” says Sarah DeNeve, Marketing and Program Coordinator for Tikkun Ha-Ir. “The bulk of that food comes to the kitchen here on Tuesdays, where a bunch of volunteers get together and we prepare some delicious, fresh meals for local shelters and programs.”
The organization has been doing this for the last 10 years or so. Previously, they had a rented kitchen space in the basement of a local church, but when the pandemic hit, they weren’t allowed to use the space anymore. That’s where MKE Kitchen came in. Another program Tikkun Ha-Ir runs is their Chop Shop Program, which works with female inmates to help them gain culinary skills to prepare them for jobs on the outside. Those participants receive credit towards certificates from MATC.
Papineau does work for Healthy Eats for Hospital Heroes and the Shorewood Farmers Market on top of everything she does at MKE Kitchen. She was mentioned in an article on Outpost Natural Foods and was one of the reasons the coop was able to step up and help one specific farm. She stresses the importance of fresh local food and supporting local farms and farmers. Milwaukee Farmers United is on the top of her list for resources for those looking to find local food.
“These farm-to-family businesses that are trying to get going are a big deal,” says Papineau, speaking of Milwaukee Farmers United. “They’re taking food from different farmers and distributing it to homes around the city.”
When farmers markets had been canceled, this group created another avenue for farmers to get their products on the market and into homes. Check out the video from a Tuesday at MKE Kitchen visiting with Papineau and DeNeve from Tikkun Ha-Ir.
