We were lucky to catch up with Jen Lindsey & Anne Boninsegna recently and have shared our conversation below.
Jen Lindsey &, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
In addition to our signature participatory dining experiences, they also saw an opportunity for private events in our space. Corporate events, weddings, birthday parties, and more. In fact, The Kitchen had weddings booked while we were still under renovations. Anne and Jen always thought that the participatory dining experiences would always be public. But we were pleasantly surprised at the amount of requests we got for private participatory dining experiences. Any way someone wants to celebrate, we will host them. Corporate teams, life celebrations, and more. People wanted to cook together!
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
We’re most proud of the connections that are made at The Kitchen. Whether it’s within our own team, participatory dining experiences, or private events where people come together to celebrate. We’re so proud and thankful to simply be here. The pandemic was a huge obstacle for us, a business centered on gatherings, being told not to gather. We had to get creative, offering to-go meal kits, virtual events, and carryout cheese and charcuterie boards. Cheese literally saved us during COVID! Anne and Jen are proud that they are still best friends. Many people told them they wouldn’t make it as friends going into business together, but alas, so many years later, they are still the best of friends to this day. We want people to know that The Kitchen offers a unique opportunity to connect with others and make memories with friends old and new. Our food is good, period. It is nostalgic, thoughtfully curated, it’s produced with love and care, and it’s locally sourced. Our food stands out from regular wedding food or corporate meeting food. People leave here wanting our recipes. We care about the event as if we were the host. We have a lot of integrity behind how we want to handle someone’s event.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
Anne and Jen have always been very open with the team, they have never hidden ANYTHING from their team. They learned early on that common business practices like a performance review, didn’t work for them. They focus on goals that each individual on their team should achieve in their jobs. They try to inspire their leadership by being genuine, promoting a work-life balance, and leading by example. They don’t ask their employees to only be committed to work. They stress the importance of caring for yourself and taking PTO, taking care of your mental health. They have a mutual respect for the team. Treat people how you want to be treated. Don’t keep people in the dark, make sure people understand their opinions matter. Treat everyone with respect. Recognize people when they do good things, don’t shame them when they do bad things. They recognize vulnerability as a strength. As a team member of The Kitchen myself writing this, Anne and Jen are simply amazing. The best people I’ve ever worked with. They are kind, encouraging, and genuinely care about us and our success. They do business the right way, they treat their employees and clients like family. I am genuinely so fortunate to be a part of the team.
Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?
Anne and Jen have always been very open with the team, they have never hidden ANYTHING from their team. They learned early on that common business practices like a performance review, didn’t work for them. They focus on goals that each individual on their team should achieve in their jobs. They try to inspire their leadership by being genuine, promoting a work-life balance, and leading by example. They don’t ask their employees to only be committed to work. They stress the importance of caring for yourself and taking PTO, taking care of your mental health. They have a mutual respect for the team. Treat people how you want to be treated. Don’t keep people in the dark, make sure people understand their opinions matter. Treat everyone with respect. Recognize people when they do good things, don’t shame them when they do bad things. They recognize vulnerability as a strength. As a team member of The Kitchen myself writing this, Anne and Jen are simply amazing. The best people I’ve ever worked with. They are kind, encouraging, and genuinely care about us and our success. They do business the right way, they treat their employees and clients like family. I am genuinely so fortunate to be a part of the team.
Contact Info:
- Website: thekitchencolumbus.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekitchencolumbus/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheKitchen231/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-kitchen-columbus/?viewAsMember=true
Image Credits
Autumn Theodore Photography, Derks Works Photography, Erica Key Photographer