We were lucky to catch up with Kate Bolt recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Kate thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?
Lark (as in “going on a lark”) makes the case for indulgence and reset — for living as a human, not as a robot who makes choices without emotion or character. Life is a both-and: eating and living healthy, as well as periodically splurging and celebrating!
My cookbook shelf tells me this: current cookbooks are either full of rigid, allergy-friendly healthy recipes, or are geared toward a style of cooking or a particular regional flavor.
Lark suggests the moderate approach: filling up with healthy, life-giving food during the week and then allowing some reasonable indulgences on the weekend.
No matter the time or season, I want to enjoy every bite. This is the Living Lark way.
I want you to trust that our reliable recipes will turn out the same every time, for everyone who cooks them, in every kitchen. Ingredients we use are available from local groceries or from specified places that allow for easy purchasing.
One fun way to enjoy living on a Lark is with 65 weekend recipes — gallon-batch cocktails that please a BIG crowd — all available on our website
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I’m a recipe writer who loves to eat. A few years ago, I got tired of ignoring my creative side and wrote down 100 of my original recipes — recipes for the home cook who has ignored being creative in the kitchen and longs to slow down and enjoy more life and time at home.
I’m married to Dan and we have three young kids: Jack, Willem, and Vivian. We love living on the coast of Lake Michigan and going on a LARK together. My favorite ingredients are shallots, dijon mustard, champagne, celery, fresh off the tree peaches, and very sweet desserts.
I love a lot of things about my work but two things that I am most proud of and I am currently working on are Lark Gives and Lark Bottle Club. Lark Gives: once a month we partner with a non-profit organization and either provide drinks (gratis) at their event or give 10% of the profit of that month to the organization as a donation. Lark Bottle club: provides curated cocktails by the bottle, available for pickup monthly at Galleria (a bistro/gallery) in Holland, Michigan. Every month my people bring in their bottle and we exchange for a clean, full bottle of the monthly cocktail right there.
Any advice for managing a team?
Build trust and help your people understand each other better with FUN team building. I don’t personally have a team but lead Enneagram and Cocktails which is a workshop and happy hour called Growing with the Enneagram. This 90 minute workshop creates a shared space and baseline framework for how the 9-type Enneagram personality model helps people grow in self awareness and personal empowerment. To make this event a happy hour, participants will sip a custom cocktail or two (or pizza, snack, and cocktails & mocktails – we can tailor to your preference) crafted by Kate. Each food and/or beverage is designed to embrace the spirit and energy of a particular Enneagram Type, which is taught by a certified Enneagram Coach. I have seen teams have fun, grow in understanding and enjoy each others company – which can be hard to do after a time of remote work during the Covid pandemic.
How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?
I am truly an advocate for email lists! I send out a monthly newsletter and through that connect with clients and give them a brief rundown of monthly events. I always stick to the script that if all social media platforms went dark tomorrow – you can still have your clients via old fashioned email. I love instagram, tolerate Facebook and am learning how to love TikTok, but my home base is my website and my brand and merchandise, events and clubs are all available at LivingLark.com
Contact Info:
Image Credits
Jen Doornbos Photography, Kynda Marketing, Jodi Schaap Photography