We were lucky to catch up with Maggie Tammik recently and have shared our conversation below.

Maggie, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

The story behind my mission for Magnolia’s Kitchen is strongly related to my views surrounding veganism and how it has changed my life in so many ways.

For as long as I can remember, food has always played such an important role in my life. It wasn’t until 2020 when I really began researching what vegan meant, and why such a growing number of people across the globe are joining the movement. I thought of ways I could introduce some of the commonly held values into my everyday life, while still staying true to myself and my morals. The past two years since then have been such a whirlwind for me.
Spreading awareness and dipping my toes into the world of animal and climate activism was an important step I took to further my understanding of why veganism is such an important choice to be making in this day and age.

Entering the world of veganism has opened so many doors for myself and I have seen an extraordinary change in the trajectory of my career within the food industry since then. Not to mention how exciting it has been to discover an entirely new world of cooking techniques, ingredients, and methods. The plant-based community I have found myself in is incredibly welcoming and has served as a wealth of knowledge for almost any question I have had along the way.

I truly believe that vegans are a widely misunderstood group of people. Societal stereotypes have painted a picture that often makes us out to seem “preachy” and “hardcore”. While this may be true for some individuals, the vast majority of vegans I have interacted with are some of the most kind-hearted people I know. Exercising a degree of compassion for animals, and using our voices to make their stories heard is an act I feel proud to do regularly. This, along with raising awareness for climate injustice are just two of many reasons why I know that aligning myself with this movement is the right choice for me.

The idea of starting up my own business has been a dream I have worked very hard towards successfully achieving. I knew when I began planning Magnolia’s Kitchen that cooking and sharing my love for vegan food was a no brainer. I aim to create a space that is inclusive, judgement-free, and serves as an excellent example of how delicious and easy eating vegan can be. It does not need to be expensive or overcomplicated. Finding ways that work for each person induvidually is a process that takes time, and I am committed to showing the world why, like me, beginning the transition to plant-forward eating could be the best decision of your life.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Maggie Tammik, the founder, owner, and operator of Magnolia’s Kitchen – a small, woman owned business servicing York Region. Services I offer include but are not limited to; weekly meal preparation, small scale sales, and private dining. All products are vegan and made with love. I am a graduate of George brown College’s culinary management program, am passionate about the environment, and love spending time outdoors.

Magnolia’s Kitchen is my passion project displaying my love for vegan food, and is delivered in a way that makes plant based dining accessible and practical for everyone.

I have worked in the restaurant industry for over four years and have experience in many dining settings; golf courses, high volume restaurants, and most recently vegan restaurant work. I have a deep respect for all workers in the restaurant industry, it is difficult work but luckily a kind that I find extremely rewarding.

Two years ago I started a blog sharing recipes and food images, the response was encouraging enough for me to turn it into a real business. Transitioning to a vegan diet changed my life completely when I realized how exciting it was to have so many new ingredients and cooking methods available to me. I have now made it my mission to share this passion with the world in way that shows how easy, accessible, affordable, and most importantly, delicious vegan food can be.

For those within the York Region area, I encourage you to take a look at my meal preparation menus which are posted bi-weekly. These menus are ranging in cuisine and with a regular rotation, there’s always something new available. All packaging used for meal prep orders is recyclable or compostable, which was a non-negotiable effort to reduce single-use packaging waste.

I also offer small scale product sales which are also on a regularly rotating offering list. This holiday season I sold holiday treat boxes filled with all the crowd pleasing favourites.

Coming soon in early 2023 will be my newest project, Magnolia’s Kitchen Marketplace where I will have product sales which can be added on to any regular meal prep order, or sold individually.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

When I started the Magnolia’s Kitchen blog back in 2020, I had no expectation of where this journey would take me. Developing an online audience and forming connections with followers has definitely been a learning experience and I have learned a lot through trial and error.

My biggest tips for those just starting out would be to remain consistent in the type of content you share, establish a posting schedule that way your audience remains engaged with your account, and try to have a signature visual style to your posts (lighting, photo styling etc). And don’t over estimate the power of natural light for photos! I try to use minimal editing and colour corrections to achieve an overall look that doesn’t come across too harsh or jarring to the eye.

Moving forward for me, I’d really like to get more into food videography and be more active on platforms such as TikTok or Instagram via reels.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

Definitely word of mouth. Establishing a customer base that trusts you and knows the consistency of your product/service is the best investment of time that new business owners can make. Take your time to narrow down your target clientelle and develop a relationship with these people so that they are more likely to share your name into local groups, and conversation. Running Instagram and Facebook ads has also been an awesome way to draw in potential clients or even just to start conversations with my audience. There are great settings that help you narrow down a target audience for these ads, you can specify age, location, interests etc.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.magnoliaskitchen.ca
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/magnolias.kitchen/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greensbymagnolia/
• Linkedin: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/maggie-tammik-a678a6214
• Other: Email – [email protected]