In addition to offering cooking workshops—this Saturday’s has sold out!—I’ve come up with some new business endeavors. You will understand the title of this post as you read about them.
Community Cutlery Collection
I stumbled across an article from the CBC about Philippa von Zeigenweidt, a woman who started a cutlery collection that she lends out in her community of Windsor, Ontario, with the aim of reducing the use of wasteful plastic utensils.
Ms. von Zeigenweidt’s collection has grown large enough to serve nearly 100 people and the utensils have traveled in and around Windsor many times to various events. People pay nothing to borrow the cutlery but must return everything washed.
This sounds like a small thing but I found the story so inspiring (as did followers on my Facebook page—people loved this idea). I thought to myself, “I can do this! I give cooking workshops and talks in my community. I’ll lend out my own fledgling cutlery collection!” Currently I have forks and spoons only—enough for 20 people—but I will start to grow this collection, beginning with knives.
I live in Mountain View, California, close to Palo Alto and Stanford. If you would like to borrow the collection or donate any flatware, please contact me here. I don’t require a deposit but please wash everything before you return it.
Sourdough Starter Hotel
A couple of years ago, some of you may have come across this story from NPR about a sourdough starter hotel in Stockholm, Sweden. For $3 a day, harried, traveling sourdough starter parents can drop off their starters at a bakery in the airport, where staff will feed and care for their “pets.”
I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, with its exorbitant real estate prices. Even a tent in someone’s backyard will cost you $899/month (God help us all). So counter space at my hotel—Chez Bonneau—will run you $6 a night.
Worried about your starter while you’re away? I can hook up a live cam so you can check in.
Okay, maybe not.
I’m just kidding about this service—unless someone takes me up on it. Please note that abandoned starters will be baked into crackers and eaten.
ZWC Is Not Only Waste-Free, It’s Ad-Free Too
I recently removed the handful of affiliate links I had on my site. I think affiliate links go against what I shudder to call “my brand.” But I don’t judge other bloggers who post affiliate links or ads! Blogging requires a ton of work, people need to pay the mortgage—or their backyard tent rent—and many other bloggers I love post affiliate links and ads and I still love them. But I don’t quite feel comfortable posting them here. If I wrote about anything else—sewing, painting or the slime craze my daughter keeps telling me about—you would see affiliate links and ads all over the place. But how can I peddle stuff on a blog that opposes consumerism?
I also don’t write sponsored content. I have time to blog only once a week and don’t want to waste that weekly post on promoting stuff for companies. People constantly ask me to review products as well and I have written a few posts like that in the past but don’t have time for that either, no matter how much I love the product.
Let’s hope that sourdough hotel fills up 😉
Actually, the workshops have been filling up! I LOVE teaching these and plan on adding more to my schedule this year.