Eleven local food businesses have completed Norfolk’s Bon Appétit training program, opening a path to potential catering work for city events. The businesses made up the program’s sixth cohort and will be included on a master catering list shared with city departments as they consider providers for future events.
The eight-week program began in early September and concluded on October 30. Each week covered a different part of running a food business, with subjects ranging from branding to finances. The training was designed to help food entrepreneurs strengthen their businesses while developing their understanding of those responsibilities.
For the final session, each owner presented their business to fellow participants and took questions from city representatives. Lashawnda Hall, Norfolk’s senior economic inclusion manager, described the presentations as the culmination of the training. She said all the participating businesses would be added to the catering list for future opportunities.
Hall said participants pay nothing to take the training. Completing it also makes their businesses eligible for a $7,500 grant. For the owners finishing this round, inclusion on the catering list creates the possibility of additional business through city events, something participant Danya Whipple said she hopes will lead to a call requesting catering.
Whipple, a veteran television journalist who owns Beignets and Brew in Ghent, found that the final presentation called for a different approach from the work she already knew. Although comfortable with a camera or microphone, she said pitching her business meant persuading people to support what she had to offer.
The financial instruction stood out to Whipple as one of the most useful parts of the course. She said business owners can overlook financial details when concentrating on an idea and how to make it work. The program, she said, provided tools to help her pay closer attention to that side of ownership.
Alongside the weekly lessons, the two months of training gave the 11 owners opportunities to get to know one another and build relationships. Their closing presentations brought that shared experience together while allowing each participant to explain their own business to the group and city representatives.
Norfolk expects to launch a seventh Bon Appétit cohort in March. Applications for that next round are expected to open in January.
