03 March 2011

Performance kitchen nearly ready for show time

Courtesy York County Economic Development Corp.
This artist rendering of the Rojahn Performance Kitchen
at Central Market shows the retro look.
By Caitlyn Meyer

Construction of the Rojahn Performance Kitchen at Central Market, part of the Shared Kitchen Incubator of York (YorKitchen), is almost complete. The project is being developed by NutriCore NorthEast Inc., which is an initiative of the York County Economic Development Corp. YorKitchen has partnered with Rojahn Custom Cabinetry of Dallastown to produce a show kitchen that will compliment the commercial shared kitchen.

Jack LeCesa, president of Rojahn Custom Cabinetry, coordinated the efforts to produce the performance kitchen in celebration of the company’s 50th anniversary in York County. More than a dozen other companies donated to the project, including Appliance Distributors Unlimited, W Metalworks, Blum, Chemical Coatings Inc., Conestoga Wood Specialities, Eastern Surfaces, Glen Gery Brick, Lafferty Lumber, Rojahn Company, Russell Plywood, Thos. Summerville, Topknobs, and Wecker’s Carpet.

The retro-style design of the show kitchen will compliment the décor of Central Market. Seating as well as professional lighting and audio equipment will accompany the space.

The performance kitchen will be open to the public on market days from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. People may also rent the performance kitchen during off hours for classes, demonstrations, and private parties. Classes will be led by local chefs, professionals and restaurant owners.

Nutrition education seminars will also be held in the performance kitchen. Topics will include eating healthy on a budget, eating fresh foods throughout the year (canning and blanching techniques), and how to read nutrition labels. Programming will touch all walks of life and provide much-needed education about the importance of our local agricultural economy.

The Rojahn Performance Kitchen will be an asset to the revitalization of Central Market and help attract people to downtown York. Individuals and/or parties interested in hosting an event or reserving time in YorKitchen should visit http://www.yorkitchen.com/. Watch a video about YorKitchen and the performance kitchen here.

Would you consider booking an event at the kitchen?

Caitlyn Meyer is the business development coordinator for the York County Economic Development Corp. She coordinates YCEDC activities related to the York County Economic Development Plan, seeks to work with local governments through the Municipal Outreach Program and works on business retention. Caitlyn earned her bachelor’s degree in history from York College of Pennsylvania in 2009 and has been with YCEDC since that time. Caitlyn lives and works in York City. She can be reached at cmeyer@ycedc.org or 717-846-8879, ext. 3053.

2 comments:

Margaret L. Hughes said...

All this about a performance kitchen is all well and good, and should help to entice people into downtown York.
Isn't it about time to pay some attention to Farmer's Market at Penn and Market Streets. It is a notable historic building, and in spite of being badly in need of repair, draws crowds weekly to buy its fresh produce, meats, etc., including persons of many ethnic backgrounds. If you really want to get a sense of what York City really is about, visit there. It has far more produce than Central Market, three major butcher shops, a restaurant, baked goods, plants for sale, and second hand shops, among others.
Hopefully some others than the faithful customers will sit up and take notice to the true gem that Farmers Market is.

YorkCounts said...

Margaret, you make a good point about the Penn and Market farmers market. It tends to be the forgotten one of York's two markets, as if people feel they need to choose to promote and support one market primarily. And that's a shame. I've always thought these two markets could both thrive while occupying slightly different niches. Central Market is evolving into the weekday morning/lunch destination for the downtown office crowd, with some grocery shopping on Saturdays. Penn and Market could be the afternoon/Saturday grocery stop, with a big push for locally grown or raised products. But it's this piece that has been missing.