Our First Stint as Craft Fair Craft Services

One of the best lessons I learned from my four years at a film school is how to produce something awesome from nothing just in time. You have no idea how handy that skill can be in every day life.

This past weekend, Mike and I volunteered to cater a special event at the Arts Building, a community centre dedicated to spreading the joy of creation in the young and old. Every December, the Arts Building holds their annual Festive Sale, a pop-up shop of local artwork and crafts. People walk around the arts building looking at art, collages, creations and paintings.

It was our job to furnish the kitchen area with yummy goodies for purchase. This ranged from scones and croissants to soup and homemade bread. In short, we were a pop-up food truck or craft services for a creative community and their shoppers.

What many people don't know is that Mike was considering starting a soup and fresh bread food truck/mini shop in downtown Portland prior to our relocation north of the border. This craft fair seemed like the perfect opportunity to try our hand at the soup kitchen idea while helping out the Arts Building.

We didn't have a menu or even expectations on how many people we should cook for. The two of us sampled soup recipes before deciding to provide two: a potato ham & a curry split pea with tofu. We tried, tested and retested a quinoa salad recipe. The days before the event, we pre-mixed cookie dough, prepped fresh bread and croissants and cut butter into dry scone ingredients. We crossed our fingers and hoped for the best.

The first morning of the sale, we set up our baked goodies and hung signs with all our offerings. We put on aprons, loaded up the crock pots with cider and soups. And waited. And waited.

The first hour of the sale, we sold a cup of coffee. That was it.

By 11:30am, we were starting to wonder if we made a mistake in pricing or our menu. We were going to be eating soup for a long time.

Then it happened.

One brave soul tried a cup of soup and a chunk of homemade bread . . . and it spread like wildfire. We had a line-up for our soup. People were standing eating soup out of mason jars and Mike's homemade bread. We had to open up a spare room & pull out chairs from storage so people could sit and eat their soup.

People asked us if we owned a restaurant, if we catered and if we would considered catering.  We smiled, thanked them and went back to washing dishes.

The soup we made was portioned for both days. We went through both days of the split pea and ended the day with one bowl of potato.

In the baked goodies, we sold out of cookies, scones, muffins (even the gluten-free) and one entire jug of cider.  The only thing that didn't sell was the croissants, which honestly shocked us. The croissants, in my opinion, was the best thing we offered.

That night, we went home and prepped more items but not nearly as many as Saturday for the staff at the Arts Building warned us it would be slower on Sunday. I made different scones and muffins. Mike remade his soup.


We debated dropping the prices on the croissants. It was heartbreaking because Mike believed they were worth the price . . . and wasn't sure why they weren't selling.  That's when we decided to make a change. Instead of putting them in a basket, like you would pass around at a dinner table, we decided to display them like they were art work.

I pulled out a long white serving tray and put five of the buttery pastries on the tray. As we sold one, I added another.  Right up until we sold out.


We learned more than just the fine art of presentation when it comes to food. We learned about teamwork, how to maneuver in a small kitchen and that the two of us can produce some amazing things together.

We also learned about the power of word of mouth. We were only there for two days but word traveled quick. Many of the customers on Sunday were part of the soup crowd on Saturday. They returned for a second helping, and brought friends who wanted to try our soup.

It was lovely, heartwarming and made use feel grateful for their appreciation of our cooking. All in all, it was a winning weekend! Thank you!