VENDOR SHOWCASE: Cured Creations
I am so happy to be able to feature a business that is owned by a couple of powerhouse entrepreneurs that I think EVERYONE should know about! I first met Helena a couple of years ago when she was starting out her event management business, Mosaic Management. I knew right off the bat she was someone that I was going to get along really well with and she has been such a valuable contact in this industry, I am so grateful for her friendship. Her business partner, Jen, owns Creative Kitchen and has been a household name in PEI for the past five years, offering a variety of services from catering, to cooking classes, to in-person and virtual personal chef programs! I’ll let them speak for themselves to tell you the rest.
Tell us a little about your business:
Cured Creations is a team of female entrepreneurs and was started in 2020. We specialize in charcuterie takeout, delivery and catering and currently have over 20 local suppliers we use for our boxes. We do everything from charcuterie box kits to party boxes, custom charcuterie spreads and have multiple catering menus.
What inspired you to get started?
COVID was actually the reason for this business. I (Helena) own Mosaic Management, a local event management company, and my partner, Chef Jen McKenna, owns Creative Kitchen. We met in 2019 when I reached out to Jen to do some catering for my events and we became friends. I have been in the food industry for my whole working life and have always followed these fun Instagram accounts where they turn food (ie charcuterie) into works of art! When COVID hit, all my events were cancelled and I felt stuck. I kept hearing this word "pivot" so I called Jen and asked if she wanted to deliver charcuterie to people at home. There was nothing like this currently on PEI and I knew we had so many talented local producers. We thought it would be fun for a few weeks, or while the lockdown lasted. Within a month we had to get a storefront to keep up with demand. We are currently at 257 Queen St in Back Alley Record's.
What is your favourite thing to do in your business?
We LOVE custom catering- Jen and I get to showcase all three of our businesses! We recently did private catering for 10 people where we started with a large charcuterie spread. Jen created a five course tasting menu, and I set a pretty table, and served and presented the food. Our combined knowledge of food and entertaining works perfectly together!
How many guests can you accommodate?
This really depends. We love to get to know the people we are feeding and spend time talking food, but we have done events up to 50. We recently created a catering menu where we can serve people with food stations or buffet for up to 100 people!
How far ahead should we book?
This is a question I get daily and I love to tell people you can order your charcuterie box the same day or stop into the shop and it takes five minutes to assemble! There are only a few of our charcuterie items that we need 24 hours notice for. We are like any other takeout but just with charcuterie!
Can you create custom menus?
Absolutely, we love to work with people’s preferences and dietary restrictions. That is why we have "creations" in our name. We have done vegan, keto, gluten free and more!
Do you travel?
Yes across PEI! Our delivery is free in Charlottetown for our regular boxes but we do charge mileage outside of town. For any larger catering, we travel to wherever you are.
How far ahead do your bookings typically run?
We are currently booking into 2022 but we don’t have every weekend booked. We try and accommodate whatever comes in.
Is there anything else you’d like potential couples to know?
That you will be working with two people who just want you to have the best experience with our food, we care a lot about the service we provide. You will be dealing right with us, not with a team. You will get answers to your emails within a day and if you prefer you’ll have our personal cell numbers to text or call.
Thank you so much Helena for taking the time to let us get to know you a bit better! I have to say that I have no doubt in my mind that Helena and Jen will be successful in anything they set out to do, and I’ve been nothing but absolutely impressed with everything I’ve seen or tried from Cured Creations! Take a look at the amazing spread they put together recently for a photo shoot we did:
