Hot Bread Kitchen was featured on ABC News on January 24th, 2012. Reporter Lauren Glassberg visited our Harlem kitchen to see our operations in action and interview Hot Bread Kitchen CEO, Jessamyn Rodriguez along with a few of our bakers. Glassberg described Hot Bread Kitchen as a, “unique bakery in Harlem is serving up more than just bread, it is changing the lives of the workers it hires.”

To read the complete transcript of the video, go to ABC Eyewitness News online.

“I get so excited about these breads which at their roots, are staple foods of the communities which they come from – especially so for many of the products made at Hot Bread Kitchen.  Even while wonderful on their own, they create the perfect canvass for whatever else might be on hand.” – David

*Hot Bread Kitchen’s Nan-e Qandi is sold at all of our Greenmarket locations, as well as at Whole Foods Markets in NYC.

On December 20, 2011 Hot Bread Kitchen presented our  programs to the Parent Council of the Association to Benefit Children( ABC)  located at Park Avenue and E. 126 Street. Over 30 parents were in attendance (almost all of them mother!s).  ABC serves low income immigrant and minority families in the East Harlem and greater Harlem areas.

The parents were very interested in Hot Bread Kitchen’s bakery training and kitchen incubator programs. Many took job applications home with the desire to join the bakery. Others started to talk about their ideas to start a food business and were very excited about the idea being their own bosses. One mother said “As women we are full of ideas we never act on, you are helping women believe in themselves and make those ideas a reality”.

The excitement about HBK was such, that the mothers walked out of the meeting accompanying the presenter, Beatriz Mieses-Hernandez Hot Bread Kitchen’s Community Liaison, to ask more questions and talk about their business ideas.  The next step will be a tour of the HBK facilities for parents interested in applying for the bakery training program or the kitchen incubator. We look forward to building a lasting partnership with ABC and other similar organizations serving the Harlem community.

View more videos at: http://nbcnewyork.com.

Hot Bread Kitchen was excited to have NBC’s First Look host Maria Salsone visit us at the Union Square Greenmarket and at our East Harlem bakery in December. Maria spent the day tasting, and learning how to bake Moroccan M’smen with our baker trainees.  M’smen is a Moroccan flatbread made with semolina, butter and oil folder and stretched, much like a croissant. It is traditionally eaten warm with honey or stewed meats.

This video appeared on NBC on December 18, 2011.

Hot Bread Kitchen was recently featured in New York Magazine’s survey of the New York bread-scape written by Rob Patronite and Robin Rasfeld entitled, “The Greatest Thing Since...”

Rasfeld and Patronite described Hot Bread Kitchen saying, “It’s a rare bakery whose repertoire ranges from freshly ground corn tortillas to Sephardic challah, but that multiethnicism embodies the mission of Hot Bread Kitchen: to train immigrant women to parlay their native expertise into management positions in the industry.”

Read the complete article as a PDF as it appeared in the print version of New York Magazine on December 11, 2011.

• Moroccan M’smen (4 pieces) – An irresistibly buttery, flaky flatbread made with semolina.
• Grindstone Rye (1 loaf)— Our take on the vollkornbrot or German “People’s Bread,” the Grindstone is a moist, hearty loaf filled with a mix of grains, seeds, and organic rye flour.
• My Mom’s Nutty Granola (10 ounces)— Chock full of toasted oats, raisins, nuts, and lightly sweetened with a touch of honey, it makes a perfectly nutritious topping for yogurt, oatmeal, or even ice cream.
• Contribution to our workforce development and small business incubation programs for minority entrepreneurs. By purchasing the Global Bread Box, you help to support our unique baking training program and culinary incubator in East Harlem.
• A recipe suggestion and a how-to card for caring for your artisanal breads

Price:  $70.00 USD

Read the complete article on the Serious Eats website December 1, 2011.

View the complete video on the UNDP website.

On March 3rd 2011, Hot Bread Kitchen celebrated the opening of our new bakery training facility by hosting Hot Bread Kitchen Behind the Scenes.  With nearly 300 people in attendance, Behind the Scenes was an extremely successful event, taking guests Behind the Scenes of our operations. The night featured food from Joseph Leonard,  Boulud Sud, Beecher’s Handmade Cheese, Saxelby Cheesemongers, Screme Gelato, and baking demonstrations led by Daniel Boulud and Hot Bread Kitchen bakers.

Did you know that October 24, 2011 was New York City’s first annual Food Day? Part of a nationwide effort to promote healthy eating, Food Day was a combination of meals, lectures and panels held around NYC.  To celebrate, New York City Economic Development Corporation and Baruch College sponsored the NYC Food Manufacturers Expo. The Expo featured over 40 food businesses, including six  from Hot Bread Kitchen’s incubator program, HBK Incubates:

-          Veda’s Cake and Catering

-          Taste of Ethiopia

-          Jaune NYC

-          Aunt Muriel’s Mandelbrod

-          Baby Cakes and Pie, Cookies Too!

-          Love Joy Sweet Treats!

Both Mayor Michael Bloomberg and New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn acknowledged HBK Incubates and the talented businesses enrolled in the program in their respective speeches. Hot Bread Kitchen and the HBK Incubatees had a wonderful time at the Expo and we look forward to participating in Food Day 2012.