Ask a Food Entrepreneur: Q&A with Tito Ron’s

Michael and Tristan, owner of Tito Rons

We asked some of our previous and existing clients about the challenges they faced getting started as small food entrepreneurs and how they overcame them. Our series begins with Michael and Tristen of Tito Ron’s, a lovely duo whose passion for Filipino-Caribbean food propelled them out of our kitchen and into their own space in Kensington Market.

MCK: What were the biggest challenges you faced in starting your food business?

Tito Ron’s: The amount of regulations, red tape and rules, we’re a surprise to us. Like people don’t realize that you need a commercial kitchen, to start with. Product is step one obviously, but then you have to learn the hoops you have to jump through to follow the rules.

MCK: Did working at MCK help make growing your business easier?

Tito Ron’s: Yes, and it wasn’t just the facility itself. You guys had a great rate compared to others, but the real benefit was getting to meet and work with you guys. Your team made a big difference, helping us out when we didn’t know what we were doing!

MCK: What advice would you give to anyone just starting out in this business? 

Tito Ron’s: Stick it out through the bad days, find some kind of silver lining, find the positive. You know, you’ll have shows where you don’t make money, not everyone will like your product, things like that. Stay focussed on the positive even if it is small thing.

MCK: What is your least favourite part about being a food entrepreneur?

Tito Ron’s: The pressure you put on yourself to succeed in the beginning. It is easy to get lost in it but you have to remember that everything doesn’t have to be perfect.

MCK: What is the best part of being a small business owner?

Tito Ron’s: We love it!  We believe in what we are doing, not just selling our food and making our money on our own merits, but exposing people to a product that we are passionate about. We’re someone that people trust for good food now.

Check out Tito Ron’s for yourself at 214 Augusta Avenue, you won’t be disappointed!

WIN Free time in our kitchens

In November of 2014 when we opened the doors at Manning Canning Kitchens, we honestly had no idea what to expect. In the past 16 months we have seen some truly inspiring food entrepreneurs pass through our doors. From prepped meal companies such as Chowdy, who started in our kitchen making 200 meals a week who have grown so much they are graduating at the end of April into their very own facility. To our friends at Bombay Street Food who started with a stall at East York Farmer's market and in April are opening their very own restaurant on Bay Street.

When I started my preserves business, I quickly discovered that the biggest barrier to my growth was going to be access to commercial kitchen space. I was very fortunate to find East Scarborough Storefront and get access to 4 free hours a week in their wonderful commercial kitchen and when I graduated from there, I went to the kitchen of my local butcher shop, who gave me access to their steam kettles at a ridiculously fair rate. Without both of these wonderful finds, I am not sure my business would be today.

So we decided we wanted to give back to the wonderful food community that supported us when we were just getting started by giving away free time in our kitchen.

The contest will be judged by an all star cast of food entrepreneurs, including Matt Basile (Fidel Gastro Street Food Co.), Erin Maynes (Foodiepages.ca), Cheryl Appleton (Canadian Women in Food), Kim Antonius (Pitchfork Company/Fairmount Park Farmers Market) and Peter Neal (Neal Brothers Food Inc.)

To enter click here

Toronto Rental Commercial Kitchen

It started as a dream 3 years ago and over the past 6 months we have been working hard to make it a reality. A rental kitchen in Toronto where small food producers, chefs, caterers, etc could bake, preserve or create.

Why did I want to open up a commercial kitchen? You may not know this but all food that is produced in Toronto and made available for sale HAS to be produced in a certified commercial kitchen that has been inspected by the City of Toronto. And when I started my preserves company, I quickly discovered that these types of kitchens were very hard to find. It quickly became the biggest challenge in my business and as I spoke with other producers that I met at food shows and farmer's markets, I realized I wasn't alone.

I was very lucky that I found the East Scarborough Storefront and for just over a year I was able to use their fabulous kitchen once a week at NO CHARGE to make my jams, jellies and pickles. And if you happen to live in the KGO (Kingston, Galloway, Orton Park) area you should definitely acquaint yourselves with all of the wonderful work they do and the amazing services they provide. 

And then I got lucky for a 2nd time; one of the stores that carries my products allowed me to use the kitchen in their basement. SCORE! It had 2 - 10g steam kettles and really allowed me to increase my productivity and batch up my recipes.

But even with access to these 2 wonderful kitchens, which is more than a lot of food producers manage to find, it was limited and my business could not grow fast enough to keep up with demand. My husband and I knew it was time to really push ahead on our dream of Toronto's rentable commercial kitchen space.

But building a commercial kitchen is EXPENSIVE and we knew we would need some help making it a reality. So in late September we launched our kickstarter campaign. We reached our goal (thank you, thank you, thank you) and it has been full speed ahead ever since.

Below shows you some of the blood, sweat and tears that have gone into the space.

The very first step was to ensure that the floor in the main kitchen space was food space. This involved degreasing the existing floor, sanding it down, and painting it several times with a food safe apoxy that left it shining.

The existing space was set up as a cafe/coffee shop so we started by tearing out their seating, removing the 3 pc bathroom and building the great wall of canning.

Progression of the space from cafe to 2nd rental kitchen and Manning Canning production space

During the construction, we were also sourcing all of the equipment for the kitchen, buying expensive transformers, working with master electricians, dealing with water outages. But each hurdle we came up against, and each hurdle we jumped took us that much closer to the finished product.

The hunt for the equipment

Today for the first time after many months of hard work, set backs, picking ourselves up all over again, painting and then painting some more along with a few other things thrown in there for good measure - my team and I worked in the brand new kitchen for the first time.

And it was GLORIOUS! We didn't have to carry all of the ingredients and tools we needed down a flight of stairs and soon I will transfer all of my preserving tools into the kitchen and I will be able to walk from my vehicle to the kitchen with nothing but my keys in my hand.

And the great thing is that we have created a space that makes this possible for other people as well. It has been amazing being able to see and SMELL all of the wonderful goodies the people using our kitchen have created.

Producers putting the kitchen to the test