How did you first get started?
Since 2009, Small Kitchen Big Taste (SKBT) has shared the art and passion of cooking fresh, wholesome, delicious food with fellow New Haven area foodies. Founder Karen Lenahan, a Connecticut native and self-taught cook, started the company as a recipe-sharing blog and specialized catering venture, and rapidly saw the demand for expansion. Today she has a store-front in North Haven, selling prepared foods Monday through Friday, and does boutique catering year-round.

What’s unique about your product?
Our motto is fresh, wholesome food, made from scratch, with love. We cook with the seasons, and make everything from scratch.

What’s the story behind your business name?
I started with a food blog, which then grew (clearly!). My sister and I were joking one day about what to call my crazy idea because I was cooking out of a teeny tiny attic kitchen in East Rock, New Haven. Together, we coined the phrase, “Small Kitchen, Big Taste!”

Tell us about your use of local ingredients.
Cooking with the seasons is super important to us. We’ve created relationships with lots of the farmers and vendors in the area – and you can almost always find me wandering around the market on the weekend looking for the best of the season with my daughter Emi if I don’t have a catering gig.

What do you like to do when you have spare time?
I try and keep up with my three year old! I also recently started an online community called The Well – a support space for women entrepreneurs. It’s been gratifying and so inspiring to connect with other like-minded women in the local community who are doing amazing things!

What’s one thing you want everyone to know about your business?
That we love what we do, and we hope it shows in the fresh, made from scratch food at our store, at our catered events, or at the market.