A Culinary Hub for Like-Minded Enthusiasts

Timing is everything. Stacia Carlton’s dream of bringing a unique kitchen experience to Cornwall began with an idea 10 years ago. However, when she discussed the concept with her brother, whom she considers her mentor, he suggested she was not quite ready. Stacia took up the challenge and over the next decade continued to gather experience in the food industry in Toronto, where she had relocated with her family at age 13.

She covered all the bases – from working in restaurants to hands-on cooking at private parties and writing food articles and restaurant reviews. She also developed recipes as a Studio Chef and managed a successful kitchen store. By 2019, Stacia was ready to move her idea forward. She developed a business plan, and in February 2022, moved back to her hometown of Cornwall. After extensive renovations, Essential Kitchen opened its doors on July 11.

Asked what visitors might expect when they visit Essential Kitchen, Stacia emphasized that she “wants visitors to feel like guests in her home. Either she or her Kitchen Manager, Shannon will greet visitors and ask what they want to learn?” Guests can choose from a variety of events, such as wine tastings at the wine bar, hands-on classes in the cooking studio, a talk by a local creator on his or her area of expertise, or learn about the essentials of cooking.

If visitors are looking for a shopping experience, the store offers a selection of quality housewares that Stacia considers essential for every kitchen. She admits to not being a fan of gadgets and only stocks products that she would use in her kitchen. Essential Kitchen also offers organic produce and breads from local growers, along with a variety of foods made by their in-house team.

Stacia is delighted with the response from the community, with visitors of all age groups dropping by – from early twenties to seniors and children. The most popular event Essential Kitchen hosts is for private celebrations, such as birthdays, anniversaries and Thanksgiving holiday. Hands-on cooking classes are also popular and tend to fill up quickly. The month of October will offer specialty classes in Risotto and Pie Crust making, as well as “The Flavors of Asia”.

The message that Stacia wants to get across is that Essential Kitchen is intended to be a culinary hub that brings people together, not only as a place of business, but as a platform for other businesses to share their products and to learn from one another.

Stacia has ideas in mind for growing her business; one of them would involve moving the market corner to an area separate from the cooking studio and wine bar. Success to her means shaping Essential Kitchen into a place for guests to go to collect fresh produce; in essence, it would become their go-to market place. Europeans tend to shop daily for fresh produce and Eastern Ontario consumers appear to be catching on to this trend as they become more excited

about supporting local producers. Cornwall seemed a good fit for Stacia’s business plan and the timing was right with agricultural communities growing exponentially.

Stacia’s passion for food developed from fond memories of her grandmother always being in the kitchen. “In our family, food was a way of expressing love and my mother gave me freedom in the kitchen.” Asked if she saw a trend in families becoming more involved in cooking events, Stacia responded, “Yes, based on the success I am experiencing at Kitchen Essentials.” She has a strong desire to share her passion for food with families and to make cooking a meaningful event in their lives.

For more information about coming events, visit their website at https://essentialkitchen.ca and sign on to their mailing list, or stop by Essential Kitchen at 109 Pitt Street, Cornwall and experience all the wonders of the culinary world for yourself! Open every day, except Wednesday, from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM.