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THE NOURISH LETTER
Meet the Team Behind Your Meals DECEMBER 2019
OctoberKitchen.com | 860-533-0588 | 309 Green Rd., Manchester, CT 06042
What 2020 Will Bring BEHIND THE SCENES
When October Kitchen moved into our current spot nine years ago, I remember looking inside our walk-in freezer and thinking, “What am I supposed to do with a freezer this big?” Over the years, I swear the freezer has shrunk. These days we have to play a sliding puzzle game and move everything around to make space for anything new. That’s why one of the first things I did when October Kitchen expanded our space was buy a second walk-in freezer. We outgrew our current space a while back, but we love our home in Blue Duck Plaza, which is why I’m happy to announce that October Kitchen is expanding to take over the empty space next door! This shift won’t lead to any big changes for our customers, our menu or any of the services we provide. You can expect your October Kitchen experience to remain largely unchanged. But behind the scenes, it’s quite a dramatic upgrade for us. As I mentioned before, we’re getting a second walk-in freezer so we have the space to store twice as much stuff! We’re also going to have a dedicated service entrance so our shop customers and delivery boxes won’t be crowded in the same space. Plus, Alison, Stephanie and I are moving out of the tiny office we’re currently in and into some real office space. I’ll tell you, it can be tough to focus on a project when you’re in the middle of the cacophony of the kitchen. Another change I’m personally excited for is that we’re going to have space for a second blast freezer. This is a huge boost for our
operation! Our blast freezer is what we use to prepare our frozen entrees. However, it takes up to four hours to run a full cycle, and with our demand, we usually end up staying at the kitchen well past midnight on Wednesdays to get everything done. Being able to get everything done twice as fast will be phenomenal! Expanding into this new space is empowering October Kitchen to be more efficient as well as giving us the opportunity to really look into the future. We’ll be turning part of our new space into a multipurpose room for in-house events. I was wondering what kind of events we might have in that room when I was struck with the memory of Sunday dinners. I have a great appreciation for Sunday dinners. It was a tradition in my family I truly cherished. These days, Sunday dinners aren’t so common. I know we have a number
Expanding into this
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Behind the Wheel How Albert Vidaud Goes Above and Beyond
When it comes to food, a lot of focus is placed on the kitchen. That’s where the meals are prepared, after all. But at October Kitchen, many of our customers rely on our delivery services just as much as they rely on our kitchen. This month, we want to highlight our senior driver, Albert Vidaud, for all the amazing work he does.
shows up with a smile and a story to tell. And if he can help beyond unpacking food, he’ll do so in a heartbeat. Once, Al was delivering food as a bereavement gift to a young widow who’d lost her husband while on vacation in Puerto Rico. When Al arrived and began to unpack the food, the woman was on the phone struggling to
reclaim her late husband’s body from the authorities in Puerto Rico. The language barrier was clearly an issue, so Al, who happens to be fluent in Spanish, volunteered to help. He got on the phone and was able to get everything straightened out. “I couldn’t do more to help this woman after such a terrible loss, but I was able to help her deal with one less hurdle. That day was a reminder that this job is about more than delivering food.” Al truly lives up to October Kitchen’s mission of nourishing people beyond merely providing healthy meals. October Kitchen strives to nourish people’s spirits, which is something an uplifting gentleman like Al is able to do with every
The way Al tells the story, how he came to October Kitchen was an act of pure serendipity. “In 2013, after I’d been retired for a few years, my wife and I were driving back up from Florida,” Al begins. “Rebecca looked at me from the driver’s seat and said, ‘Maybe we should get you a job to get you out of the house and help with the budget.’ I was taken aback, but I promised I’d look for a part-time job when we got back home. I never had the chance. During that same drive, I got a call from Chef Paul’s mother. I had been her mailman for years. She told
person he meets. Next time you see Al, be sure to ask him about one of his adventures — like meeting Forrest Gump down in Savannah. He always has a great story to share.
me that October Kitchen was looking for drivers and asked if I would be interested. I got off the phone and told my wife I had a job.” Albert Vidaud is an Air Force veteran who served in Vietnam and spent 40 years on the job as a mailman before he retired. When he started at October Kitchen, Al already had plenty of experience behind the wheel. Of course, delivering food is very different than delivering mail. “When I was a mailman, I must have heard people say, ‘Don’t bring me anymore bills,’ a hundred times a month,” Al says. “Since joining October Kitchen, no one has ever said, ‘Don’t bring me any more food.’ It’s great to have people always look forward to seeing me!” Delivering food isn’t the only reason people are happy to see Al. He’s a genuinely bright, optimistic guy. Al always
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PART OF THE FAMILY
Woman Adopts Her Late Best Friend’s 4 Daughters
What would you do for your best friend?
_____________________________ Write your name here and fax the completed puzzle to 860-533-0585, send it via empty delivery box or bring it to the shop and receive 10% off your next order . Limit one per customer. Expires Dec. 31, 2019. Laura and her husband, Rico, already had two daughters of their own, but they both knew they had to be there for the Diamonds. When Liz passed on April 4, 2015, it was a devastating loss for both families, but Laura kept her word. Liz’s daughters — 6, 8, 9 and 12 at the time — moved in with the Ruffinos right away. As the family began the formal This seems like an easy question, but when Laura Ruffino’s best friend, Liz Diamond, was diagnosed with brain cancer, this question took on a whole new meaning. Laura and Liz met as fifth graders in Buffalo, New York, and became true best friends forever. Then, in 2014, Liz was diagnosed with brain cancer. As a single mother of four, Liz’s first concern wasn’t for herself but rather for her daughters. Liz fought hard and remained optimistic, but a day came when she had to ask her best friend for a serious favor. “She said to me, ‘If anything happens to me, I need you to take my kids,’” Laura said in an interview with Totally Buffalo. “I said ‘okay,’ and that was it.”
... continued from Cover of senior clients who would love to do Sunday dinners with their families but aren’t able to put it together anymore. Once the dust settles, I would love to be able to host Sunday dinners at October Kitchen for our clients. We would choose one of our customers to bring in their whole family, and of course, we’d do all the cooking, perhaps using favorite family recipes. It would be an honor to help our customers preserve the memories of Sunday dinner with their families. One of our values at October Kitchen is that our customers are our family. When we nourish them, we’re nourishing our own family members. Expanding to this new space allows us to continue that mission and do it better than ever. I’m thrilled for this next chapter in the October Kitchen story and look forward to what 2020 will bring. adoption process, Laura told the girls she would be their “Earth mom” until they could rejoin their real mom in heaven. Going from a household of four to eight was a rough transition, but the family made it work. Friends and family helped remodel the house so everyone had enough room, a local car dealership donated a van that seats eight and the Ruffino’s two daughters helped make their new sisters feel welcome. “The new normal,” Laura says, reflecting on the big changes. “I never thought we’d get here, but we did. It was a long haul, but we did it. We made it to this place and we are so grateful and thankful and really blessed.” The Ruffino-Diamond family is proof that family is more than blood and that sometimes we really would do anything for our best friend.
SNOWFLAKE STEPHANIE
PAUL PENGUIN REINDEER SLEIGH
ALISON COOKIES FLURRY ORNAMENTS
WINTER WREATH
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309 Green Rd. Manchester, CT 06042 INSIDE Big Changes in Blue Duck Plaza page 1
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Have You Met Albert Vidaud?
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When Tragedy Unites a Family
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Tell Your Story and Share Your Wisdom
DO YOU HAVE A STORY TO TELL? Share Your Wisdom in a Memoir
The urge to leave behind a legacy is an inherent human instinct. Whether you accomplish this by raising children, building a successful company or starting a charitable organization, the desire to share your wisdom should not go unfulfilled. If none of these options work for your lifestyle, writing a memoir may be a good option. A memoir not only tells your story but also passes on the wisdom you’ve gained from your many experiences and offers a unique perspective to inspire future generations. Writing can be a therapeutic exercise at a time when your life may be changing due to retirement or your kids growing up and leaving the house. And because personal reflection is a natural occurrence with age, writing a memoir can be the perfect way to spend your time. As you gain enough distance from life events to grow useful perspectives, the stage is set for self-discovery and transformation. Even more so, your life experiences can give valuable insights to readers of all ages and circumstances. That’s why biographies and memoirs are such popular genres — reading
about real people helps others understand the world and how they can live in it.
To get started, pick a theme. Ask yourself these questions, “What message do I want to leave with my readers? What do I want them to feel or understand by reading my words?” From there, select anecdotes that support your theme. Make sure they’re clear and cohesive. Then, write like you would a fictional novel or story. Show, don’t tell and keep readers invested by having a narrative arc, whether it flows chronologically or jumps back and forth in time. Remember, this is not a time to air dirty laundry; it’s a time to reflect, grow and share your experiences with the world.
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