SYDNEY, N.S.- A business mind, an athlete, a granny and a home cook.
A Cape Breton family is hoping those are the secret ingredients to a successful business.
Suzanne Annesty-Udle (the home cook), her son Kensen Jardine (the athlete), daughter Madlyn Jardine (the business mind) and her sister Carrie Annesty (whom they fondly call “granny”) recently opened Skip the Kitchen at 340 Keltic Dr. next to the Cape Breton Farmers Market in Sydney River. The take-out restaurant and catering company offers fresh and frozen home-cooked meals for people who either can’t prepare their own healthy meals, or just don’t have the time.
“Basically, it’s what you grew up with, meat and potatoes. Roast turkey meals, roast beef meals, roast chicken, chicken breasts, goulash, shepherd’s pie, meatloaf, all the basics but we add a little flare,” said Annesty-Udle, 55. “And the homemade soup — to get a homemade soup with real turkey in it, a beef barley with real beef, a chicken and rice with real chicken — soup at this time of the year is really important to people. It makes you feel good.”
And it turns out providing people with a convenient, healthy alternative to fast food makes Annesty-Udle and her family feel good.
Annesty-Udle noted that one regular customer has elderly parents living in their own apartment. She brings a meal to them every day so they don’t have to cook and still live independently.
“What’s the alternative? If you can’t make your own food at home in your own apartment when you’re elderly, you have to go to a home,” she said. “It gives people independence.”
Kensen, 29, a bodybuilding enthusiast and father of two young children, said while he recognized there is a demand for nutritious ready-to-serve meals, he’s been surprised by just how important the service is to some people.
“Our slogan here is ‘We look forward to feeding you,’ and we actually do,” he said. “It’s overwhelming the amount of people who come in here and will express their gratitude for this service, because otherwise they may not be able to feed themselves. So, it’s been very rewarding that way.”
Carrie Annesty said working with her sister, nephew and niece is “living the dream.”
“It’s incredible. How fortunate is someone to work with their family and to do what they love — and to help people,” said the 51-year-old resident soup expert. “We’re very fortunate to work together. It’s wonderful.”
