This past Thursday, six finalists competed in the final round of the 2014 Hottest Kitchen Entrepreneur Challenge. Two of the six went home with prizes in the start-up and early stage business categories.
Mary Pellettieri of Top Note Tonics, a new beverage concept featuring non-alcoholic bitter soda concentrates, went home with the grand prize for the start-up category, while Robyn Wright of PoSaNa Organics, a producer of organic, gluten-free cooking and baking mixes using nutrient-dense almond and coconut flours won in the early stage business category.
Each winner received $2,000 in seed money from Reliable Water Services to start their business; comprehensive entrepreneurial consultation package from MATC; a private meeting with food industry executives serving on FaB Wisconsin's advisory council and funding and growth consultation with financial specialists at MW Growth Partners.
Other finalists included Packaged European Buttercream, Wilhemena's Pies, Love Dust spice blends, and Wisco Pop! Soda.
The Hottest Kitchen Entrepreneur Challenge is an effort to find and support Milwaukee's next great start-up and early stage food entrepreneurs. The event is sponsored by Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC), Reliable Water Services, a local provider of commercial water heaters, boilers and water softeners, and FaB Wisconsin, an industry network for the food and beverage cluster in Wisconsin.
As a passionate champion of the local dining scene, Lori has reimagined the restaurant critic's role into that of a trusted dining concierge, guiding food lovers to delightful culinary discoveries and memorable experiences.
Lori is an avid cook whose accrual of condiments and spices is rivaled only by her cookbook collection. Her passion for the culinary industry was birthed while balancing A&W root beer mugs as a teenage carhop, fed by insatiable curiosity and fueled by the people whose stories entwine with every dish. Lori is the author of two books: the "Wisconsin Field to Fork" cookbook and "Milwaukee Food". Her work has garnered journalism awards from entities including the Milwaukee Press Club. In 2024, Lori was honored with a "Top 20 Women in Hospitality to Watch" award by the Wisconsin Restaurant Association.
When she’s not eating, photographing food, writing or planning for TV and radio spots, you’ll find Lori seeking out adventures with her husband Paul, traveling, cooking, reading, learning, snuggling with her cats and looking for ways to make a difference.
