Food for Thought (and Work)

Any week where an intern can receive delicious, free, fresh-cooked lunches automatically becomes a favorite in his book. It thus goes without saying that I just had a fantastic week at work! Kuzneski Financial Group is unique and special in that our Wellness Director, Laurie Kuzneski, also runs Miss Laurie’s Gourmet Kitchen, a health-focused culinary business. As part of the business, she offers week-long cooking camps for kids and teenagers at different points throughout the summer. This past week, she had her hands busy with both morning and afternoon classes, but still managed to direct the kids in making many delicious meals!

Normally I just pack a lunch and eat it at work, but this week, intern Katie and I were fortunate enough to take daily drives to the Kuzneski residence, where Laurie holds the camps. Throughout the week, we were treated to lunches and dinners including homemade carbonara, enchiladas, pizza, and barbeque, with a variety of delicious sides and desserts. The recipes were made with homemade ingredients, from the sauce for the pasta to the whipped cream on the homemade chocolate gelato. It was fantastic to see what the kids were able to cook up with some good guiding direction and help! Best of all, there was always enough to take back plates for the rest of the Kuzneski team and have a mid-afternoon snack!

In many ways, cooking is similar to maintaining a business: one must start with a business plan or recipe, use a variety of different programs, services, offerings, and ingredients, make logical, step-by-step decisions while maintaining the ability to improvise and think on one’s feet, and be able to effectively present their products or creations to hungry clients. Though they may share similarities, this certainly is not to say that all business people are necessarily accomplished chefs; to find someone who is both is actually quite rare. After this week, though, my stomach can certainly attest that there is great proficiency in both areas among the Kuzneski team!

Though we missed having Laurie in the office this week, our daily field trips to cooking camp were without a doubt a weekly highlight. I would encourage any client to take Miss Laurie up on her offer to host a cooking/wellness lesson; it’s definitely a unique benefit to doing business with Kuzneski! As for me, I have a big circle on the calendar two weeks from now; it’s the next cooking camp and I couldn’t be more excited (and hungry)!