MEET The OWNER
Hi. I'm your BLVD Proprietor, Sharon Graves, the curly-haired dreamer on the right there. I still can't quite believe that BLVD Kitchen is a real company and I get to teach and invent recipes and bake cookies for people every day, but it's true. I'm proud, nervous, "financially insane"*, and beside myself with joy over this exciting venture.
Am I a professional chef? Well, now that I’ve worked in a giant commercial kitchen, maybe. But I consider myself more of an enthusiastic and accomplished** cook who has managed, at last, to turn a lifelong love of sharing, teaching and learning about food into a business that feels like coming home.
When COVID-19 hit, our business, like so many others, was drastically impacted. As we quickly adjusted to a world where in-person gatherings were clearly unsafe, it was both a challenge and a comfort to know that the community we built here needed and wanted us to survive. Our magnificent chefs invented our Quarantine Cuisine program so we could keep feeding people good, healthy food, and take some stress out of getting dinner on the table. We began teaching online, tentatively at first and then more and more excitedly, as families we’ve known for years were joined by new friends all across the country and even internationally. Summer Camps happened virtually and the kids astonished us with what they accomplished. We began hosting company get togethers and helping friends celebrate special occasions with a BLVD Chef. Finally, as we looked around our empty kitchen and very busy online calendar, it became clear that it would be OK to let go of our very expensive and underutilized space and look to make our reinvention complete. It was a huge, scary, and heartbreaking move, because this kitchen, like your kitchens, was full of love and wonderful memories. But we took all of that with us, to BLVD 2.0.
Now that we are able to gather again with friends and family, we’re elated to be able to have so many joyous reasons to feed and celebrate with you. Our catering teams are busy with wedding showers, birthdays, office parties, reunions, baby showers and back-to-school nights, and we could not be happier or more honored to be a part of these special occasions. And, after being invited into so many kitchens virtually, we developed our on-location cooking programs to bring the BLVD Kitchen experience to your place. Finding new partner locations, like Band of Vices, has also been a big step for us. The number one question I get now is, “Will you ever open your own kitchen space again?”. The answer is, probably not. We’re very excited about BLVD Kitchen thriving wherever our clients may be, virtually or live, at your house, or anyplace. Hello, BLVD 3.0!
Wherever BLVD Kitchen is, my primary job is and always will be to welcome other people into this home we're creating, in whatever form it takes. I want everyone - chefs, students, shoppers, neighbors - to get that same happy, "lucky me!" feeling when doing anything with BLVD Kitchen. There's a whole team of us*** dedicated to making that happen, and we can't wait to have you join us and tell us if we are on the right track.
MEET THE CHEFS
“Hands down, an amazing place.”
People are talking about blvd!
GET IN TOUCH - We’d LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU!
Email - theblvdkitchen@gmail.com | Call - 844.454.2583 | Social - @theblvdkitchen
* This is a direct quote from my husband.
** I hit a trifecta at the KCRW Good Food Pie contest a while back (Best in Show, Best Fruit Pie and Best Crust) and make some of the best holiday cookies in town, according to the LA Times.
*** Part of the BLVD Kitchen magic is how it attracts great people, like Jamie our marvelous shopkeeper, Marissa the queen of BLVD events, Kris, the steward of our operation, and the growing roster of brilliant chef-instructors you see on this page who also call BLVD Kitchen home. Did I mention I love working here? They're a big part of the reason why.