Hartford, Conn., June 12, 2023–A packed audience of food enthusiasts and aspiring entrepreneurs gathered at the newly relaunched Fire by Forge in Hartford to hear the business pitches of reSET’s 5th Food Entrepreneur cohort last Monday, June 5. The event brought together 11 talented emerging food business owners who presented their business pitches for a chance at a cash prize from the awards pool raised from those in attendance. All entrepreneurs in the cohort also will receive seed grants of $700 as a result of reSET’s participation in the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development’s Grants Program to Support Small Businesses, adding up to over $9,000 in prize and grant money.

After careful deliberation, the judges awarded: 

• First place to: Charlie's Traveling Treat Truck, a bakery for dogs, founded by Becky Tkacs
• Second place to: Whisked by Dani, founded by Danielle Rasheed
• Third place to The Cookie Maven, founded by Rachel Smith 

And the audience awarded the Audience Choice prize to Danielle Rasheed’s Whisked by Dani, a two-time winner for the night!

“This cohort of food entrepreneurs came into the program with a remarkable range of ideas–from dog bakeries, to fruit caviar, to cookies and cakes, as well as vegan offerings,” said Sarah Bodley, executive director of reSET. “reSET is eager to support these early stage businesses as alumni as they grow and contribute to the economic growth of our region.” 

The Food Incubator program provides expertise and time for entrepreneurially-minded food people to take the seed of an idea and create a new business. Over the course of three months, the entrepreneurs developed their food businesses by exploring customer discovery, market development, pricing their products, business plan structuring, sales and marketing channels, and food-specific licensing and certification. The program was facilitated by Katrice Claudio, reSET’s Food Program Manager, with assistance from Stefanie Robles, reSET’s Food Catalyst, and members of the Hartford Culinary Collaborative, along with several esteemed guest speakers. Since the launch of the Food Incubator program in 2019, reSET has graduated 73 food businesses, adding to over 200 alumni companies across its incubator and accelerator programs.

The 11 entrepreneurs presented their businesses to an audience of community, family and friends, and local leaders. An esteemed panel of judges consisting of Steven Taylor, VP and Business Banking Officer at Liberty Bank; Chantal Tafari, chef and owner of Amazing Ackee and Likkle Patty Shop; Sabrina Tucker-Barrett, Co-founder of Girls for Technology; Molly Reynolds, Shared Kitchen and Gather 55 Manager at Hands on Hartford; and Matt Sousa, VP of Operations at Parkville Market had a challenge to decide on the winners.

In addition to the judges, reSET would like to thank a number of community partners, including the Swift Factory for generously offering this exceptional group of women a discounted rate at their shared kitchen this year; Fire by Forge for hosting this memorable event; and to the event sponsors, Liberty Bank and PeoplesBank for their support in advancing reSET’s mission to empower the social enterprise sector in Connecticut.



Companies completing the 2023 Food Incubator Program are:

Patienet Carter, founder of RUMi Cakes, wants all to enjoy the delicacy of Caribbean treats as much as she enjoys making them from her heart and from her roots.

Whitney Evans, founder of Zone Ziyonne, a vegan food business working to educate eaters on how delicious vegan food can be.

Julie Gauthier, Snack Engineer and founder of Snackaroo Review, an early stage snack purveyor offering snack packages of fruit leather, juice caviar and sweet gems with produce that would otherwise go to waste.

Cherelle McDaniel, founder of Nicy Pies, which offers sweet potato pies based on a beloved family recipe and exploring business opportunities.

Beth Murphy, founder and sugar artist of BAM’s Sweet Treats, is a self-taught baker for over 20 years, she takes pride in creating custom treats that make your celebrations memorable.

Danielle Rasheed, founder and head baker at Whisked by Dani, who delivers and ships premium, baked to order cookies. 

Lizzette Rodriguez, founder of Momma’s Boy Empanadas, an early stage business exploring infused and creative empanada flavors to be sold at Farmer’s Markets near you. 

Ketevan Rogava, founder of Keti’s Kitchen, which uses regional influences from the country of Georgia to create dishes for a weekly meal delivery service with healthy, fresh and delicious meals for busy families.

Rachel Smith Walsh, founder of The Cookie Maven, a cottage food baker making handmade, craveable cookies with playful and unique flavor combinations, available at pop-up events. 

Becky Tkacs, founder of Charlie’s Traveling Treat Truck, a home-based bakery for dogs that uses all natural ingredients, plastic-free and compostable packaging and supports local animals in need.

Ani Widham, founder of Secret Salad, a health food business that sells pre-made frozen food with whole food ingredients, starting with pancakes.

About reSET

reSET is a nonprofit organization in Hartford, CT, whose mission is to advance the social enterprise sector. reSET specializes in social enterprise ― impact driven business with a double or triple bottom line. reSET program alumni have generated over $25 million in revenue, have raised $17 million in outside capital, and supported more than 400 jobs. In addition to providing coworking space, accelerator and mentoring programs, reSET aims to inspire innovation and community collaboration, and to support entrepreneurs in creating market-based solutions to community challenges. reSET’s goal is to meet entrepreneurs wherever they are in their trajectory and to help them take their businesses to the next level. www.resetco.org

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