La Cocina - Nonprofit Kitchen Incubator

Behind every small food business, there’s a dream—and often, a struggle. Nationwide, 60% of new restaurants close within their first year, and 80% within five years. Opening a food business is tough, especially for immigrant women and entrepreneurs of color who face added barriers to success. At La Cocina, we’re here to change the story. Through mentorship, affordable kitchen space, and access to sales, we support food entrepreneurs in navigating that critical startup phase and building sustainable businesses. In fact, 81% of La Cocina graduate businesses launched between 2005 to 2019 remain active. This holiday season, let’s invest in a stronger, more equitable food industry. Consider donating here: https://lnkd.in/gAsG3GqX. Your support fuels opportunities for the next wave of iconic Bay Area spots.💛 Thanks for the love, San Francisco Chronicle!

In early November, during a heavy week for many, our staff and entrepreneurs came together for a powerful Zingtrain session on servant leadership and visioning for La Cocina entrepreneurs and our organization. The day underscored how La Cocina entrepreneurs do more than run businesses — they bring people together with nourishing food that fosters joy, support families, create jobs, and inspire the next generation. They are building a more vibrant, equitable, and delicious future for all. Thank you to Ari Weinzweig, co-founder of Zingerman's Community of Businesses, for his wisdom, and thank you to U.S. Bank for sponsoring this meaningful learning experience. 🙏🏽🧡 If you're interested in aligning your brand with La Cocina and having the unique opportunity to support our program and entrepreneurs, learn more about our sponsorship opportunities for the following year below: 👇 https://lnkd.in/gBcsnc5n

We’re thrilled to announce La Cocina Consulting! 💫 Over the past decade, interest in our food business incubation model has grown, with organizations worldwide seeking guidance to support their local communities. Inspired by this shared passion, we’ve formalized our work to share the lessons we’ve learned over 20 years and support others in creating meaningful impact. Last week, we joined The Food Corridor's Shared Kitchen Summit to share “Lessons from La Cocina” and connect with incredible leaders exploring, building, or running incubators. Seeing the passion for supporting small food businesses nationally filled us with hope for the future of this movement, and we’re honored to be part of it. Visit lacocinasf.org/consulting to learn more and get in touch!

At La Cocina, we see dreams born in our kitchen grow into thriving food businesses led by women, immigrants, and people of color. For nearly two decades—through recessions, political transitions, a global pandemic, and more—La Cocina has broken barriers for these entrepreneurs in the Bay Area. Today, we remain steadfast in our mission to uplift livelihoods. We can’t do this alone. Join us in creating a future where every entrepreneur has a seat at the table. 🧡 Hear directly from our community about how La Cocina's support transforms culinary dreams into reality and donate to our year-end campaign today ⬇️ DONATE: https://lnkd.in/gRbftbSm Gratitude to Silent Victory Films for helping our team produce a lovely video storytelling piece about La Cocina! 🙏 https://lnkd.in/gPnyQ-ZA

We’re feeling grateful and inspired by all the energy and work put into our first-ever La Cocina Pop-up Night Market! Our staff, alongside six La Cocina-born businesses, worked weeks to create menus, cost out ingredients, scale recipes, and promote this event — all skills new entrepreneurs hone in on during the first portion of our incubator program. These programming events are an incredible opportunity for budding entrepreneurs to flex their culinary skills, collaborate with their fellow business colleagues and apply the hands-on training they receive to the real world. Thank you to our generous sponsors, Kaiser Permanente and California Food Service Instant Rebates, for supporting our work and enabling La Cocina to create meaningful learning opportunities for the talented BIPOC, immigrant, and women entrepreneurs in our program. A special note of gratitude and cheers to all the participating businesses: ⭐️ Fladä with Swiss quiches ⭐️ Reculture Foods with Indonesian-style craft tempeh (with support from Nusa!) ⭐️ Tonantzin with Chilango and Oaxacan food ⭐️ Dulce Maná with Colombian pastries ⭐️ Just Like Home with Algerian desserts ⭐️ Salmon Going Nuggetz with one-of-a-kind salmon nuggets in bold, delicious flavors Missed out on this event? Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to speed on all the delicious and fun things happening in La Cocina's world ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/gaURwsXt Photo credits: Erin Ng 🙏

🎁 The holidays just got a whole lot tastier – and meaningful! La Cocina's best-selling holiday gift boxes are back and shipping nationwide. Treat your clients or employees to something they’ll truly remember: a delicious, one-of-a-kind gift that supports immigrant women and women of color-led businesses in the Bay Area. Inside each box, you’ll discover mouthwatering, handmade goodies from La Cocina’s talented entrepreneurs, including: ⭐️ Don Bugito - Milk Chocolate Amaranth Bites ⭐️ Estrellita's Snacks - Yucca or Plantain Chips ⭐️ Kitiya - Thai Spicy Cilantro Sauce ⭐️ NeoCocoa Confections - Black Sesame Toffee Brittle ⭐️ Noodle Girl - Vietnamese-Style Corn Nuts ⭐️ Nusa - Almond Cranberry Nougat ⭐️ Sabores del Sur - Chocolate-Covered Alfajores ⭐️ Sal de Vida - Chipotle with Cacao Nibs, Cajun, or Mesquite Smoked Salt Pepitas Choose from 3 sizes ($50-$100) and order by Dec. 16 for delivery before Christmas 🚚: bit.ly/lacocinaholiday. Need more? For bulk orders (25+), reach us at retail@lacocinasf.org. Let’s spread the joy (and flavor)! 🙏

Hosting a corporate event or personal celebration and want to wow your guests with unforgettable flavors? Let La Cocina Catering take care of everything! Every meal served is not only unique and absolutely delicious, but you'll support our mission of equity in business ownership for women, immigrants, and people of color. From convenient drop-off lunches to full-service dinners with cocktails and wine, our catering services offer a taste of the world, curated by talented entrepreneurs who bring diverse flavors and stories to each dish. With options to accommodate nearly any dietary preference, your event -- whether a few guests or hundreds -- becomes a celebration of purpose and flavor. Visit https://lnkd.in/gJb9kJk5 to get started! Photos: Food by El Pipila, Chef Wafa Bahloul of Kayma, food by Peaches Patties, catered event by La Cocina, food by Noodle Girl. #wearelacocina

We're transforming our Hyde St. kitchen into a vibrant night market on Friday, November 15th! 🌕 🌃 🍴 This is our first-ever night market, and we're SO excited to have our community of supporters join us for an evening filled with delicious bites from some of the newest businesses in our incubator program! One ticket is $65 and gets you an "all you can eat" pass for all seven participating businesses ⤵️ ⭐️ Dulce Maná - Colombian sweets ⭐️ Fladä - Swiss ⭐️ Reculture Foods + NUSA - Indonesian ⭐️ Just Like Home Sweets - Algerian ⭐️ Salmon Going Nuggetz - Salmon bites with a twist ⭐️ Tonantzin - Oaxacan/Chilango A special thank you to our generous sponsors, Kaiser Permanente and California Food Service Instant Rebates. Purchase your tickets before they sell out: https://lnkd.in/g9QaY5uu

We had such an inspiring week in September meeting and spending time with the newest group of Rise Up Leaders in California! Here’s a glimpse of what 4 of these incredible visionaries shared about the start of their journey with us. ✨ Leticia Landa is the Executive Director of La Cocina - Nonprofit Kitchen Incubator , a nonprofit in San Francisco empowering immigrant women and women of color to formalize their food businesses.  ✨ Ashley Rojas is the Policy Director at Indigenous Justice, a statewide organization serving tribal communities across California. She focuses on gender-based violence, particularly within the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) crisis. ✨ Ithiopia Mckinney is the Executive Director of O Community Doulas and the founder of COMMUNi T app, a platform enhancing healthcare delivery, ECM services, community support, and human services. ✨ Niki Martinez serves as the Deputy Director at Sister Warriors Freedom Coalition, a statewide network addressing state-sanctioned violence against women and trans individuals impacted by incarceration. These leaders are creating real change in their communities, and we can’t wait to see the impact they’ll continue to make!

Congratulations to Chef Nite Yun, a La Cocina graduate, on her feature in "Chef’s Table: Noodles" on Netflix! This beautifully tender and captivating episode speaks to Nite’s transformative journey to Cambodia to uncover family recipes and the stories of her parents, survivors of the genocide. Nite’s Kuy Teav Phnom Penh (Phnom Penh Pork Noodle Soup) is a recipe that was preserved in her mother’s heart and one that Nite spent years faithfully perfecting to honor its origins. The soup’s layers of flavors are artistic and complex — just as Nite’s search to find a way to connect with her heritage, transport diners to the golden era of Cambodia, and put her homeland’s cuisine on the Bay Area map. Enjoy Chef Nite's delicious noodles at Lunette in San Francisco. And watch here: https://lnkd.in/gUsw9XHm. Thanks to the many folks who saw the importance of bringing Nite’s story to life and doing so in such a poetic way, including: Rayka Zehtabchi, Brian McGinn, Sam Davis, Reem Assil, and Samin Nosrat.