Today we’d like to introduce you to Todd Tharp.
Todd, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I believe I was 34 at the time and I had really gotten into cooking the last few years. I never had considered it anything other than a hobby until I found this tiny article in Saveur magazine about a small cooking school in New York City called The French Culinary Institute. I don’t know why but I knew I had to go. Fast forward a year, my wife and I had quit our jobs in Atlanta, sold our car, found an apartment in NYC, and moved so that I could attend. It was old school French stuff. Classic techniques, recipes, training and I loved every second of it. After I graduated, I worked at a fantastic Italian restaurant on the Upper East Side in Manhattan called Sfoglia. We then moved back to Atlanta so my wife could go to grad school and I did a short stint at Watershed when it was still in Decatur.
My time at Watershed and my restaurant days were cut short because my wife and I had twins. Like most new parents, I had no idea how much work raising kids would be! My original plan was to take about six weeks off from cooking to help with our kids and then head back to the kitchen. I quickly realized that wasn’t going to happen. Helping raise two kids was obviously exhausting but also wonderful and beautiful. I couldn’t imagine spending my evenings in a kitchen away from my family. So I cut back cooking to only private events and the occasional popup. These things were great, but as my kids grew older and I started to have more free time, I wanted to do more.
I was coming back from a road trip with my dad and he was telling me about growing up in rural Mississippi and how his mom made biscuits for his family twice a day. She would take a hot biscuit, poke her finger in it, and then pour in melted butter and honey. Not only did it sound amazing, but it planted a seed that maybe I could start a small biscuit business. We decided early on that it would be great to bring back the tradition of Sunday morning biscuits. I spent about 4-5 months playing with different recipes and techniques until I came up with a biscuit that I liked.
Using my grandmother’s maiden name, we created Hutchinson’s Finest, a Sunday morning biscuit delivery service for many of in-town Atlanta’s east side neighborhoods. Customers can order biscuits through our website and on Sunday morning, we get up very early, bake them and then drop them off at your door. We make three kinds of biscuits: Buttermilk, Cinnamon Sugar, and Cheddar Chive. Everything is made fresh on Sunday mornings from scratch, including 3-4 types of homemade jams that we change monthly.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
We fill such a niche market that there really is no one in Atlanta doing the same thing, so luckily our biggest struggles haven’t been with competition or trying to out-biscuit anyone. Our struggles have been figuring out the best possible way to grow and what exactly that will look like. Our ultimate goal has always been to have a brick and mortar breakfast restaurant in the Atlanta. We understand there are many stepping stones between where we are now and a restaurant. Having two children in school, along with two other careers, makes finding the time and resources to take those next steps difficult sometimes.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Hutchinson’s Finest – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Hutchinson’s Finest is small biscuit delivery business for many of Atlanta’s east side neighborhoods. We focus on making fresh, from scratch buttermilk biscuits and jams every Sunday morning. We do all of our baking early Sunday morning so we can deliver the freshest biscuits possible. Every one is made by hand in small batches much like many of our mothers and grandmothers made many years ago. Like our biscuits, are jams are made weekly and we change the flavors every month. We always try to have some classic jams available like strawberry or pear preserves, but some months you may find homemade mascarpone with blueberries or lemon curd with sugared raspberries on the menu.
In addition to biscuit delivery, we started teaching biscuit making classes at The Learning Kitchen in the Sweet Auburn Curb Market. This has given us the chance to pass on the techniques for making great biscuits at home and allowed us to come to face to face with some of our customers.
I think what we are most proud of was to take an idea and with virtually no marketing or advertising and turn it into a sustainable small business. Through word of mouth and repeat customers, we have slowly been growing each month. We hope this is because we ALWAYS try to make the best biscuits and jam possible and to provide our customers with something consistently delicious.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
We’ve always considered the delivery incarnation of Hutchinson’s as the first stepping stone of many to opening a brick and mortar breakfast restaurant in Atlanta. I believe our next step will be transitioning a couple of delivery days each month to a presence at one of Atlanta’s many farmer’s markets We would love to take Hutchinson’s beyond biscuits and jam to exploring traditional southern breakfast recipes combined with classic French influences. Participating at a farmer’s market will give us plenty of opportunities to explore these changes.
We also want to continue growing our classes at The Learning Kitchen. In addition to the biscuit making classes, we have recently added a Sunday Supper Social that happens one Sunday each month. My wife and I prepare a menu and do most of the heavy cooking. The class then helps prepare certain dishes and the finishing touches for the meal. Once finished, we all gather around a big table and enjoy it together.
Pricing:
- One dozen biscuits delivered with your choice of jam is $25
- 2 – 2 1/2 hour biscuit making class is $55 (at The Learning Kitchen)
- Sunday Supper Social is $65 (at The Learning Kitchen)
Contact Info:
- Address: 215 Laredo Drive
Suite 100
Decatur, GA 30030 - Website: www.hutchinsonsfinest.com
- Phone: 404-539-4598
- Email: todd@hutchinsonsfinest.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hutchinsonsfinest/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hutchinsonsfinest/
Image Credit:
The two images of me in the red shirt and the other of me working with the dough are credited to Marylynn Schotland.
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