Just Another Anniversary by Kelly Sears

"Just" is one of those words in the English language that can run the gamut on meaning and connotation: an adjective, adverb, or phrase.

This is just what I need! (excitement); I was just there! (very recent); They are just great! (emphasis); Really, just nine years? (agreement); Do you have just this one store? (possible/impossible); Is this just all you do? (simply only).Almost ten years ago, Jill and I meet serendipitously. Seems we soaked our toes in the same place. In separate visits, our names were given to each other as just someone we should talk to, just in case. Why not, it was just a chat over coffee.

The chat turned into an interview, interview into interviewing others, into building the staff, training the staff, creating procedures, adjusting procedures, filling shelves, stocking kitchens, sweating small stuff, sleepless nights, millions of what-ifs, how comes and if than’s. And that was all before we even opened the door for day one!

One of the biggest questions back then was how do we become more than just another kitchen shop, just another cooking school. There is never just one answer to that, it never takes just one person to answer it or make it happen, and it’s never a question that stops getting asked.

Jill steers the ship. Decent, equitable, ethical, firm, and rock steady. She built the ark and the rest of us hopped on board.

Dana and the rest of the retail team are extraordinary at finding just the right fit. If you are in search, they will find. They have been rewarded with plenty of “this is just what I need,” “this is just great,” “I was just there!” responses over the past nine years with no signs of slowing down.

In the kitchen, our chef team dishes up more than just another cooking class, they create an experience. They engage, educate, inspire, and empower students to take the next step, strive for more, and share the tools to get them there.

Our culinary assistant team delivers customer service above and beyond in each and every one of our classes. Both kids and adults receive the same level of care and attention. You would never know these folks are volunteers. And behind the scenes, with dishpan hands and in-between homework assignments, our young flock of dishwashers scrub piles and piles of dishes for each class.

A few years ago, the letter M got bigger. Marché and Maison became extensions to and of Marcel’s. Both offering different products and services but just the same level of professionalism and experience. More ways to cook, create and celebrate.

Over the past nine years, we haven’t just rested on the base we built. We have amended, listened, adjusted, aimed, and re-aimed to keep all things “M” growing and thriving.

The most common question I get asked is, “is this just all you do?” And to that, I can emphatically answer, yes! This is just all I do, and I couldn’t be more proud or lucky. Every day I interact with co-workers that have become friends, people that care as much about the place they work as the person who owns it. We have a team I would trade for nothing; strong, durable, intertwined.

After nine years, how do we become more than just another kitchen shop, just another cooking school? We just continue to not be the same. We just choose to be better.

Happy nine and on to nine more!

If a meal is simple, with few ingredients, there’s no place to hide, fewer ways to hide shortcomings.

If you’re just making chicken, it needs to be the best chicken you can make.