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' Wednesday, [)ecertiber IT, 2014 PUttillg a bOW on it Dana Shortt Gourmet transforms itself into foodie central over last decade BY BonViuwuc encourages people to sample and v (5’1'0'111‘19 5me stock their favourite oils and vine; his is the not the same Dana “I absolutely fell in love with it," I Gourmet store that first ‘ t m saidShom.“ltwasamazingquality opened its door it) years ago and taste, and I really wanted to Ill uptown Waterloo bring it to Waterloo I had ii iii the that Dana Shortt store was in t. ‘ .1; v s \ storeiri months." suppon of the local foodie-‘5 cater~ , \ \ There is a lot of education that mg business that started when her . 1 a. , Le ‘ 3 ‘ \ comes with those kinds of quality love of food could no longer be ‘ 7 products, but Shortt and her contained by the ocassional event .7 4 y - i. knowledgeable staff said people are and her adoring food fans clam- . ‘- ._ really interested in exploring differ- oured for more ‘ ‘ l I». em tastes and textures. lhc modern version of the retail ’- ‘People often don't realize that store hosts an olive oil bar 7â€" the olive isafresh fruit and that the including tasting samples â€" carry- nutrients and the health benefits mg exclusive products from Califor- i are at the highest when its fresh.†nia, chocolates from Stratford and a - V said Shont. “The taste of olive Oil is holiday gift basket business that a, at its peak when its fresh." sends thousands of orignal cre- ‘, ’ ' _. ‘ Pf?" Luckily, she hasn't had to do too tillllll\ as a way to say thanks every m¢ï¬Â§f much education because there is a holiday season It‘s also proven to ,3 ' A}: strong foodie culture localh where he a lifesaver for those men or ‘ {€11 people are looking for qualirt and women out there scrambling for a, 16" freshness. and the health bcriclits lastrminute gift ideas for their sig- . "’ that come with it lllï¬t‘anl others ' > "Plus it's realh Mt iting “llll till lhe transition between those V i‘ of the flavours atailahlt-C Mill! 'tvo stores has been organic for ' “it _ -“‘ Shortti “If you llki‘ to cook all you sliortt, the popular former recipe have to do is add a little or the tolumnist for llH‘ Waterloo (Zhroni infused Oil and you can add that ill“ who has tlt-tlit ated herself to flavour with no chopping and no growing the retail side of the hUNlr . mess" Hess in the past few years. - She's also carrying a line of "l-yer year we‘ve been in husi Dana Sham recently celebrated the 10th anniversary at Dana Shem Gounnerm 55 Erb St. 5,. as shewrtinuesto flavoured balsamic Vinegars from [less we continue to grow and expand the retail side of the busmess after starting out as a caterer, including gift baskets and an olive oil bar Italy aged for more than l8 years grow," she said as she moved from '0'me mosechanges helped usher in a tart-ring to high quality meal " 1 hey didn't always need me line of popular lndian food and of making busmess, and added gift lO-year celebration of Dana Shem replat eiin-nts and foods that have and my staï¬to come out and make course all the other healthy options baskets for corporate and business Gourmet retail store. held earlier nothing todowtth the word “fast " the meal,‘ said Shortt “They said out there. clients as well as for people mark- this month. and promises more "I staned out lust wanting to be they could do the main but asked "We opened up the store and we itig those special occasions in life. things to come. a personal chef. anti l was cooking us to provide a dessert or a real nice became a lot more grab and go as likea new baby. Shortt. who keeps in contact for \arltilh families and they kept soup so that's what led me to think they needed it," said Shortt. “So we She also added some exclusive with clients through her newsletter asking lllt' if I would cater." said there was something else I could do ended up providing food for their lines. like being the local distributor and website. wwwdanashomca. is \hortt “I didn‘t want to turn away here togive them some options " family dinners in addition to spe for Rheolhompson (liocolatcs in the middle of one of her busiest the opportunity so I said \‘l‘N‘ ‘ 'l hat's when some of those tial events In 2007 we stopped the A trip to Naples, Ha. for a yaca times of year as they get all those whit h led to me catering ( (instant ready~made items came into play fullservtt‘e catering and offered t'pn brought her into contact With gift basketsout the door l\ " People call it meal replacement pick upcatenng ' ilk Idea ofcreating an ()llVl‘ oil tastr â€People looking for that last But as her life thanged and she but what Dana was rt-plat ing was While she was expanding the ing bar with oils infused with dis minute gift or something spt-i ldl ll‘l amr the mother of two lwi\s. so nit-moriesof favounte family meals options the business was also tinctive flavours, She bet ante (itin can still Hunt“ in," said \liortt "If didnt lht' st-nirr llt'l llll‘llls “not Whlll' Introdiit ing them to new expanding and she bought up the the second store in (anada to carry people want custom the\ tan tall ed llt'l to providi- tastes and cuisines lliat included a old Blessings ston- anti its basket the line of oils from (.tliforiiia. and its or grab soon-thing oil the shell " ~ » , [I “Aâ€"M-It“ , t v s EXTRA' EXT ' ,...,_...{ I“ A We W“ W l s â€" ..V._,_. . _..-.. n-..â€" ‘ - ._... ' “ “' “ J“ â€" I.†cabana-nu- â€".â€". ’ ’ NW. READ ALL ABOUT I I â€â€" "it?" ' ‘ “we" - was}; s t -â€" vrt trig muttommuniptttm I856 1†1135;? i I a 'f ’ WATERLOO CHRONICLE a; ' "‘ "I f;:_::'::£A r t local news loco! sports local hoppeotngs 3‘33; _ j: 7 _ , ‘ -.-~ .â€"~..â€";'..~r~_rfl =5 l www.waterloochroniclo.ca 55;:- ‘ ‘e" ,, a V3. "“3311: 5‘" L ..........- a