I just learned about La Cocina, a place where small food business owners – mostly women immigrants – can rent kitchen space, participate in the community, and market products together. There’s many food items for sale like chocolate treats, mole sauce, but my favorite finds are the South American empanadas and alfajores.

La Cocina also offers cooking classes, kind of like 18 Reasons, but they are pricier.

This coming Sunday in San Francisco, La Cocina will be hosting a Street Food street festival where people can sample and taste all sorts of great, ethnic foods. It’s the sister event to the bigger Eat Real Festival in Oakland on August 28 and 29.

I have been dreaming of running a business with a co-op type model, where we grow a garden and have cooking classes every week. Let me know what’s out there that you like.