“You have a mojito and the world is good,” pronounces Fermin Alvarez, one of Oakland’s newest entrepreneurs. He and his wife, Sandra Scoggin, have started their own authentic Cuban food catering business, and have recently began serving dinner Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights at Cock-a-Doodle Café’s “Cuban Nights.” Indeed, the world is good as you savor one of Fermin’s signature dishes like fricassee de pollo, Cuban-style chicken simmered with potatoes, onions, garlic, red bell peppers, and dry wine. And make sure to have it with congrí, traditional rice and black beans cooked together to perfection and, of course, fried sweet platanos.

Fermin has been passionate about food and cross cultural exchange since his childhood in Cuba. Growing up on his grandmother’s cooking, he learned the authentic flavors of his island’s food and brings that knowledge to Our Cuban Kitchen. Fermin decided to leave Cuba for the United States in 2006. As he puts it, “I see myself as a citizen of the world. I would like to live in many different countries, and I was drawn to the Bay Area—the birthplace of the free speech movement.”  

Just one month after coming to the United States, Fermin met the woman who would become his wife. Beautiful and full of confidence, Sandra immediately caught his eye one afternoon when he spotted her salsa dancing to Cuban music at the Temescal Street Fair in Oakland. He built up the courage to ask her to dance, and the chemistry was instantaneous. 

Our Cuban Kitchen was born from Sandra and Fermin’s love for one another and for all things Cuban. In the beginning, they knew they wanted to start a business which brought Cuban food to the Bay Area, but neither of them had any entrepreneurial experience. So, their business idea remained just a dream until 2009, when they attended the Ignite! New Business Expo, a launch pad for new entrepreneurs to showcase their businesses to the Bay Area. Fermin recalls, “It was a community of people brought together who wanted to start something local, something that in my eyes looked sustainable and brave and wonderful for Oakland itself. And I thought, maybe we do have a chance here.” The Ignite! Expo gave Fermin and Sandra the encouragement to start a business and showed them where to find the resources to take the first step.

Soon after, Fermin and Sandra enrolled in Urban FIRE (Financial Intelligence, Responsible Entrepreneurship)—the entrepreneurship readiness class in Oakland, CA. Each week of the program brought them one step closer to opening Our Cuban Kitchen. They learned about accounting, marketing, legal issues, and how to write a business plan, all of the essential functions that go along with starting and running a business. But it also explored the concept of entrepreneurship and what it means to be successful. “Money is not the ultimate goal of your business,” Fermin explains. “Money is just one component that will help you survive. But where success actually lies is in your happiness.” Sandra nods in agreement, adding, “That’s one of the things that is so great about the program. It really makes you look at what success means for you personally… in terms of what your values are and what you want to achieve.”  

With the help of the Urban FIRE program, Fermin and Sandra officially opened Our Cuban Kitchen in April 2010, in time to showcase their business at the Ignite! New Business Expo that year. Over the last year, they’ve catered a number of large events including the 2010 Oakland Rotary Club Showcase and the 10-Year Anniversary Celebration of PlazaCUBA, a cultural exchange program in the Bay Area. In May 2011, Our Cuban Kitchen officially opened Cuban Nights at the Cock-a-Doodle Café in Oakland, CA, a flavorful collection of authentic Cuban dishes served Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. Upon entering the café, the music and energy transports you to a place many of us have never been – the beautiful island of Cuba. The colors are vibrant, the music intoxicating, and the scents of the sweet and savory flavors of Cuba let you know you are about to experience something truly unique.

As Fermin puts it, “[Urban FIRE] was like a window into a new world. I didn’t think it was possible to have your passion and have it turn into your business—how you live. But it is possible.”  Fermin and Sandra will be showcasing their business once again at this year’s Ignite! New Business Expo. The Ignite! Expo is a free event brought to you by Urban FIRE. Enjoy the food, music, entertainment, support the Bay Area’s newest local businesses and find out about how you can start a business of your own.  

Ignite! New Business Expo

Friday, June 24, 2011

11am – 3pm

Frank Ogawa Plaza, Oakland

www.igniteexpo.org

www.urbanfire.org

Our Cuban Kitchen

http://www.ourcubankitchen.com/

Special Thanks to the Ignite Expo's 2011 Sponsors: City of Oakland, NCDI, SBA, One Pacific Coast Foundation, Rotary Club of Oakland, and media sponsor Oakland Local