Beaming brightly from the center of the Saturday market grounds is a cheerful booth brimming with nourishment, botanical offerings, and a hearty dose of care. Shoppers queue up eagerly to welcome The Sweet Beginning Café to its new home: the Sequim Farmers & Artisans Market!
Most Sequim locals know Kathryn Kitts from her original café by the same name from its time at the Olympic Medical Center. Hungry regulars frequented the popular lunch spot, spreading the word about the lively café known for its unique offerings created from high quality and wholesome ingredients.
In response to the pandemic, Kitts made the difficult decision to permanently close the location in August 2020. Almost immediately, the much-loved culinary artist began to receive queries from devoted café patrons wondering what was next.
“When that decision was made I kept thinking about how to continue the business going forward,” Kitts says. “I started getting calls from people wondering if I was doing any food.”
With the expansion and continued evolution of Sequim’s downtown Saturday market, Kitts recognized SFAM as the perfect environment for the next phase of evolution for The Sweet Beginning.
“People really wanted a place to come to get food on a regular basis,” Kitts says.
“The farmers market was the perfect venue.”
With 45 years under her belt in the culinary arts. Kitts is eager to appease her long-time followers with the return of her delicious soups, sandwiches, and salads. Original café enthusiasts will be relieved to learn that this means her dill chicken salad is available for enjoyment once again!
Kitts rounds out her market offerings with her well-known shortbread and chocolate-dipped coconut macaroons.
Kitts looks forward to introducing her creations to a new audience as she continues to center her cookery around real ingredients, made with love.
“I call myself an intuitive chef. I have always had the ability to taste things before I create them and I’m not afraid to put unique ingredients together,” Kitts says.
“I will wake up thinking about what the daily soup needs to be. I often get a hit of what people might need that day.”
Kitts sites the love she shares with her son, Austin, her three grandchildren and the support of her close collaborators through the years as integral components to the successes she’s experienced in her career.
Kitts joins forces this season with Trina Berg, well-known as the founder of popular peninsula shops Fieldnotes in Sequim, and Fiddleheads in Port Angeles.
Berg rounds out the whimsical market booth with her thoughtfully curated homegrown bouquets, created from rare flowers and unique plant starts.
Kitts’ edible delights are framed by Berg’s happy botanicals reaching for the sun at their market booth each Saturday. Visiting The Sweet Beginning is an experience that places Kitts firmly in her element.
“It’s not just feeding people,” Kitts says. “It feeds my soul. Hopefully, the love I put into this food feeds their hearts and souls as well. “
The Sweet Beginning Cafe is at the Sequim Farmers and Artisans Market every Saturday from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. through October. Visit your community market at Sequim Civic Center Plaza at North Sequim Avenue and West Cedar Street.
Be sure to tune in on Thursday at 4 p.m. to KSQM 91.5 FM for the live radio “Sequim Farmers & Artisans Market Update.”
Emma Jane Garcia is the director for the Sequim Farmers & Artisans Market. See sequimmarket.com.
Sequim Farmers & Artisans Market
Open: 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturdays through Oct. 30
Location: Sequim Civic Center Plaza and Centennial Place, downtown Sequim
More info: manager@sequimmarket.com
On the web: sequimmarket.com
