In case you’re not too familiar with it, Senegal is a West African country located on the westernmost point of the continent, the capital of which is Dakar. Influenced by North Africa, Portugal and France, Senegalese cuisine is rich and diverse, with fish playing a central role in many Senegalese meals.

One of the many interesting food and drink vendors at Winter Fest is Guacamaya Juice, which is owned by Nahomi Artal. Before coming upon their booth at Winter Fest, I had seen some folks walking around The Gateway with big colorful bottles of juice that had bits of fresh fruit floating in it. It piqued my curiosity and, as I said, eventually discovered the Guacamaya Juice booth.

Mitchell King has been a firefighter for the past 25 years and says that he started Rocking K Barrelworks because “I love working with ‘found’ products; recycling used wine barrels is relaxing and rewarding. Each piece I craft individually, so each is truly one-of-a-kind. I don’t just see this as a job, but as a passion, and am grateful for every day to be able to create works of art from customers’ beautiful ideas.”

Wasatch Blossom Utah Tart Cherry Liqueur was awarded silver medal by Sunset Magazine International Spirits Competition. This New World Distillery spirit is the top-selling Utah made fruit liqueur in the state.

Their mission is “to dress all of Utah’s naked pets.”  Rebel Paw creates handmade bandannas for pets. Says Amelia, “Our bandannas are unique in that they close with a collar buckle instead of a tie. This makes the bandanna much easier to put on your pet and ensures that it stays on securely.”

“We are skincare on a mission. We aim to empower Hippies to Love Their Faces and to find true love of self by breaking the boundaries of beauty. At Hippie Skin, we keep it REAL: Our models are real people, with real skin and no airbrushing. We strive to innovate and empower social change – Love Your Face!”

Sticking with that can-do philosophy, Peggy says “I wanted origami cranes for my Xmas tree and thought, ‘I can make that!’ Then Tom suggested others would enjoy the cool glass so we started an Etsy page and expanded our inventory.”

“I wanted to spread the joy of printmaking to people that probably have had very little to no experience with what traditional printmaking is,” says Hansen. “I also wanted to set an example to other artists and show that you can, and should, make money from your art.”

Marguerite started her craft soap business in 2001 and retired in 2018. Daniella became a partner in M Soaps three years ago and took over the company when her mother retired. She describes how her mother came to make craft soaps and other products, saying “It was her dream. Marguerite started it as a result of a science project she did with her 6th grade class. She was a school teacher for 34 years.”

Unlike many entrepreneurs featured in Made in Utah articles, Winsett isn’t in any hurry to expand her business. She says, “In five years I will still be a small artisan creator. I am not interested in growing or doing this full-time. I am a full-time psychotherapist who does this as a creative outlet,” adding, “Do what you love” as advice to others who might want to pursue a similar creative pathway. 

Papito Moe’s is local Utah’s Puerto Rican food truck. It’s food for the soul! “One bite will make your tongue do the bachata!”

Divine inspiration helped Voeun and his wife Kristen start the business. “Certainly this adventure could not have begun without God giving my mom such an incredible flavor palette. She is the reason that I love great-tasting food and can’t get enough of her food in particular. She has supported our business in many ways and we couldn’t do it without her.”

“The social mission aspect of the company came to me in an epiphany in the shower when I was trying to figure out how to truly and authentically distinguish Hugo Coffee from its many competitors. I decided that since animal rescue is in my DNA, and the company is named after my rescue dog Hugo, that Hugo Coffee Roasters should save animals by donating a percentage of all retail bag sales to accredited animal rescues.”

“…I was on my honeymoon in Las Vegas eating at a restaurant on The Strip somewhere. They had this delicious bottle of hot sauce. I can't remember the name of it. We were both enjoying dumping copious amounts of this sauce over our burgers. I think we cleaned out the entire bottle! After finishing our meal one of us was reading the label and noticed some ingredients that were questionable for our dietary rules. Right then and there we decided we could and would create a cleaner, just as tasty hot sauce.”

“I seek out materials that inspire me,” says Hickam. “The kind that when I see them I can envision the finished product. For example while traveling in Ecuador I found handmade straw beads that made a great lightweight jewelry collection. And in contrast I like working with fused glass because you never know exactly what the finished product will be until you open the kiln.”

I vividly remember my first encounter with a raclette. It was in Brussels at a restaurant specializing in that marvelous cheesy culinary experience. And yes, a raclette is an experience.