Remarkable Women of the Upper Peninsula Finalist: Alexandria Palzewicz
MARQUETTE, Mich. (WJMN) – They say food is the quickest way to the heart. This Remarkable Woman of the Upper Peninsula Contest finalist, Alexandria Palzewicz, serves up local food while providing a space for a few local small businesses to thrive and grow.
“You know, if you don’t know Alex, I don’t know how that’s possible,” said Sara Johnson, the person who nominated Alexandria for the Remarkable Women of the Upper Peninsula Contest. “She finds a way to really connect and engage with so many people and bring them together. In a beautiful, meaningful, impactful way”
Alexandria Palzewicz, creator of the Northwoods Test Kitchen, believes in the importance of food and what it can do for the community.
The Northwoods Test Kitchen, located in Barrel and Beam, was created by Alexandria, not only to feed their customers, but also to give local businesses a chance to grow and bring their ideas to life.
“I knew when we started the kitchen that we weren’t going to be open every single day,” explained Alexandria. “And as someone who’s always kind of had a side hustle in the cooking world, like doing little events or things like that, knew how hard it was to have an access to a space. So it just made sense to if we had some time available to find the right folks. So we work with three kitchen renters right now we have Moonlight Meadows, Botánica Quetzalli, and then Bad Seed Hot Sauce.”
Alexandria says that she can’t take all of the credit for the food she creates. She works closely with local farmers and community members to bring fresh, local ingredients to her cooking.
“The thing that I really enjoy is just supporting my local neighbors, the local economy,” said Alexandria. “There’s that piece, but I think the relationships that I get to build with all the people that we purchase stuff from, whether it’s a relationship where the folks that I’m seeing at the farmers market every week, and I’m also catching up with how the fam is doing, and other things like that. Or some of the folks that are downstate that we like pick stuff up from and just maybe I don’t talk to them as much and maybe I’ve never met them in person but just getting to know the folks that we’re purchasing things from. I always kind of ease off of the chef title because I really do feel like it’s about letting the ingredients guide the way and I feel like the farmers and the folks behind the products that we’re getting are doing a lot of the first stages of the cooking process, right? So I always joke I’m like, I’m just buying good stuff. I’m really just throwing it together. Because it really I think tastes better because you know where it comes from.”
Alexandria works hard to support her local community, including others in the food industry.
“She works so hard and she doesn’t give up and she really doesn’t give up,” said Johnson. “She has faced failure many times but she’s going to come back and continue to tackle it. Nothing seems impossible. She will come up with the wildest ideas and find a way to make it happen. And not only does she come up with ideas, but then she’ll execute. She finds ways to actually bring these ideas to fruition which you know, there’s talking to talk them is walking the walk and she can do both and I admire her so much for that. She is constantly finding ways to work with others, uplift others and create opportunities for others which, you know, we live in a fantastic community but it can be limiting a lot of times, especially when it comes to local food system endeavors and so she’s somebody that’s constantly championing that for everybody.”
We asked Alexandria what inspires her.
“So I feel like, for me, it’s just about our relationship to food, right?” Alexandria explained. “Like, I don’t feel like we get enough time to think about our relationship to food and where it comes from and what it does for our health, whether it’s mental or physical, and it’s, it’s nourishment. It also connects us to the land and the water that we’re a part of, especially, we’re really lucky to be in the U.P., and to have access to such great fertile land and we have really great water and so I think for me, it’s making sure that through the food that we create, we’re honoring that and thinking about the importance and the story that’s behind the food. I have worked, I worked really hard because I love it. So that, like, it’s not anything to say, it’s like I’m choosing to put this time and effort in. But to just be recognized, I guess is cool, but like, again, like I get, like, I get rewarded every day for the relationships that I get with the folks in the community.”
If you’re interested in learning more about the Northwoods Test Kitchen or if you want to keep updated on their latest food specials or events, you can find their Facebook page here.
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