Ardelia Farm & Co. Morphs into Kingdom Direct
This would have been Ardelia Farm & Co.’s sixth season at the Burlington Farmers Market. Fans would have lined up for Thomas McCurdy’s gourmet cookies and specialty desserts, and floral enthusiasts would have strolled away with an armload of Bailey Hale’s renowned sweet pea stems and other cut flowers.
But the world changed in March, and this talented duo of horticulturist and baker pivoted as well. “For about 10 days in mid-March, we felt confused and sad,” Thomas recalls. Thomas runs the bakery end of the business, producing decadent cookies, pastries, and celebratory cakes. Bailey grows three acres of perennials and cut flowers including his signature sweet pea blooms, which he sold primarily to New York City wholesale markets and northeastern florists. However, as the world went into lockdown and special events dropped off the calendar, they saw their potential markets dry up.
“Then Bailey and I woke up one morning and thought, Time to get to work,” Thomas reflects. But first, they needed a plan. The previous year, Thomas had orchestrated a side project dream and hosted a year of dinner parties: 52 dinners in 52 weeks. He realized he missed feeding people and hosting events. So in late March, he pivoted and developed a meal-delivery service.
“Six hours later, we registered a trade name and started to contact local farmers and vendor friends who could supply us with eggs, dairy, meat, and produce. Ten days later, on April 3, we launched Kingdom Direct.”
People appreciate a well-prepared meal that provides comfort and nourishment, especially in trying times. Thomas and his kitchen team create meals that take you on a culinary tour of the globe. Laotian lettuce wraps with curried cabbage and cashew salad. Dan Dan noodles, mapo tofu, twice-cooked pork with sesame broccoli and rice. Persian meatballs in beet sauce served with Moroccan carrots and Israeli pickles, cabbage with onions, sumac, and spicy fennel. Of course, Thomas the baker also whips up an array of desserts: chocolate pots de crème, blueberry lemon cheesecake parfait, flourless chocolate cake, and six varieties of cookies and bars. And to brighten the table, Bailey provides a jelly jar arrangement of freshly cut flowers from his greenhouses and fields.
Imagine these bright flavors arriving fully cooked and ready to plate, delivered right to your doorstep.
“By creating these ‘dinner parties’ and delivering them to homes in northern Vermont,” Thomas explains, “I’m still able to facilitate lovely events for people each week. Ordering a special meal from Kingdom Direct gives people an excuse to set the table, open a nice bottle, and enjoy a meal solo or with family and friends.”
Challenges provide opportunity for growth, even for experienced pros. “Even though
I’m a pastry chef by training, hosting a dinner party for a dozen guests comes naturally,” Thomas says. “But when we launched Kingdom Direct, I had to learn to cook meals and other prepared foods on this much larger scale. I invested in giant stockpots, an industrial immersion blender, and heavy-duty food processors. We purchased a refrigerated delivery van and hired a driver. In fact, we’ve added three new employees as this venture has grown. I also had to figure out how to package and deliver everything cold, and stop worrying about how people would plate it all! I’ve learned to think less like a chef and more like a fancy lunch lady.”
Kingdom Direct shoppers can also order locally cultivated mushrooms, pastured whole chickens and eggs, Big Jay Roasting coffee beans, Nutty Vermonter nut butters, milk, and cheeses from Sweet Rowen Farmstead, and Jasper Hill cheeses. Customers can procure the same high-quality flours, sugars, butter, nuts, and chocolates that Thomas uses in his own baking. Currently they are working with about eight farms and producers and filling approximately 90 orders each week. “We created this service as a quick reaction to the circumstances,” Thomas explains. “We thought it would last maybe for a handful of weeks, but we’ve fully accepted this as our new normal. I set some loose goals about our capacity and we exceeded them in four weeks. Two months in, and we’re talking with some business advisers, doing some big-picture thinking, and considering options.”
Thomas dedicates Thursdays to create, test, plate, and photograph the following week’s menu. After all, “we eat with our eyes!” The order form goes live on Fridays at noon and closes at noon on Sunday. Thomas orders his ingredients from his producers and generates his many lists on Sunday afternoons. Then he and his kitchen crew kick into full production mode for the next three days. Meals are delivered across northern Vermont on Thursdays and Fridays. Deliveries are contactless thanks to an app that sends an email indicating that the package has been delivered. Customers provide coolers to protect the perishables, especially in the summer months.
Thomas and Bailey also do what they can to support vulnerable Vermonters. Each week, Kingdom Direct customers can choose to donate a certain amount to a nonprofit. “We’ve featured Northeast Farmers of Color Land Trust, Outright Vermont, the Derby Elementary School Backpack Lunch program, and Northeast Kingdom Community Action. Bailey and I were struggling when we arrived in Glover in 2014, and NEKCA helped us out during a rough patch. Their support enabled us to get settled. It feels good to give back.”
Bailey still has his full crew in the fields and greenhouses, tending and harvesting his perennials and cut flowers. “Bailey is too humble to admit it, but he’s a leading voice in the American cut flower world,” Thomas notes. His beloved sweet peas started to bloom in late June and he’ll harvest them through the fall. “People can order our sweet pea stems online, in quantities of 50, and we can ship them overnight via FedEx to florists or anyone wishing to bring those beautiful blooms into their homes.”
Both Thomas and Bailey acknowledge that it feels strange not to be at the Burlington Farmers Market this summer. “However, many of our customers have found us through Kingdom Direct,” Thomas says. “It’s really nice to reconnect with them through this enterprise. Our customers love what we’re providing, and I feel optimistic that we will continue.”
