Anne-Marie Million has always dreamt of opening her own commercial kitchen in Newmarket as she remembers the days cooking beside her grandmother and mother.
She thought about her family as she celebrated the grand opening of her new space at 200 Mulock Dr. yesterday to a roaring crowd.
“I think they would be supportive and happy,” said Million, owner of A Million Mouthfuls Catering Culinary Studio. “I think they would be right here cooking with me if they could.”
Her grandmother was a farm-to-table cook. She owned a massive garden in Newmarket on a big parcel of land and loved to bake.
“My grandmother cooked for the young doctors and nurses training at Southlake hospital,” said Million. “They had a residence there back in the '50s because they came from the University of Toronto. My grandmother stayed and cooked for them.”
She said her mother was ahead of the trends in hosting dinner parties and cooking meals people hadn’t tried before. Her mother would frequently read Gourmet Magazine for inspiration.
“She was more of a progressive and experimental type of cook,” said Million. “I learned a lot of that kind of stuff from her.”
The grand opening event featured dignitaries and guests, including Newmarket-Aurora MPP Dawn Gallagher Murphy, Mayor John Taylor, council members, Mike Cartwright, broker of Main Street Realty, Ellen Campbell, founder of Abuse Hurts, Chris Emanuel, president and chief executive officer of Central York Chamber of Commerce, and local residents and customers.
She supports various non-profit organizations, including Community Living Central York, York Region Food Network, CHATS, Northridge Church of the Salvation Army, Southlake Foundation, Newmarket Food Pantry, Abuse Hurts, and the Women's Centre of York Region.
She was the longtime director of hospitality for Cardinal Golf Club before embarking on her own business full time.
“I’m very blessed by the community, having my roots in Newmarket and always being involved,” said Million. “We like to give back a lot, and that reciprocates. I have been blessed to have a lot of friends who have supported us and clients ongoing and refer people all the time.”
Mayor Taylor shared a few words of appreciation before cutting a ceremonial ribbon with Million and her family to mark the establishment's grand opening officially.
“I think for many people, it is exciting to watch Anne-Marie’s journey from the first days of her catering endeavour to where she has developed this huge business that touches so many people’s lives. It has been amazing to watch,” said Taylor.
Taylor said he has known Million and her family for a long time, going back 15 years ago through a golf tournament and catering events. He said the name, a Million Mouthfuls, is ironic because he said Million has hit that milestone.
“I have to say, every mouthful today is as good as the first one,” said Taylor. “Anne-Marie’s capacity to support the community and give back is almost boundless.”
Million celebrated the grand opening after returning from a trip to Spain, Portugal, and Morocco. She was inspired by the culinary culture and cuisine of those nations.
“I tend to love to learn from other people and bring those types of things,” said Million. “If there’s an opportunity for me to get in the kitchen, even if I invite myself in, we did that a few times this year. It was great. I got to go in and see what the gentleman was making for us for lunch.”
She spent eight months finding a suitable space for her needs in Newmarket. She liked the space because it has a garage door that pulls up to load food in and out.
“It is great to be in Newmarket because that is my roots, and we’re conveniently located for so many of our customers," said Million. "We’ve been able to continue to grow now that we have the full kitchen here.”
Before she opened the space, she pivoted her business to focus on hand-crafted bespoke food creations, including curated boxes, gifts, corporate lunches, and lavish charcuterie boxes, boards and trays. She will continue her corporate lunches for organizations requesting them.
She will also provide cooking classes at the space in advance, as in-person catering meetings take up a lot of her time.
“We learned if we want to do culinary classes, we have to book out times,” said Million. “When you’re trying to prepare for large events, the kitchen is in use, so we can’t do cooking classes at the same time. We have been going through a process of what is the best business model.”
