 Facility Tours of the facility are given by appointment only. After you have studied the website and would like to request a site visit, please contact us by email, preferably a week in advance, to set up a meeting. Please see below for details on costs for tours.
The facility at BRFV includes three distinct processing areas as well as separate dry storage areas and walk-in coolers and freezers:
A wet product preparation area includes a full-scale commercial kitchen for preparing
sauces, jellies, salsas, pestos and the like for bottling. It also serves the needs of caterers,
personal chefs, and mobile food cart vendors preparing food for immediate consumption.
A dry product preparation area for bakers and caterers and the preparation and packaging
of other dry products such as herbs, teas or trail mixes. Dehydrators for tomatoes, apples, shiitake mushrooms, herbs and other products are also available.
A natural products production area where a variety of herb and plant materials can be dried, crushed and extracted to be used in tinctures and extracts is being installed and should be in operation by October 2010. Dried plant material may also be mixed and packaged for products such as tea mixtures, culinary herb preparations, etc...
The facility is designed to be flexible, including portable equipment so that multiple users can set up production lines in different areas of the facility. Equipment is being added as funds allow and user needs are identified. Equipment on hand includes:
Steam Kettles
Commercial Ranges
Roll-In Rack Oven
Convection Ovens
Grill
Vertical Cutter-Mixer
Commercial Mixers and Food Procssors
Tilt Skillet/Braiser
Dehydrator
Juicer/Pulper
Meat Slicer
Auger Filler for Dry, Flowable Products
Grinders
Apple Peeler/Slicer/Corer
Dicer/Slicer for Fruits & Vegetables
Refrigeration and Freezers
Bottlers/Fillers
Labeler
Heat Band Sealer
Vacuum Sealer
Weigh-Fill Packaging Machine
Tours of Blue Ridge Food Ventures are given by appointment only. After you have studied the website and would like to request a site visit, please contact us by email, preferably a week in advance, to set up a meeting.
Initial Tour and Consultation Fee $60
Includes facility tour & overview of services offered: guidance on product development, regulatory issues and packaging. If you become a BRFV user, this applies as your orientation and application fee.
A tour for individuals or groups from out of the western North Carolina Region who might be interested in starting their own incubator facility is $75 per hour.
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Directions
Driving directions from I-40 west bound or east bound: Take Exit 44. At the traffic light at the end of the exit ramp, turn right (south on 19/23). Go to the fourth traffic light and turn left on Sand Hill Road. Go to the second entrance on the left and turn into the campus. The Haynes Conference Center will be on your right and Blue Ridge Food Ventures in the Incubator Building on your left.
Blue Ridge Food Ventures
Testimonial
AdvantageWest and Blue Ridge Food Ventures enabled me to turn my idea for a business into a reality. You rock!
Leslie Suber
Owner
Sadie’s Caribbean Fish Cakes
Testimonial
Using Blue Ridge Food Ventures, I was able to move quickly to get my award-winning product from testing to full production in just a year.
Ricardo Fernandez
Owner
Chef Ricardo's Authentic Appalachian Tomato Sauces
Mary Lou Surgi
, Executive Director
Blue Ridge Food Ventures
1461 Sand Hill Road
Candler, NC 28715
ph. 828-348-0128
fx. 828-348-0486
Email Mary Lou Surgi
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