Update from Guest Blogger Emily Yoder, Empowerment Group

National Pie Day is January 23rd. How are you celebrating? Homage to this tasty American treat can be paid by just grabbing a slice, but more fun can be had! Celebrate with the Empowerment Group as they visit Sweetie’s Pie Diner on January 30th. If pie isn’t your bag, learn about secret recipes and budding chefs on February 23rd at Philly Kitchen Share.

Empowerment Group is cooking up some tasty things for 2010. We’ve always been a cheerleader and aide to all Philadelphia entrepreneurs, and restaurants have a special way of spicing up the small business scene. Philly has more than 400 food institutions in Center City alone. We’re the home of the Iron Chef. Travel & Leisure Magazine ranks us 7th in the nation for best neighborhood restaurants. Everyone’s starting to realize that Philly cuisine is about so much more than cheese steaks.

Here at Empowerment Group, our clients already have a history of culinary innovation. From savory cupcakes, to a traveling coffee cart, to one of the city’s only Puerto Rican bakeries, they know how to serve up some tasty and unique treats. This year we’re more committed than ever to helping aspiring chefs and bakers find the ingredients that make a successful business.

Our Women Entrepreneurs’ Circle is always an enjoyable time for women who own (or aspire to own!) small businesses to meet, network, and visit a local woman-owned shop. On January 30, we’ll have our sweetest edition of the Circle yet. We’re visiting Sweetie’s Pie Diner, where you can build your knowledge of the start-up restaurant industry while building your own delicious pie. Enjoying the company of other women entrepreneurs is really just the icing on the cake (or pie, if you so choose).

On February 23, we’re teaming up with Philly Kitchen Share to help transitional cooks. Have your friends been begging you for Nana’s secret casserole recipe? Do your co-workers keep telling you that you that your cookies are good enough to sell? Our workshop, On the Rise: Transition from a Home to a Commercial Kitchen, helps you figure out how your prize-winning recipe could lead to a lucrative business.

We have the business background, and we’ll help you figure out if your food can keep you afloat once we untie those proverbial apron strings. Come out to our events. It’s all for a greater—and tastier—Philadelphia.