A Glimpse of Rozella
Rozella Klassen, Chef
Rozella’s is born from a culture of loving others by connecting over good food, through conversation and adding a flourish of beauty to a plate that silently says, “You are valued”.
My husband, Marvin, and I were both raised in homes that showed their love of the community by spending quality time with others around the table, sharing food and swapping recipes.
In the early years of our marriage, dining out was not in the budget, but our love of gathering our friends and connecting over food was not something we could forgo. So we dined in, inviting many brave souls to become our guinea pigs as we explored the world through our palates from the comfort of our own kitchen!
Over time, I began teaching young moms the basics of preparing food from scratch and on a budget through a mentoring program at a local church. This led to organizing and cooking teacher appreciation luncheons at our local school. Eventually, I began to cater small events, with my husband at my side as sous chef.
Most recently, I had the honor of teaching weekly culinary classes at Yes Chef in Abbotsford. I came away from each class filled with the joy of connecting to a broader community of food lovers and the satisfaction of fulfilling my passion to teach.
The unusual events of 2020 brought an abrupt end to my catering and teaching career. With time on my hands, I began to reflect on how I could continue to do what I love and support the makers and artisans in our community and province who were experiencing this same great shift.
After much dreaming and reaching out to gifted makers and artisans, Rozella’s was created.
As I worked through each step of building Rozella’s, I often felt like giving up. But, little by little, it came together. My husband stepped up and built beautiful, wooden boxes to showcase the artisanal bounty. My niece brought to life marketing and design for the project. My daughter created a platform on social media and began to share it with others. My son-in-law spent time photographing the goods packed inside each box.
It is a team effort both inside and outside the box, and I wouldn’t have it any other way!
I am so excited for 2021 and the collaborations this year has in store with gifted artisans from around the Fraser Valley and across BC. Take a look inside an artisanal box from Rozella’s and join us as we gather together and share our table with you!