Loave Affair, LLC, Henryetta, Oklahoma, is serving up dates but not the kind that normally come to mind. This start-up company specializes in making date loaf candy from the 50s, a confection of chopped dates and pecans in a sweet loaf rolled in pecan meal.
Loave Affair owner, Marsha Smith left her professional careers as realtor and stock broker to bring back to life her grandma’s date loaf candy. Known to her grandchildren as Gma T, she made this Christmas treasure every year for 40 years. “When the batter would become too stiff, she would call on Uncle Red to finish stirring it for her,” Smith said.
Smith doesn’t have to call on “Uncle Red” to stir her batter because she leases the commercial kitchen of Rural Enterprises of Oklahoma, Inc. (REI) in Durant which provides her with all the mixers and other equipment needed to prepare her date loaf candy in half the time it would take her by hand like Gma T did. “It’s worth the trip to Durant to make multiple batches of the candy and REI’s staff is awesome and also provided me with lots of resources that I will need to grow this three-generation business,” Smith said. “I feel like this is my kitchen!” The three generations include Smith, her mother and daughter who all have their respective roles in the business.
“I had gone to restaurants to try to lease their kitchens but had no luck,” Smith said, “and I knew if I wanted to do this right, I needed a licensed commercial kitchen. I was thrilled to learn about REI’s commercial kitchen from a friend who found it on REI’s website and I will certainly be a repeat user.”
Each one-pound loaf is rolled in a cotton tea towel, attractively packaged and refrigerated. The customer simply slices and serves it as a very special treat appropriate for any occasion. The date loaf may be frozen, refrigerated or kept at room temperature while served by the customer.
REI’s commercial kitchen is a fully equipped licensed facility providing small scaled food entrepreneurs a place to prepare, process and package their specialty for market and may be leased on an hourly basis. Call Juli Herrington at 800-658-2823 for details.