Business Baby Podcast Top Shelf Preserves ~ Back again! Season 2 Episode 4
-Little Jo Berry's
Our little buddy Sara Pishva (she/her), owner of is back to talk about her new storefront! We chat about the new 527 Gladstone Ave shop and what it was like creating a space during covid. The anxiety and excitement that runs parallel as you
There’s a “small batch vibe” coming out of 527 Gladstone Ave. Look for the stunning sign made by Pascale Arpin in between Bay and Lyon, and you’ll find Top Shelf Preserves’ (TSP) new retail space. You can still purchase their pickles, spreads, and “seasonal, limited edition products” from city favourites like Red Door Provisions and Little Jo Berry’s; now, there’s a downtown space to connect with owner Sara Pishva and team. This is their story.
Little Jo talks to Ottawa small business pal Sara Pishva, owner of . Chatting about starting a business, kitchen environments and of course the ups and downs of running a shop during Covid.
Top Shelf Preserves Celebrates More Than Five Years in Business
-Amanda Armstrong
Sara worked in kitchens for 11 years before starting her own business. Selling preserves and jams, Top Shelf Preserves quickly took off, becoming a staple in the fridges of Ottawa’s foodies. With Top Shelf’s success, Sara very quickly went from cook to business owner. Her resume expanded tenfold, in what she did do and what she could do.
Ahh, we’re home for the holidays — now what to do? Depends on whether you like to head outdoors for adventure, goof around with games, glam up and hit the town, cook up a feast, or cozy up with a drink and a good book. Here, we offer gift suggestions based on the myriad ways people enjoy their time off...
Summer Eats: patios, picnics, and late night lounges
When the mercury nears 30 degrees, the last thing you want to do is slave over a hot stove. This summer, leave the kitchen behind and head out for a picnic, hit up a food cart, or sit on a breezy patio and enjoy a cold drink...
Local micro-producers deliver big flavour in small batches
-Paula Roy
Ottawa is often described as a big small town, and one with a true passion for supporting local businesses. In our culinary scene, we’re fortunate to have scores of talented micro-producers who create small batches of unique, delicious products enjoyed by chefs, home cooks and consumers across the city...
When Sara Pishva first made the decision to start her own small business, she began with a series of lists. “Get a web domain, hire a designer, order a pallet of jars to your apartment – I took starting a business super casually at first” remembers Sara, about the early days of Top Shelf Preserves...
Growing up, I remember being intimidated by the family rhubarb plant. What started out as a well intentioned — and small — neighbourly gift soon grew to be an imposing wall of rhubarb. It quickly took over the garden and simply became too much of a shrub to shrug off. Much to mother’s chagrin, my father decided it was taking up too much space without enough reward and promptly ripped it out. That pretty much spelled the extent of my rhubarb experience — until recently...
Why: Of Sara Pishva’s dozens of types of delicious preserves, her Tomatillo Salsa stands alone. “It’s made with all local ingredients,” she says, “and it was one of the first canning recipes that got me excited about preserving local.”...
Sara Pishva has had the same roll of plastic wrap since she started Top Shelf Preserves three years ago. Her recycling pile is sometimes as tall as she is, and she only fills one garbage can every two weeks. Yet as Pishva herself admits, none of this happened on purpose. It is simply the nature of her craft – one which has historically been frugal and economical...
While the much-ballyhooed $8 cauliflower might have been a bit over-hyped (we found it for as little as $3 last week), there’s no question that with drought in California and the low loonie, imported vegetables are only going to get pricier. A tasty option is to buy less, but local, and with added value...
Winter is quickly approaching, but if you want to enjoy summer and fall flavours all year round, canning is one of the best ways to do it. Sara Pishva is the chef and owner of Top Shelf Preserves, and sells her pickles and preserves at farmers' markets and retailers around the city...
Eating and Drinking Guide 2015: The Ottawa Food Lovers Guide to Everything
-Dayanti Karunaratne
All around town, chefs are focusing their considerable talents on preparing comfort food. Many restaurants are striving to become neighbourhood destinations as knowledgeable diners gravitate to casual eateries and skilled home cooking, modestly presented. The trend is toward gathering in groups, sharing both plates and tables. We want to kick back, enjoy unpretentious dishes made with fresh local ingredients, and wash it all down with a seasonal craft beer or a new wine discovery from Prince Edward County...
Christmas market gifts make spirits bright for foodies
-Laura Robin
Urban Craft is Ottawa’s hip, modern, handmade craft show, featuring 50 indie and gourmet makers from Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal and beyond,” it says. “Urban Craft is the place to discover new designers and makers form across Eastern Ontario.” ...
You can start tomorrow — at Christmas markets at the Canadian Museum of Civilization and in Carp — and keep picking up wonderful local products for the next three weeks, right up to Dec. 22, at the final day of the Ottawa Farmers’ Christmas Market. (A list of upcoming holiday sales can be found below.) “Ottawa is filled with foodies and there’s so much culinary adventure going on,” says Robin Coull, whose line of artisan caramels includes such new flavours as matcha black sesame and pistachio cardamom....
Business Baby Podcast Top Shelf Preserves ~ Back again! Season 2 Episode 4
-Little Jo Berry's
Our little buddy Sara Pishva (she/her), owner of is back to talk about her new storefront! We chat about the new 527 Gladstone Ave shop and what it was like creating a space during covid. The anxiety and excitement that runs parallel as you
There’s a “small batch vibe” coming out of 527 Gladstone Ave. Look for the stunning sign made by Pascale Arpin in between Bay and Lyon, and you’ll find Top Shelf Preserves’ (TSP) new retail space. You can still purchase their pickles, spreads, and “seasonal, limited edition products” from city favourites like Red Door Provisions and Little Jo Berry’s; now, there’s a downtown space to connect with owner Sara Pishva and team. This is their story.
Little Jo talks to Ottawa small business pal Sara Pishva, owner of . Chatting about starting a business, kitchen environments and of course the ups and downs of running a shop during Covid.
Top Shelf Preserves Celebrates More Than Five Years in Business
-Amanda Armstrong
Sara worked in kitchens for 11 years before starting her own business. Selling preserves and jams, Top Shelf Preserves quickly took off, becoming a staple in the fridges of Ottawa’s foodies. With Top Shelf’s success, Sara very quickly went from cook to business owner. Her resume expanded tenfold, in what she did do and what she could do.
Ahh, we’re home for the holidays — now what to do? Depends on whether you like to head outdoors for adventure, goof around with games, glam up and hit the town, cook up a feast, or cozy up with a drink and a good book. Here, we offer gift suggestions based on the myriad ways people enjoy their time off...
Summer Eats: patios, picnics, and late night lounges
When the mercury nears 30 degrees, the last thing you want to do is slave over a hot stove. This summer, leave the kitchen behind and head out for a picnic, hit up a food cart, or sit on a breezy patio and enjoy a cold drink...
Local micro-producers deliver big flavour in small batches
-Paula Roy
Ottawa is often described as a big small town, and one with a true passion for supporting local businesses. In our culinary scene, we’re fortunate to have scores of talented micro-producers who create small batches of unique, delicious products enjoyed by chefs, home cooks and consumers across the city...
When Sara Pishva first made the decision to start her own small business, she began with a series of lists. “Get a web domain, hire a designer, order a pallet of jars to your apartment – I took starting a business super casually at first” remembers Sara, about the early days of Top Shelf Preserves...
Growing up, I remember being intimidated by the family rhubarb plant. What started out as a well intentioned — and small — neighbourly gift soon grew to be an imposing wall of rhubarb. It quickly took over the garden and simply became too much of a shrub to shrug off. Much to mother’s chagrin, my father decided it was taking up too much space without enough reward and promptly ripped it out. That pretty much spelled the extent of my rhubarb experience — until recently...
Why: Of Sara Pishva’s dozens of types of delicious preserves, her Tomatillo Salsa stands alone. “It’s made with all local ingredients,” she says, “and it was one of the first canning recipes that got me excited about preserving local.”...
Sara Pishva has had the same roll of plastic wrap since she started Top Shelf Preserves three years ago. Her recycling pile is sometimes as tall as she is, and she only fills one garbage can every two weeks. Yet as Pishva herself admits, none of this happened on purpose. It is simply the nature of her craft – one which has historically been frugal and economical...
While the much-ballyhooed $8 cauliflower might have been a bit over-hyped (we found it for as little as $3 last week), there’s no question that with drought in California and the low loonie, imported vegetables are only going to get pricier. A tasty option is to buy less, but local, and with added value...
Winter is quickly approaching, but if you want to enjoy summer and fall flavours all year round, canning is one of the best ways to do it. Sara Pishva is the chef and owner of Top Shelf Preserves, and sells her pickles and preserves at farmers' markets and retailers around the city...
Eating and Drinking Guide 2015: The Ottawa Food Lovers Guide to Everything
-Dayanti Karunaratne
All around town, chefs are focusing their considerable talents on preparing comfort food. Many restaurants are striving to become neighbourhood destinations as knowledgeable diners gravitate to casual eateries and skilled home cooking, modestly presented. The trend is toward gathering in groups, sharing both plates and tables. We want to kick back, enjoy unpretentious dishes made with fresh local ingredients, and wash it all down with a seasonal craft beer or a new wine discovery from Prince Edward County...
Christmas market gifts make spirits bright for foodies
-Laura Robin
Urban Craft is Ottawa’s hip, modern, handmade craft show, featuring 50 indie and gourmet makers from Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal and beyond,” it says. “Urban Craft is the place to discover new designers and makers form across Eastern Ontario.” ...
You can start tomorrow — at Christmas markets at the Canadian Museum of Civilization and in Carp — and keep picking up wonderful local products for the next three weeks, right up to Dec. 22, at the final day of the Ottawa Farmers’ Christmas Market. (A list of upcoming holiday sales can be found below.) “Ottawa is filled with foodies and there’s so much culinary adventure going on,” says Robin Coull, whose line of artisan caramels includes such new flavours as matcha black sesame and pistachio cardamom....
