Hey! My name is Ruchama Uzan, and I am the owner of A Dashing Pinch. My journey to where I am now - fully involved in running a successful cafe and catering business, has been an interesting adventure. I am a Toronto girl - born and raised. I graduated with a diploma in Interior Design and worked designing kitchens. I met my better half, David, and we got married soon after. Two years later, we were blessed with a perfect son, Nadav. When he was 8 months old, our pediatrician started to become concerned about his gross motor delays. Fast forward a couple of years. Nadav got diagnosed at 2.5 years with Angelman Syndrome. We went through the emotions every family with an exceptional diagnosis goes through. We mourned the loss of the child we thought we had. We reminded ourselves of the happy and healthy child we did have. We realigned our goals and ideas about what day to day life would look like. What long term life would look like. We mourned some more. And we celebrated. A lot. Every milestone Nadav achieved, he worked harder than other kids to attain, and we celebrated. We adjusted our priorities and we had three more perfect children. Life went on. It always does.
Getting an exceptional diagnosis for a child has many implications. Initially it was therapy and doctors appointments - they filled our week and were both physically and emotionally draining. Think soccer mom on steroids. I created an emotional balance that allowed me the space to give up my personal goals. I would get a chance to do what I wanted, later, when life settled down. What the doctors don’t tell you is that life doesn’t really settle down. You learn to cope and manage with a fuller plate, but you will always have a part of you that worries and doesn’t sleep. A part that is living the goals and dreams of someone else. The worry is heavy. Really heavy. And it changes with time. The worries of will my child ever walk turns into - will my child ever run? Will he be able to walk to a friend’s house independently? Will he even have friends? Will he be accepted? Will his social interactions be meaningful? And then the second most stressful worry, what happens when he graduates high school? What will he do every day? Yes, I know he is only ten years old, but time flies. It really does. Will he graduate? Will he work? Who will hire him and what would he do? Will he be a really young resident in a nursing home and be excited about Tuesday night bingo and pizza Thursday?
Through all this worry A Dashing Pinch was born. What if I could open a business that could employ Nadav? What if I could employ other exceptional moms who can’t commit to full time jobs? Because that was the other challenge of being a mom to an exceptional child. I couldn’t commit to much more than raising my son. There were too many sudden schedule changes, appointments, and calls from school.
A Dashing Pinch is a socially conscious enterprise. As a company, we employ exceptional moms first. We provide fresh kosher food. We take pride in presentation. We are prepared to meet complicated dietary needs. We are environmentally responsible.
I am so grateful to the community for allowing us the space to develop and grow both as a company and as a supportive village where all are welcome.