Kickstarter prizes revive restaurant favorites

Ever wish you could spend an evening cooking with chef Hartmut Handke of the former Handke's Cuisine? Or do you crave one more taste of a bulgogi cheesesteak crepe from Freshstreet? Support a local Kickstarter campaign that launched yesterday, and those dreams may become reality.

The crowd-funding campaign supports the building of The Commissary, a commercial kitchen and storage space for food entrepreneurs. It's the brainchild of Kate Djupe, who has been working on the concept for four years. The $40,000 Kickstarter goal will help build the community flex space at The Commissary that will hold roughly 75 people for dinner and offer beer taps for tastings.

Here's what you can get:

-Pledges under $105 get Commissary swag like stickers, bags and T-shirts. But it's over this level where the culinary prizes get good.

-There's a baking class with AJ Perry of Sassafras Bakery ($105+) or intimate dinners prepared by chef Matthew Heaggans of Swoop! and Bebe at the Hey Hey ($245+), chef Kevin Caskey of Skillet ($255+) and Kenny Kim and Misako Ohno of popular (and former) pop-up Freshstreet who will fly in from the West Coast for the event ($265+).

-You can also get two tickets to a cooking class with chef Harmut Handke ($275+) or spend a day with the brewers at Actual Brewing ($405+).

About the space:

The 16,000-square-foot Commissary will feature 2,000 square feet of kitchen space with roughly a dozen stations, including spaces for dairy, baking, hot food and prep. There are also 16 electrical spots for food trucks. While The Commissary has no official tenants yet, Djupe says they've received several letters of intent.

The Commissary was initially slated to open in Franklinton. But Djupe moved the project to 1400 Dublin Rd. in Marble Cliff in the fall when the fireproofing of the Franklinton space surpassed the project budget. (Glass Axis is now opening in the space on Town Street.) She's also since partnered with former That Food Truck owner Steve Concilla.

"It's perfect," Djupe says of the current space. "It's bigger than anything we could have pulled off anywhere else. We have two 14-foot garage doors so food trucks and caterers can pull into the building."

If all goes well, the hope is to open in August.