| WHO: | Oh Soup! by Bridget O’Boyle | ||
| BUSINESS TYPE: | Soup, Bread, Salads for individual orders and catering | ||
| SIGNATURE PRODUCTS: | Weekly soup and bread menus made with fresh ingredients | ||
| IN-PERSON:
WEBSITE: SOCIALS: |
Minneapolis, MN
https://www.ohsoups.com/ |
By Michelle M. Sharp, Founder and Content Creator of Meet the Minnesota Makers
Bridget O’Boyle wants to nourish the world, one soothing bowl of soup at a time, through her Minneapolis small business Oh Soup!.
Through Oh Soup! Bridget offers weekly soup and bread menus prepared with fresh ingredients with custom topping accompaniments. Rotating weekly menus are 
available for pick up each Thursday at Lake Harriet United Methodist Church.
Building a Menu
With the encouragement of her husband Jim Rabidue, who is the Oh Soup! sourdough bread specialist, Bridget launched Oh Soup! in the early months of 2020. Oh Soup! got its start with a focus on vegetarian soups, and now offers meat options (or customers shared that sometimes they add meat or other proteins to any of the veggie-forward soups at home). All the soups come with toppings to customize each bowl and a bread pairing to make it a meal. Salads available seasonally and occasional desert treats pop up too–it all depends on the bakers’ mood.
Bridget long dabbled in food as a hobby, finding joy in feeding neighbors or teaching kids to cook. She worked as an assistant at Cooks of Crocus Hill and as a traveling chef for the non-profit First Descents. First Descents provides week-long adventure therapy for people who have or have had cancer. They now offer a parallel program for multiple sclerosis patients and Health Care Workers.
Bridget’s first experience with First Descents was as a participant. “Being a part of First Descents changed the course of my life. When I was diagnosed we had little kids. We had our own business. I felt lost,” shared Bridget. “Being a young person with cancer, you’re terrified. Then you meet this group of people who are totally your people. It’s the only time when your life isn’t consumed by cancer. I feel so fortunate to be on the other side.”
Passion-Driven Purpose
“My passion is feeding people,” shared Bridget. “It’s great to hear the personal stories that go beyond saying that my soup is a great comfort food. It fills my
soul to know that someone bought my soup for a neighbor who just had surgery or for a friend who just lost their dad.” Soup is a creative outlet that allows her to explore international flavors like her Moroccan lentil while nourishing people–either through direct sales or through her Soup It Forward program that allows community members to purchase a quart of soup to be shared with someone in need.
For fun Bridget loves reading cookbooks and watching cooking videos. She regularly finds inspiration among New York Times recipes, Milk Street Kitchen, and Cooks Illustrated. She’s obsessed with Chef and Cookbook author Yotam Ottolenghi. “I don’t go to concerts, but I go to see cookbook authors. I saw him when he was here one summer with a wonderful lecture at Temple Israel.”
Bridget views cooking as her art, her form of expression. “What interests me the most about food is coming up with new flavor combinations. It’s not just the research—it’s the doing. It’s almost like a science experiment for me. I enjoy the process. Usually I have very good results.”
Local Roots
What started as a home-based operation now has Bridget in the role of a shared use commercial kitchen manager with five employees. Oh Soup! feeds 400 preschoolers a week and has taken on a growing number of catering clients. One of their preschools is in the same building as the kitchen. “I love when we get to interact with the kids. They come down to visit us and thank us for lunch. Sometimes they have suggestions for how we can change the menu. So 
many chicken nuggets…”
A Minnesota native, Bridget grew up with three sisters on a raspberry farm in Inver Grove Heights. Her parents raised cattle and chickens and maintained a humongous garden. “We always had canned vegetables that my mom prepared. I know how much work it was to grow and source our food that way.” Oh Soups sources its produce from St. Paul’s Brightside Produce, a local nonprofit that works to eliminate urban food deserts. Bridget has nothing but praise for their customer service and product quality.
While she would never compare herself to her chef idol, José Andrés, she too helps to make amazing things possible by feeding people when they most need true nourishment and empowering others to feel at home in the kitchen. That mission led to a partnership with eQuality. This nonprofit has recently launched a job training program where its clients learn kitchen skills as they churn out premium ice cream. “Working with eQuality is social justice in motion,” explains Bridget. “I get to help their clients maximize their potential with new skill sets. Also, the ice cream is absolutely delicious.”
Bridget spoke of her admiration of José Andrés’ humanitarian work as the founder of World Central Kitchen. José Andrés highlights the unique ability of chefs to
feed the world, to meet people when and where they are hungry. In her corner of Minneapolis, Bridget O’Boyle uses her work as a cook to match her values–to nourish the people she can feed exactly the way they need.
Get in Touch
Follow @ohsoups! on Facebook and Instagram for weekly menus and other creative kitchen creations from Bridget.
Watch Bridget make one of her favorite recipes, Red Curry Sweet Potato Soup, in this video from First Descents.
Visit https://www.ohsoups.com/ to place your order for next Thursday’s pick up.
Visit meettheminnesotamakers.com or follow @meettheminnesotamakers on Facebook and Instagram to discover the small business owners leading Minnesota on a tasty sustainable path forward. Meet the Minnesota Makers is a news site that connects you to the local food, farms, artists and artisans that make Minnesota thrive.
Oh Soup! has twice been a participant at the Farm at the Arb Taste Makers Classes hosted by Chef Beth Fisher and Michelle Sharp of Meet the Minnesota Makers. These classes are a celebration of local food and the people who make the dishes come to life.
