What do congee and business have in common?

Slow cooking, in essence, is low temperature, long cooking time, maximum flavour and enjoyment.

Slow startups are those that are created, planned and executed in ways that develop slowly over time to match a founder’s resources and available time.

Just like slow cooking, the slow startup concept can lead to maximum ease, maximum flavour and maximum enjoyment. 

My friend and client, Scott Tulloch from Farmer Jo, always likens business to building a fire.

“If you want a fire to last, you don’t put all your wood on straight away. You add it gradually and keep stoking the fire. The same is true in business, don’t hustle and hurry.” 

Scott has an amazing business that’s just turned 10, which he runs with his wife, Sally. 10 years on, their relationship, family and business are thriving, so they’re doing something right! And what I love about them is that they really have grown their business sustainably and their real metric of success goes beyond numbers – for them success is the happiness of themselves and their family.

And from my experience with Oomite in its three years so far (yes, it’s taken three years just to get to this point), Scott’s fire analogy is true. 

Oomite is the opposite of a meal Mags and I have cooked too quickly and burnt because we’ve spread our resources too thin! We’ve definitely applied the slow cooking philosophy, focused on the foundations and it’s resulted in maximum ease, maximum flavour and maximum enjoyment. We know where we’re going and we want to maximise our enjoyment along the way.

There’s a lesson in this for us all, we can’t burn through all our resources too quickly, especially when those resources include our own time and energy.

So how does this relate to congee?

I think the secret to congee is taking it slow … to let that rice really break down and thicken up the broth and let those aromatic flavours really seep in, making the whole house smell amazing. 

My mum grew up in Hong Kong, where she would always have “jook" or “congee” when she was in need of comfort – whether she was tired, emotional or sick.

So you bet she did the same thing for us. I remember every time I felt unwell as a child or had a bug, she’d pop a slow pot of congee on the stove and keep it simmering.

I’ve been trying to perfect a recipe for a while and the beauty of congee, just like your business, is that you can make both your own. Taking it slow, adding only what it needs, when it needs it, and making sure it feels really nourishing for you and your family.

You can try out my Turmeric and Ginger Congee Recipe here.