Linda Kick. Photos courtesy of Our CupCakery
From the time she started Our CupCakery 12 years ago, Linda Kick knew she somehow wanted to involve children in her business model.
So, she invited some neighborhood kids and their parents over to her house to work on recipes around her kitchen table. Word of her baking lessons spread, and moms started calling Kick to ask about her lessons and if they could get involved.
“This was before Facebook had taken off. Parents called. I could take six kids around my kitchen table; I had 50 kids the first week,” says Kick, who says she created her first flyer and spread the word through the Internet and email.
Kick has organized summer baking camps for all 12 years, as well as seasonal programs and morning and afternoon classes for different groups. Our CupCakery offers Christmas and spring break baking camps, as well as birthday parties in people’s homes.
“Because I didn’t have a storefront, I would go to people’s houses at first and take the services to them,” says Kick.
Because of the volume of people attending her classes, Kick knew she needed to move the business out of her home. She invested in a store. Then, another major market incorporated itself into her business.
“The Girl Scouts asked me to do classes with them, so we now have our own Girl Scout fun patch and requirements for them to get their badge in cooking,” she says.
Girl Scouts do three cooking and three dessert classes. Completing the three cooking classes meets the badge requirement. More than 2,500 Girl Scouts have participated in the cooking classes.
Kick considers her classes to be STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) courses as well – just with a slightly different meaning.
“I like to refer to our classes as STEM. With our work, it means science, teamwork, everyday life skills and math,” says Kick.
The children are able to see how their baked goods change while adding in ingredients or changing the temperature; that’s where the science and math come in. They work with baking partners, learning teamwork. And as for everyday life skills, everyone needs to learn how to feed themselves. Through her classes, Kick believes that people can learn to take care of themselves and gain confidence in their abilities.
For some of the children, it’s their first time washing dishes, and some are so excited that Kick has to set a timer so they don’t spend too much time on the task. Reading, following directions and time management are all emphasized aspects of the lessons. If a student doesn’t follow the directions, the dishes won’t turn out correctly.
“They’re learning something they can use their whole life, and it’s also fun,” says Kick.
Dublin resident Ana Sibberson had several birthday parties with Our CupCakery, participated in the camps and now works for Kick. She makes boxes, prepares and organizes the bakery for the following day and helps with retail.
Through Our CupCakery's baking camps, kids learn everyday life skills such as teamwork
“Her first party was when she was 6 years old. She kind of grew up with (Our CupCakery), learning different things. We had several birthday parties and Ana attended the camps. They were always great experiences, so we have been big supporters of the business,” says Ana’s mother, Franki Sibberson.
Our CupCakery always has a theme for its summer camps. One year, the theme was sugar – Kick taught students about different types of sugar: powdered, granulated and brown. Another year, the theme was chocolate.
But this year, to fit with the election season, the theme will be red, white and blue, featuring red, white and blue whoopie pies.
“The first thing our students create is a smile,” says Kick. “We are creating memories tastefully.”
Gabrielle Benton is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at hbealer@cityscenecolumbus.com.
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