Today we’d like to introduce you to Toria Frederick.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
The Step Stool Chef® is dedicated to building kid leadership through cooking. We develop products and digital solutions that facilitate independence and learning using a “kids teaching kids” approach to cooking. We make learning to cook fun and approachable for kids and easier for parents. My 10-year old son and I, are co-founders and business partners. Our journey began by listening to my son say four simple words: “I can do it.”
It was my son’s 3rd birthday but it was the coldest day of the year and we were snowed in (do you remember the weekend the SuperBowl came to Dallas, it snowed and the city shut down… yeah, that day!). We had to cancel his birthday plans but as luck would have it, we had all the ingredients needed to make a homemade birthday cake.
As I prepared to make the cake, I heard four simple words: “I can do it”. My little one wanted to make his own cake.
My first thought was to say “no, let mommy do it”. It’s so easy to say “no”. It would be lot easier and faster if I do it… plus, I would have to clean the big mess, right?
However, I quickly realize that kids can rise to the occasion once given a chance. So, with the assistance of a step stool and a little help from mommy, my budding chef did a great job making his cake.
And regarding clean up… well, he did that too. He was beaming with such a sense of pride and confidence that I had never seen before.
From there, my son and I began cooking together as a means of sharing mommy/son bonding time. However, this time he was the chef and I was his assistant. We’ve spent hundreds hours of quality time, making meals and experimenting with ingredients and tools. We’ve not only unlocked the secret to making cooking easier for kids, but we’ve cracked the code to making it a leadership development activity so that it’s empowering for them as well. Today, we provide recipes, tools and products to make learning how to cook empowering for kids and easy for adults.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
There have been two main challenges we’ve encountered: 1) Having your kid as your business partner – Julian is an extremely hard worker and loves being a kidpreneur. But, he is also a kid. We try to make sure that he is having well-rounded childhood experiences. He is active in sports and enjoys hanging out with his friend and family. Sometimes, it can be a challenge balancing our business and personal schedule but we make it work. It is not uncommon that he would conduct a live cooking demonstration at a major food festival in the morning then rush straight to a baseball game in the afternoon. Or wake up 4:30am to do a media appearance on local morning TV show then rush straight to school. But it such a huge payoff when realizes how much he is inspiring and empowering kids.
2) Going from Corporate America to Entrepreneur – Prior to starting the Step Stool Chef, I was a Marketing Executive with PepsiCo. I led strategy for large brands and created new business solutions for the company. Going from working with some of the brightest minds and leaders in the country to working on your own can be a bit of a jump. During my time in corporate America, I had access to amazing resources and partners that were dedicated to helping you launch your new ideas and strategies. Although, I have the privilege of working with some amazing brands and companies, there is definitely a learning curve when launching new ideas and strategies on your own.
Please tell us about The Step Stool Chef LLC.
The Step Stool Chef is dedicated to empowering kids to be leaders in the kitchen and beyond. We’re building a community where the kids are the chefs and the parents are the assistants. While the focus is on cooking, the true goal is to inspire and empower kids to have a safe space where they can build leadership skills that will last a lifetime.
Through our website, video, email and live cooking demonstrations, we provide solutions and tools that make kid cooking approachable and inspiring. Our products include a cookbook for kids, apparel and an Online Cooking School for Kids called The Step Stool Chef Academy. For packages starting at $49, kids and parents receive access to 6 classes covering different topics. Each lesson includes: A kids teaching kids instructional video, hands-on activities and a kid-friendly recipe. The classes share more than just how to make a kid-friendly recipe as with most kid cooking classes but teaches fundamental cooking skills and knowledge in a way that kids can understand because it’s made for kids by kids.
We are now working on creating a line of branded products that facilitate independent kid cooking.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I spent too much time trying to fit into box that just didn’t fit me or our business. I originally started The Step Stool Chef as a blog. The blog world is fascinating and I learned a lot by exploring that space but that doesn’t quite fit where we want to take the brand. I’ve also explored other approaches and business models that hasn’t quite been a good fit for us. It’s easy to get caught up in trying approaches that seems to work for everyone else.
I now realized that I don’t need to force fit our business into what worked for other people and I need to stick to what I know and do best. Both my son and I are innovators at our core. We are in the process of updating and refocusing our business on creating innovation solutions designed to get kids and parents excited about cooking!
Pricing:
- The Step Stool Chef Cookbook for Kids: $15
- The Step Stool Chef Limited Edition Apron: $15
- The Step Stool Chef Academy Online Cooking School for Kids: $49
Contact Info:
- Address: 5057 Keller Springs Rd. Ste 300
Addison, TX 75001 - Website: www.stepsoolchef.com
- Email: contact@stepstoolchef.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/stepstoolchef
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stepstoolchef/
- Twitter: twitter.com/stepstoolchef
Image Credit:
Step Stool Chef, Creative Soul Photo
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