Today we’d like to introduce you to Brigid Novak.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Brigid. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I have always had a passion for food and cooking. Growing up my family always gathered for holidays and celebrations centered around sharing meals together. I have such great childhood memories of these meals, especially favorite treats.
After a year in graduate school, I decided to switch gears and follow my passion for food and hospitality. I attended The Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago (CHIC) and received certificates in cooking, pastry and hospitality. After I completed my culinary program I began working as a sales and menu/event planner for a catering company.
After 10 years working in the catering industry, I took a break and had 2 children. As I was raising my children I rediscovered my love for cooking. I got back into the kitchen and started baking again. I experimented with various recipes using my family and friends as my prime audience.
Everyone took a liking to the cookies and that is where the magic began. Coming up with fun, creative and sometimes crazy combinations became a full-time hobby. Eventually, more than just my family were saying yum.
Seeing people enjoy my cookies was so rewarding I decided to share the yum with everyone! I began by doing local pop-ups, and then moved into to local farmer’s markets and now sell to various local restaurants and vendors. Baking the cookies and sharing them reminds of the joy those childhood treats brought me and my family and I love the idea that I can share that and hopefully spark those feelings in those who enjoy my cookies.
Cookieyum’s mission is about making people smile and eating good cookies makes people happy. Yum!
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There have definitely been some challenges along the way. I have been doing this on and off for almost 10 years. When I first started CookieYum I had a business partner and an entirely different vision. Things did not work out as I had planned and I took a break from the business.
For the past 5 years, I have been running CookieYum on my own. I have focused on working with local businesses and markets to slowly build my business. I create, bake, market and sell all the cookies. I love being in the kitchen and coming up with unique flavors and high-quality products.
I do not have my own storefront/or building so I rent space at a shared commercial kitchen. There are many pros and cons of not having my own space. Another challenge of having my own business is finding the balance between raising a family and growing a business at the same time.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about CookieYum – what should we know?
CookieYum focuses on small-batch, hand-crafted cookies with creative and fun flavors combinations. Our cookies are chewy and moist and full of flavor. I offer over 25 different flavors.
Some of the most popular flavors are Celebration sugar, which is like a birthday cake in a cookie, Blueberry Sugar with fresh blueberries in the summer months, peanut butter and jelly, triple chocolate chip with milk, semi-sweet and white chocolate chips, Chocolate, caramel and pretzel for the sweet and salty combo, and Yum-E-O, my version of an Oreo which is double chocolate cookie dough stuffed with a bit of celebration sugar cookie dough.
I have a couple of oatmeal favorites as well, with the oatmeal caramel apple being a fan favorite. In the summer months, I try to incorporate as much fresh fruit as possible into my cookies, including apples, cherries and blueberries. When I work at the farmer’s markets I am always looking for new ingredients to add to the cookies.
I am most proud of the quality of the cookies. I also love coming up with flavor combinations that are unique. Watching customers take a bite into a cookie and smile is one of the best reminders that I am accomplishing what I set out to do.
I bake and store my cookies in a shared commercial kitchen, Lakeview Kitchen and Market. In additional to being a great space to work out of, I am able to sell my cookies in their storefront market. It’s also fun to work alongside other small business owners where we can share our experiences.
I think what sets me apart from others is the unique flavor combinations and quality of the cookies.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
I think persistence and patience are important. There are many ups and downs, sometimes business is strong other times it is slow, but I keep working hard and trying new things. I am also a creative person.
My husband calls me the “McGyver” of the kitchen because I can always find a way to make a meal out of what we have in the house. I wake up in the middle of the night and write down ideas for new flavors all the time. And then I get into the kitchen and start trying new ideas. This might be one of my favorite parts of the job, after making people smile of course.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.cookieyum.com
- Email: brigid@cookieyum.com
- Instagram: cookieyumchi
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cookieyumchicago/
- Twitter: @cookieyumchi
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