CICERO – The mere thought of kids cooking in a kitchen can be enough to send some parents into a panic. This is where Young Chefs Academy steps in and teaches children how to cook safely.Young Chefs Academy, 5962 State Route 31 in Cicero, offers cooking classes to children between 4 and 14 and focuses on food preparation, healthful eating, itchen safety, etiquette, table setting, and menu planning.
Richard Kersey, sole franchise owner, opened Central New York’s first Young Chefs Academy franchise in June. Currently, there are 158 locations throughout the United States, including 12 in New York State. The other locations in the state are on Long Island and in the suburbs north of New York City.
Kersey graduated from the State University of New York at Oswego with a bachelor’s degree in music and has worked in graphic design and advertising. Despite his lack of previous experience in the food industry, he thought Young Chefs Academy was a fresh, innovative, idea for Central New York.
“Unique is the name of the game … how could I pass that up?” Kersey says of why he was attracted to the franchise.
Parents looking for ways to encourage their children’s healthy eating habits are driving the academy’s growth, Kersey says. Cooking from scratch is better than fast food, he adds.
“When you cook from scratch, you control the ingredients,” Kersey says.
Young Chefs Academy hosts birthday parties and school field trips. It also features summer-day camps where kids learn about region-specific foods from New England, the Mid-Atlantic, the South, the South West, the Pacific, and the Pacific Northwest.
Each region will have its own three-day camp where the children learn how to cook a break-fast, lunch, and dinner dish. The New England day camp will teach students how to make blueberry-vanilla muffins, stuffed French toast, and warm spinach salad.
Individual classes cost $24, summer-day camps cost $115 for 3 days, and birthday parties cost $225, Kersey says. Each classhas room for up to 25 children. Two staff members teach each class. Young Chefs Academy employs five.
The academy’s Cicero location is ideal, as it’s nestled between Cicero Elementary School and Cicero-North Syracuse High School, Kersey says. The 1,800-square-foot location features two kitchens, complete with ovens, dishwashers, sinks, and preparation tables. The kitchens feature the same amenities as a home kitchen, so the children can go home and use the skills they have learned, Kersey says.
“It’s all about going home and cooking for their parents,” he says.
The kitchens may share the same amenities as a home kitchen, but they certainly do not look like one with lime-green walls, purple countertops, and multi-colored cabinets.
Young Chefs Academy had to undergo extensive renovations to transform the former karate studio into a cooking school. The entire space had to be demolished and new walls, carpet,appliances. and bathrooms were installed. David Farrell completed the wall installation.
Kersey signed a three-year lease with the option to renew with New Plan North, LLC.
Kersey self-funded the entire start-up, including renovation and equipment costs, which totaled between $70,000 and $80,000. he estimates. Kersey also self-funded the franchise fee. which was in the “mid-five figures,” he says. He declined to disclose the actual amount.
The company requires a total investment of between $89,000 and $208,000, a $29,500 franchise fee, and an on-going $395 per month royalty fee, according to the information Web site Entreprenuer.com (www.entreprenuer.com).
Kersey declined to disclose specific revenue projections, but said Young Chefs Academy would be profitable during its first year. He is so optimistic that he plans to open a second academy in Fayetteville, Manlius, or Baldwinsville.
“I’m looking for another location now,” Kersey says.
He predicts he’ll finalize the academy’s second location within three months. Kersey does not know when the second location will actually open.
