Flour, water and sugar — but not too much. Junior Jonathan Law, his family’s designated baker, folds the hunks of butter into the pastry. Whether it’s Thanksgiving, or another festive occasion, his strawberry pie usually finds its way onto the table.
Law began his baking journey in eighth grade with one thought in mind: the desire for a sweet treat. As he immersed himself further in baking, Law started posting some of his creations on Instagram, finding it a low-stress outlet to document and share his work. Even when he wasn’t physically bringing others baked goods, his posts connected him and his friends, enabling them to see and appreciate what he made.
“My mom was kind of surprised when the cookies came out of the oven,” he said. “I thought it’d be cool if I posted it to my friends.”
For senior Anika Kumar, preparing food, whether it’s baking a Thanksgiving meal with her sister or learning a traditional Indian recipe from her grandparents, deepens connections with family and those around her.
“Every time I make something, I’ll either give it to my family or go around and give it to my friends,” she said. “Food is always something that brings people together.”
Kumar’s cooking journey began early in her life at her mother’s side in the kitchen, helping with dinner. By second grade, her passion opened doors to competitive opportunities. She joined her first local competition, Sodexo Future Chefs Palo Alto and became one of the only qualifiers from her school. Later, she would move on to be a MasterChef Junior top 50 contestant in fifth grade and a national runner- up in Top Chef Family Style in seventh grade.
Since then, Kumar’s adventures have become more local, focused on giving back to her community. In addition to teaching at Kids Cooking for Life, a non-profit focused on teaching healthy eating and cooking to children, she feels her experience competing has allowed her to refine her skills and make memories with others.
“It was a full circle moment when I judged at the Sodexo last year,” she said. “I also liked bringing people together when (I made) cupcakes for (over) 50 students I taught through a volunteering program.”
For many, care is also synonymous with food. In junior Kalissa Huang’s life, baking is a love language as she uses her skills to take care of others.
“My mom will be like, ‘Oh, I’m really craving biscotti,’ so I learned to make biscotti for her,” she said. “It’s a way of expressing love and
appreciation for people.”
Her love for cooking up food — particularly sweets — started with making Rice Krispie Treats for Santa on Christmas Eve. Huang’s dad allowed her and her older sister to help with measuring ingredients and mixing everything together. Still, she remembers the aroma surrounding them at that moment.
“The smell of butter and marshmallows — oh my gosh, it was so delicious,” she said. “I remember the morning after just eating half of the half of the pan. And then I was like, ‘Maybe I should make more of this stuff.’”
Now, chocolate chip cookies of all shapes, blends and variations are Huang’s favorites to eat and make. Recently, she has turned her love
for dessert into a business. With this new adventure comes a new challenge for Huang: finding the right audience. While proving to be the most difficult aspect of working her business, it also allows Huang to connect with consumers she didn’t realize would be interested.
“It’s tough to reach new audiences since my target audience was (originally) students or parents of children who like sweet treats,” she said. “But a lot of my customers have been middle-aged ladies (as well as) students so there’s a pretty wide range to market and I’m trying to expand. A lot of people enjoy cookies.”
Huang’s offerings consist of cheesecakes and chocolate chip cookies in a variety of ways, such as s’mores filled and classic. Through creating these recipes and founding her business, she has learned to succeed through the freedom of trying and failing, feeling it teaches her more than a typical academic setting would.
“If I just experiment (with) doing (things) myself, I feel like I can learn a lot more than studying for a test,” she said.
Law echoed the sentiment, finding that his journey with food has largely been built around attempting and innovating. During his first attempt at baking cookies, Law had a mishap with the brown butter — adding it in at the wrong time led to the
cookies not rising. Instead of giving up, Law looked for ways to improve.
“I modified the recipe later,” he said. “There was a better version. I added half brown butter and half normal, and then they took shape again.”
Having cooked and baked, Kumar also finds herself regularly inventing new ideas and refining old recipes to create something original.
“I think everything I cook is a recipe (I create),” she said. “I always riff off of (a baseline). I never actually follow the recipe exactly.” Kumar’s favorite dessert, macarons, are also complex in methodology — egg whites with sugar are whisked in powdered sugar and almond flour until the consistency is just right. Her chance to innovate, however, lies in the middle of the process: the flavor.
“I’ve experimented a lot with fillings to put in macaroons,” she said. “I’ve made apple pie macaroons, ginger spiced macaroons, mango macaroons. It’s been super fun.”
Freedom of design has also played a big role in the way Law interacts with food. He enjoys a challenge in the form of his favorite baked good, strawberry shortcake. The unique recipe breaks the rules, omitting baking power, which typically helps whip the eggs and make the cake rise. Once it is baked, Law allows his taste to guide him.
“The fun part about it is really when I get the piping bag and I can put little dollops of whipped cream on the sides or I can choose how many strawberries I get to put in there,” he said.
As life becomes busier, Kumar continues to find her relationship with food is a way to connect with herself.
“Cooking is a good destressor for me,” she said. “I just enjoy the fact that you get to make something edible. It’s like an art.”
