Author Spotlight
Riley Atkinson
She opens the doors to her Saturday morning cooking class crowd, greeting each of them with a soft smile. As they sit down in their five-year-old-sized chairs, there’s one thing on their mind: just how good is their homemade donut going to taste?
After laughing off Mrs. Robinson’s comment about becoming pro donut chefs, the kids were ready to get to work — Taste Buds Kitchen’s 9 a.m. Saturday class is in session.
The Leawood franchise of Taste Buds, a “culinary entertainment” space, was opened by East Librarian Jennifer Robinson for two reasons — her love for teaching and her family’s shared passion for cooking. Mixing colored icing for a kids birthday party or kneading dough during a team building class is what strengthens their family bond and gives them all a place to teach through entertainment on the weekends.
“It’s brought us closer together because we’re doing something different together,” Mrs. Robinson said. “We all have a common goal: we want it to be successful, we want people to have fun . . . that’s a goal we have that a lot of families don’t have.”
At Taste Buds, they are able to hold over 10 different kinds of birthday parties — the most popular being battle cupcake and pasta wars.
And each of the Robinson family members pitch in. Even though her husband, Matt, takes the lead on most classes since they have several throughout the school week, Mrs. Robinson and their 13-year-old daughter Sydney help whenever they have the extra time.
Sydney gives up sleeping in on weekend mornings to join her parents and sit around the miniature tables to make sure the toddlers don’t get blue dye on their Spider-Man shirt or purple-checkered jacket. She’s become great at helping kids use the whisks or frost their cupcake during birthday parties or kids classes. Like her mom, she loves the look on kids’ faces when they perfect the icing.
And her parents have loved watching her grow — learning how to manage time and handle kids while spending time with her family has been a great experience for them all.
“Working with [my family] is really fun to kind of see them grow, and to kind of teach my daughter a good work ethic and what service looks like,” Mr. Robinson said. “Obviously working with my wife is fun because we’re kinda best friends, so it lets us see more of each other.”
On Saturday mornings, the Robinsons are used to providing moral support for moms who have to stir the baking-soda-egg-mixture for their kids (over the years, they’ve found that five-year-old wrists get worn out quickly). Mrs. Robinson usually takes the lead on weekend kids classes, reading themed books that relate to the class while the donuts or cupcakes are in the oven. It’s the librarian in her.
The teaching she does at Taste Buds translates to East, where she helps 18-year-olds with databases or freshman with which book to read next.
But whether she’s in the kitchen or at her desk in the library, she’s still doing her favorite thing — helping people.
“I like to cook, I like to teach kids,” Mrs. Robinson said. “It’s kind of a different world being [At Taste Buds] from [East]. I still teach, but it’s totally different, so it’s fun getting to do both.”
According to English teacher Melanie Miller, the drive down Nall to 151st street is worth it — Taste Buds is a great option for a hands-on activity and an easy way to get to know new people.
Miller has been to two classes that fit her vegetarian diet — Indian and Pasta night. Through the three-hour classes, she hung out with her fellow English teachers while they learned how to make a new dish, while also getting to support Mrs. Robinson as she teaches outside the school day.
“It is just a fun atmosphere to take some friends and have an evening out and do something a little different,” Miller said. “It is more interactive, it’s more like going bowling or something where you actually talk while you do it as opposed to a movie or a show.”
Miller sees both sides of Mrs. Robinson — in the kitchen and in the library. Whether she’s assisting someone making homemade naan or helping seniors with their dreaded senior research paper, it’s clear she’s passionate about helping others.
At school, it’s the relationships built by teaching teenagers that she enjoys the most. But at Taste Buds, it’s the time she gets to spend with family.
The Robinson family weekly routine includes watching cooking shows like Cake Boss and cooking brunch before church on Sundays. So it’s not surprising that her two younger kids see the dynamic that Taste Buds brings to Sydney and their parents — they can’t wait to get involved.
“I have two younger kids that are excited to be able to come and work and help,” Mrs. Robinson said. “My little nine year old said he’s gonna run it when he’s older. So we’ll see what happens.”
Whether or not her kids continue the family franchise and stick with cooking, Mrs. Robinson is soaking up the time she gets with her kids. And to her, there aren’t many things more fun than teaching five year olds how to make buttercream donut frosting — especially when it’s with her family.
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