BOONVILLE — At the age of 13, Jonathan Kornmeyer, better known around the village as Boonville’s Broadway Baker, has not only started his own business, but he and his mom also hosted their own kids’ entrepreneurial event.
He started and participated in the Boonville Kid’s Expo and Entrepreneur Day back in October at Country Lee Farm, 6656 Roger Road, along with his mother, Lisa Barone Kornmeyer.
Jonathan said last June, he was excited for the Boonville Farmer’s Market to start so he could go purchase a loaf of his favorite bread. He was then sad to hear the person making the bread had retired.
To cheer him up, his mother Lisa told him she’d teach him how to make bread.
“That’s all it took,” said Barone Kornmeyer of her son. “A week later, he received his Home Processor License from the state Department of Agriculture & Marketing, and set up his first booth featuring 16 loaves of bread.”
Jonathan sold out within an hour. Before long, he was making 70-100 loaves each week of artisan breads, sandwich bread and cinnamon swirl breads, along with cookies, muffins, cinnamon rolls, pies, scones, fudge, granola, and much more.
A few months ago, Jonathan said he asked his mother if he could host his own vendor event, but just for kid entrepreneurs. He wanted to inspire other children to have their own businesses. He took off with his idea and approached Lee Anne Greene of Country Lee Farm to use her Olympic-sized horse arena as a venue, and she gladly agreed.
Jonathan secured 25 young entrepreneurs who displayed and sold their goods and services. Aside from baked goods, there were paintings, pottery, jewelry, dog and cat treats, masks, slime kits, forging, hydro-drippings, botanicals, tie-dyes, ornaments and photography. The event also featured youths who offer services, such as babysitting, dog walking, pet care, lawn care/snow removal, accompanist/wedding singer, instrumentalist, small engine repair, and DJ services.
Jonathan said he was glad to have discovered his passion and ability to share it with others.
“I had always loved cooking — I made my first loaf of bread when my mom told me I couldn’t buy it at our farmers market anymore because the vendor retired,” said the 13-year-old. “So my mom said she’d teach me how to bake bread and I loved it! I told her I wanted to start selling it so we got a Home Processor License, and I started the next week.”
Jonathan said he’s enjoyed learning to cook and bake by watching his mom Lisa in the kitchen.
“I’ve been watching and helping her in the kitchen since I was a baby,” he said. “I never took classes, but I have my own cookbooks, watch YouTube cooking videos and use Pinterest a lot” for inspiration.
The teen said his favorite things to bake are all types of breads, but especially his flavored artisan breads. He also enjoys making sweets like cinnamon rolls, muffins, cookies and scones.
Jonathan sold his baked goods at this year’s Boonville Farmer’s Market from June through October. He also has wholesale accounts with local businesses like Grassy Cow Dairy in Remsen and Cummings Farm Creamline Milk in Turin.
“I also do preorder sales all year through my Facebook page, Boonville’s Broadway Baker,” said Kornmeyer. “Customers can call me or message me in advance and can do a porch pick-up, or arrange for local delivery. In December I do homemade Italian Christmas cookies, and in February I do Brazilian Chocolate Truffles, plus all kinds of fudge for Valentine’s Day. For Easter, I do Easter bread, too.”
In the future, Kornmeyer said he hopes to own his own bakery and continue selling his breads and sweets through his Home Processor License.
That’s “so I can continue to give back to my community and use some of my proceeds to give to local charities,” said the eighth grader.
With his flexible year-round schedule of learning while being home-schooled, Jonathan said he fits in the time for his busy baking schedule.
“Some weeks I make up to 100 loaves of bread,” Kornmeyer said. “I made 2,262 cookies in December. It’d be very difficult to do that if I attended school. But I can do school at night, on weekends, or when others are on vacation. I’m also able to take online classes with Dave Ramsey and Bakery Business Academy.”
Already, Kornmeyer was awarded Business of the Month in September through the Boonville Area Chamber of Commerce, and got to display a huge trophy at his table all month. And that’s not where his baking honors end.
“Three years ago, before my business, I won second place in the Greater Utica United Way Youth Cooking Challenge,” he said, in addition to organizing the kids entrepreneurial expo in October.
In the meantime, Kornmeyer is planning for his future, and the future of his business, knowing that wherever his path leads, he hopes to one day travel to European countries known for their baking and cooking as well, such as Italy and France.
“I would love to travel to other countries like Italy and France to take baking classes and with my homeschooling for high school, take some more business classes,” said the young baker. “Maybe college. You never know!”
"bread" - Google News
January 03, 2021 at 09:01PM
https://ift.tt/387D10c
Boonville's Broadway Baker hosts vendor event for kids - Rome Sentinel
"bread" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2pGzbrj
https://ift.tt/2Wle22m
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Boonville's Broadway Baker hosts vendor event for kids - Rome Sentinel"
Post a Comment