More Than Cookies: Learning the Recipe for Entrepreneurship
This month, the Esperanza Center had the pleasure of welcoming 42 students from the 10th, 11th, and 12th grades at El Molino School for a special hands-on baking class taught by Laura de Estrada. To provide every student with an interactive learning experience, the class was divided into two sessions (morning and afternoon), with eight fully equipped cooking stations available in each class.
Although the students enjoyed learning how to make delicious chocolate chip cookies, the true purpose of the class went far beyond baking. Before coming to the Esperanza Center, students spent two days working with their teachers to calculate the cost of every ingredient and determine the selling price of the cookies, learning the fundamentals of pricing, budgeting, and small business planning.
Once at the Esperanza Center, students worked in small groups at the cooking stations, where they put their knowledge into practice in our Culinary Academy kitchen. They learned how to accurately measure ingredients, use a digital scale to verify quantities, operate a KitchenAid mixer, safely use the oven, and carefully follow a recipe from start to finish.
Beyond the technical skills, the class encouraged teamwork, communication, and problem-solving as students worked together to prepare their cookies. By combining entrepreneurship with hands-on culinary experience, the Esperanza Center continues to equip young people with practical skills, confidence, and the knowledge to transform ideas into future opportunities.
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