COOPERATION AND COOKING: “With the program, I can dedicate my efforts to focusing on community, cooperation, acceptance and kindness for and with children.” Chris Johnson, owner of the Sticky Fingers Cooking franchise in Princeton, is enthusiastic about this new after school cooking program for children.

By Jean Stratton

Chris Johnson knew about cooking from a young age.

“I was always interested,” he recalls, “and I especially enjoyed watching and helping my favorite aunt in the kitchen.”

A New Englander from Maine and Massachusetts, he headed to New York for job opportunities, eventually working in the corporate world, focusing on legal technology.

His career continued to evolve, and he came to Princeton, where he spent nine years at Educational Testing Service (ETS). The advent of COVID changed so many aspects of life for people and how they spent their days, and during this time, Johnson rediscovered his pleasure in cooking at home with his family.

Career Direction

“I started doing more exploratory cooking,” he explains. “My daughter Ellie and I do Saturday pancakes together, and she loves it. We have all these nice pictures from when she was on a little step stool just watching me scoop the pancake batter, and now she is able to flip her own pancakes!”

As people’s business lives continued to change, Johnson began to think about his own career direction. “When the opportunity to consider leaving ETS came along, I realized I had always been interested in having my own business. The franchise model appealed to me because you’re on your own, but there is a foundation for you. I began to research franchise projects, and the Sticky Fingers project jumped out at me.”

After meeting with the Sticky Fingers founder and CEO Erin Fletter, who had started the franchise in Denver in 2022, he decided to go forward. He became the sixth franchise when he opened in August of this year.

Interest in the Sticky Fingers franchise is growing, he adds. There are now seven across the country, and his is the first in New Jersey.

“The franchise determines the territory,” he reports, “and mine is central New Jersey. It includes public and private schools and other organizations.”

Weekly Recipes

Sticky Fingers is a unique operation. It offers creative cooking classes for students K through 12 in after-school outreach programs.

“We offer school cooking classes where children already are — in schools, libraries, community centers, day cares, religious organizations, YMCA, Boys and Girls Clubs, and other venues.” says Johnson. “We also offer camps for non-school days, during vacations, and over the summer, as well as private parties.

“No kitchen is needed,” he continues. “Our unique weekly recipes are designed with our portable chef kits in mind. Each globally-inspired recipe is vegetarian and nut- and allergy-free. All allergies are accommodated at the class level.”

Everything needed is included in the portable kit, he explains. “All we need is a sink! The kit contains an electric skillet, cupcake baker, stick blender, measuring cups, and knives and forks.”

Each week, a new recipe is available, provided by the franchise. It could be pasta, soup, bread, dessert, and beverage. Recent recipes included Steamy Pasta e Fagioli Italian soup, Dunkable Dinner Rolls, and “Water You Cooking Up?” flavored water.

Others have featured Indian Butter Chickpeas with Spiced Onion Pakora Bites and Indian Nimbu Pani Limeade; and Gung Hay Fat Choy New Year’s Potstickers with Chinese Sweet Five-Spice Dipping Sauce and Steamy Ginger Green Tea.

“We start the class with the ABCs of cooking, and we tell the kids there may be a surprise ingredient,” points out Johnson. ‘We’ll give some history of the cuisine, demonstrate the measuring cups, etc. This is for a quarter of the hour. We’ll talk about the recipe, even the language, if it is from another country.

CREATIVE COOKING FOR KIDS: A group of children in the Sticky Fingers Cooking program are not only learning to cook exciting new creations, but are also learning about different cuisines and cultures. Under the guidance of their chef instructor, they are engaged in hands-on cooking classes.

Hands-On

“Then the kids go to work, hands-on. In the case of the Pasta e Fagioli, which was very popular, we had two groups; one was making pasta, and one slicing garlic and onions. They even made the bread, with the yeast and flour. They loved this, and then they were able to eat what they had made.

“They are so enthusiastic. They’ll say ‘This is the best thing I’ve ever done, and I want to make it at home for my family.’ There really has been an incredible response.”

Each class typically has 10 to 12 students and one or two chef instructors. “It is interesting that you can have the same recipe, but in two different classes, it will be a completely different experience because of the kids’ reactions,” observes Johnson. “Also, the individual chef instructors bring their own personalities to the class. And the way they interact with the students adds to the tone of the class.”

Johnson is very encouraged. Sticky Fingers has already had after-school classes at Johnson Park Elementary School in Princeton, and also at a private school in East Brunswick.

“In addition, we have several upcoming projects in Hopewell, Kingston, and Princeton, including Johnson Park in Princeton, the Princeton Public Library, and the Princeton Recreation Department,” adds Johnson.

Age-Related

Some of the classes are age-related, he notes, and can be adapted to the skills and abilities of the children, especially kindergartners.

Program arrangements can vary as well. Classes can be a one-time event, one week, or a package of six weeks. Classes are typically Monday through Friday after school, but camps and other time frames can also be available.

Payment plans also vary. “It is basically $26 per child,” he explains. “Payment can be one class at a time, or with a package plan. Scholarships are also available. We want the program to be as accessible as possible.”

Chris Johnson could not be happier with the new direction his career has taken. As an independent franchise owner and chef instructor, he has been able to fulfill two of his lifelong pleasures and aspirations: his love of cooking and his one-time hope of becoming a teacher.

“Now,” as he explains, “it’s about getting our message in front of the right stakeholders in schools and other venues that support child enrichment programs, clubs, and camps. We hope to encourage folks to contact their after school program coordinators to express interest in bringing Sticky Fingers to their venues.”

The benefits of the program for the students are so important, he believes. “It creates understanding and appreciation of what they are eating. And it’s the pride they derive from being hands-on, creating the dish, and then eating it.”

New Ideas

As for himself, “It has not felt like work at all. I am very, very busy, but I love it! It’s fun to be with the kids. There is always something happening, and we are getting new clients all the time.

“In addition, having joined the Chamber of Commerce has meant so much to me. Meeting other small business owners, meeting new people, and learning about new ideas has been invigorating.”
His passion for his work has also been evident to his family and those he works with.

“When my daughter came home from sleepaway camp this summer, she told me even before I shared my Sticky Fingers Cooking journey with her that I seemed ‘lighter.’ She was intuitively attuned to the fact that I was, for the first time in recent memory, living a life led by passion and genuine interest, in contrast with an effective yet unfulfilling career in corporate.

“My colleagues within Sticky Fingers Cooking and, most critically, the students of our program, have picked up on the joy and passion I am now able to bring to the table. I look forward to being able to inspire them through that confidence and, hopefully, encourage them to find what brings them joy, through the myriad skills they will learn through cooking for themselves.”

For further information, call (609) 301-2303. Visit the website at stickyfingerscooking.com.