Discover the Recipe for Success with a Cook Stars Franchise

If you’re looking to get into the food industry but haven’t yet found the franchise for you, it may be a good idea to take a look at Cook Stars. A fun, family-friendly franchise that offers cooking classes to kids, teens, and adults, it’s a unique business opportunity that offers franchisees an incredible amount of flexibility and good earning potential. Here, we take a look at what makes it such an attractive investment opportunity.

Franchise background

Like many exciting business opportunities, Cook Stars was born of a single moment of illumination and inspiration. Founder of Cook Stars, Cathy Harding, found herself juggling her career and childcare responsibilities, working in a high-pressure management position and struggling to balance her personal and professional lives. Cooking together with her daughter, she struck upon the idea of setting up a business that offered fun cooking classes to children, allowed her to be her own boss, and gave her the freedom to live her life as she wished.

Over the next few weeks, months, and years, the idea germinated, sprouted, and bloomed into the Cook Stars franchise. Combining her passion for cooking, her desire to give children entertaining educational experiences, and the need to support her family with a profitable and successful business, Cook Stars allowed Cathy to build a franchise that worked for her.

Industry context

Cook Stars is a unique business concept. While there are a number of other cookery class franchises aimed at kids, few have developed the reputation and recognition achieved by Cook Stars. At a time when many parents are looking for ways to provide new and exciting opportunities to their children, Cook Stars is perfectly positioned to offer them an exciting alternative to traditional after-school, weekend, party, or holiday activities.

Cook Stars basics

Cook Stars is a food franchise with a difference. Unlike other food businesses, with Cook Stars, the emphasis is on the cooking process, rather than the final product. It offers cookery classes and parties to kids and adults across the UK. Though it originally focused on providing cooking classes to young children, it has now expanded its scope to encompass classes for teens and adults, too.

With Cook Stars, it's all about offering fun, engaging, and enjoyable cookery classes that give kids, teens, and adults the opportunity to try new foods, get a little messy, and rekindle their love for cooking. The range of activities available with Cook Star is one of its biggest appeals.

Starting out with Cook Stars Minis, for 2-5-year-olds, franchisees are able to give the smallest of children their first taste of life in the kitchen. The Cook Stars Juniors programme for kids aged 4-11 increases recipe complexity and introduces a wider range of games and crafts activities to go with the cooking. Finally, the Cook Stars Academy, for older children aged 11-17, introduces international cuisine and allows teens to work independently to create their own culinary masterpieces. Of course, there are also classes and other cooking opportunities for adults who want to get involved, too.

What is the minimum level of investment required?

If you’re considering starting a franchise with Cook Stars, you’ll need to raise a minimum initial investment of £6,995 +VAT. On top of this, you’ll require a small amount of working capital in order to ensure that the business is given the opportunity to grow over the first few months and provide a little breathing room as it establishes itself. This makes Cook Stars a low-cost franchise business opportunity that shouldn’t be missed.

What do franchisees receive in return for their investment?

In return for your investment, franchisees are permitted to operate under the Cook Stars name and utilise its brand image. There are a number of different franchise models to choose between, providing you with a certain amount of flexibility and ensuring that you're managing a business that suits your needs. Franchisees are also granted the rights to large exclusive territories, allowing them to take advantage of a larger market than most franchise units could dream of reaching.

Along with the different part-time and full-time business models available, franchisees can also decide which revenue streams they wish to operate. For instance, some may wish to operate holiday clubs, while others may prefer to only offer workshops. In terms of equipment, franchisees are provided with everything they need to run classes, as well as marketing materials and help to acquire business premises.

Every franchisee is enrolled on a comprehensive training programme that covers day to day operations, business management, and how to market your business. Ongoing support, advice, and guidance are offered to franchisees as they grow and expand your franchise, ensuring that you're never alone and always have someone to go to should you need assistance.

What kind of franchisee are Cook Stars looking for?

Generally, Cook Stars look for individuals who demonstrate the five following qualities. First, franchisees must be friendly and communicative – it’s essential that you’re a social person who enjoys interacting with others. Second, you’ll need to be patient. Like any educator, you’ll have to help those who pick things up quickly and those that don’t. In such situations, patience is a virtue.

Third, franchisees must show a passion for cooking. There's no need to have any experience in the food industry but enthusiasm and enjoyment really help. Fourth, you've got to be hardworking. Operating a Cook Stars franchise is fun, but it's a lot of hard work, too. Like anything that's worth doing, you're going to have to strive to do it right. Finally, you must be organised if you're to succeed as a Cook Star franchise. Though class plans are provided, there's still a lot of day to day organisation that needs to be completed.

Conclusion Cook Stars is an exciting franchise opportunity that’s ideally suited to those who want to run their own business but retain a certain degree of flexibility in their personal lives. If you enjoy working with children, want to offer the next generation the chance to learn new skills, and think you’ve got what it takes to manage a successful franchise, Cook Stars is for you.