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We are thrilled to highlight Matt & Jenny Robinson as our Franchisees of the Year.

We are thrilled to awarded Matt & Jenny Robinson, a dynamo husband & wife team who own Taste Buds Kitchen in Leawood, Kansas, as our Franchisees of the Year. Matt & Jenny set a wonderful example of how to run a thriving Taste Buds Kitchen. They have a sincere passion for their clients and a love of all things culinary entertainment!

Matt & Jenny strive to provide the community with an experience they will enjoy and want to come back to again and again. Since opening their doors, they’ve quickly established themselves in their community and the reception has been amazing! Together with their crew, they have inspired over 20,000 new chefs and hosted over 2,000 events! Their classes consistently sell out with 5-star reviews from all of their guests.

“The community response has been amazing! We have so many loyal clients that come back over and over again.  My favorite memory of the kitchen so far is when a 5 year old walked in the kitchen for a Mommy and Me and saw that Matt was there.  She said ‘Oh good!  I love when Chef Matt is here!’ It’s been fun watching the kids grow over the past few years as they continue to come back for camps and workshops.”

On top of running a very successful kitchen, Matt and Jenny are wonderful team players and are the nicest of people. Matt was elected to be the President of our Franchisee Advisory Council and Jenny brings a great amount of culinary creativity, constantly sharing new and fun recipes for clients to enjoy. They are quick to share their favorite new kitchen tools or gadget and always find the best ones. We are thankful for them and look forward to working closely with them for many years to come!

If you live near their Kitchen in Leawood, Kansas, be sure to check-out their wonderful line-up of cooking classes, camp and parties for ages 2-99.

Jenny & Matt making Handmade Pasta at New Owner’s Training

How it all began

Matt & Jenny began their journey with Taste Buds Kitchen when Jenny was looking for a cooking birthday party for their seven year old and wasn’t able to find anything in the Kansas City area that matched what she was looking for. She came across Taste Buds Kitchen during her search and when she saw that there were no locations in her area, it piqued her interest!

It’s great to be your own boss

Matt & Jenny have always been interested in owning their own business and they thought the Taste Buds Kitchen concept would be a perfect fit for them considering Jenny’s education background as a High School Librarian and Matt’s management experiences as a District Merchandising Manager for Home Depot.

Matt & Jenny opened their Kitchen in Leawood, Kansas in early 2018. Jenny initially left her work as a Librarian to run their business and Matt remained with Home Depot. However Matt quickly took a deeper interest in running their kitchen and convinced Jenny to go back to the library so they could switched roles. And with Jenny having summers and vacation days off she is still able to be very actively involved in running the kitchen and hosting classes which she loves.

Matt and Jenny speaking with fellow Kitchen owners at our Owner’s Summit in NYC

The spice of life

Matt & Jenny love the wide range of classes offered at Taste Buds Kitchen from kids to adults and from pasta making to cookie decorating. “All of our events are so much fun! Every day is different. The variety keeps everyone excited about what’s going on and having fun in the kitchen.” They enjoy working with all ages, from the tiniest chefs at age two on up to adult corporate groups.

Matt making four tortillas with his son as part of our At-Home Cooking Club Video Series

Family driven

In addition to running a thriving Kitchen, Matt & Jenny have three children at home which helps them to drive their success. Diving into this venture they knew the sacrifice it would take as a family as well as the many positives they would have from being business owners. “Being able to manage our own schedule allows us to make time to be at things with our own three kids so we don’t miss out on much! TBK laid a great foundation for us to start our business and make it our own. We love to work together and make a great team.”

Jenny making playdough with her daughter

Advice for future kitchen owners

Jenny shares, “Be prepared to work hard!  You have to be willing to be very involved in the kitchen to make it successful.  It is very much hands-on, but so rewarding and so much fun!”