See what franchising is all about
Want to own a Taste Buds Kitchen?
We offer cooking classes, camps & parties for ages 2 to 99 in our beautiful & sparkling clean Kitchen Studios.
Love what you do
What to Expect
Franchising can help you turn your passions into exciting opportunities and allow you to go into business for yourself, but not by yourself.
Learn. Laugh. Cook.
Why Now?
There has never been a better time to make your entrepreneurial dreams come true! Life is too short to not do something you love. Taste Buds Kitchen is an innovative concept in the multi-billion dollar children & family entertainment industry.
Culinary entertainment
What is Taste Buds Kitchen?
Taste Buds Kitchen has taken the country by storm with a refreshingly simple concept. We provide culinary entertainment to kids, families and adults in a fun, beautiful and state-of-the art Kitchen Studio. Kids ages 2 to teen love our hands-on cooking classes, camps, birthday parties and field trips. Adults love our byob date night cooking classes, birthday parties, bachelorettes, showers and corporate events. Our innovative programs are as entertaining as they are educational! We always strive to engage and delight our guests.
Multiple revenue streams
Kids Programs
- Summer & Holiday Camps
- Birthday Parties
- Weekly Semester Classes
- Parent & Child Classes
- Mobile In-School Classes
Adult Programs
- Adult Classes
- Couples Classes
- Corporate Events
- Birthdays & Bachelorettes
- Mom’s Nights Out
Rave Reviews
Thousands of happy chefs can't be wrong. We provide the best cooking class experience. Easy, relaxed & fun!
Celebrating 15 years in business
Hear our Story
Our Founder, Jessi Walter Brelsford, shares how she took her passion and made it a business. At Taste Buds Kitchen, we make the kitchen exciting for our guest and we create it all from scratch – from pasta to sushi and everyone’s favorite cupcakes!
Local & National
Rave Reviews
Interested in becoming a franchise owner?
So you're interested in a Taste Buds Kitchen franchise? That's great! Thanks for taking this important step in your research. A benefit of franchising with Taste Buds Kitchen is that we've established a great brand with a strong infrastructure. We have a passion for quality and innovation with systems over 15 years in development. We'll share our playbook with you and train and support you all along the way. Our model is simple, but not easy. Don't let that scare you, nothing worth having comes easy!
Don't Just Take Our Word for It...
Hear from our franchise owners.
Our franchise owners come from a variety of backgrounds
Who Are our Franchise Partners?
A love of food, families and fun is a must along with a strong comfort in the kitchen and a desire to deliver exceptional quality with an equally exceptional client experience. We’ll teach you and your team what you need to know and after that, practice makes perfect. Experience in franchising or a background in the culinary field are not required to join the TBK family.
We award franchises based on qualifications that are near and dear to us at Taste Buds Kitchen. We're looking for people who share our dedication to over-the-top customer service and love of all things culinary entertainment. You will also need to be able to make a fairly significant investment, as the initial all-in cost to open a Taste Buds Kitchen ranges from $368,203 - $556,425.
- Passion & Commitment
- Enthusiasm & Kindness
- Integrity & Drive
- Attention to Detail
- Compatibility with the Concept
- Ability to Follow Systems and Standards
- Hospitality Experience is a Plus
- Liquidity of $125K and Net Worth of $500K
More Rave Reviews
"Taste Buds Kitchen is literally my dream business!" -- TBK Franchisee
“Taste Buds Kitchen is a great concept that is unique and fun, offering entertainment to both children and adults. It’s a hands-on learning environment which our clients thrive in. It’s easy to turn one time clients into loyals!”
Scott & Susie Andersen | Owner of TBK Palo Alto, CA
“Taste Buds Kitchen has allowed me to own a business I love without spending years building the concept from scratch! It’s a great feeling being a business owner without the added stress of wondering if my concept will work and the opportunity to connect with the franchise and other owners for ideas and support.”
Ann Wiard | Owner of TBK East Greenwich, RI
“I love food and connecting with people, so Taste Buds Kitchen is literally my dream business! I am a crazy perfectionist, the systems and support at Taste Buds Kitchen are a blue-print that I can follow to achieve success.”
Laurel Holmes | Owner of TBK North Andover, MA & TBK Beverly, MA
See what you missed at our annual franchise summit
Training & Support
We make it easy for you to open and operate your Taste Buds Kitchen providing initial and ongoing training and support.
- Help finding a location and negotiating your lease
- Complete kitchen design, development and construction support services
- Beautiful website that offers full integration with our online booking system
- TBK University with comprehensive operations manual and on-demand support
- Pre-opening training at our headquarters in Maryland for two members of your team
- Marketing support and guidance including grass roots, social media, public relations, and promotional materials
- Development of new menus and initiatives to keep Taste Buds Kitchen at the top of it's game
- Encouragement throughout the life of your Kitchen with monthly newsletters and individual coaching to reach your goals
- The opportunity to join a group of like-minded franchise owners who will share their key learnings and successes with you
Expanding across the United States & Canada
Target Markets
We are looking to open Kitchens in highly populated areas with many families and children across the United States and Canada. Each Kitchen enjoys a protected territory of 175,000 people. If you have a great market with lots of families who have discretionary funds to spend on themselves and their children, that's a great place to start. Interested in an international location? While focusing in North America, we will consider international expansion with franchisees with a proven track-record of operating businesses in their market.
Let's Get Cooking
Opening Timeline
The average opening timeline is 8-12 months so your Kitchen could be open by this time next year!
Site Selection
Finding a great 2,000 square foot location for your Taste Buds Kitchen is a collaboration between you, Taste Buds Kitchen and a broker. Working together we all benefit from the combination of different expertise and knowledge.
Design & Construction
Our Real Estate and Development team will help coordinate the comprehensive services necessary to design and build your Taste Buds Kitchen, including space planning, design, construction documents, help with the bid process and support during construction.
Startup Costs
The start-up investment for a Taste Buds Kitchen development for one Kitchen is shown below. The range depends on a number of things, including the city in which you live. Per-square-foot construction in New York City is vastly different from per-square-foot construction in St. Louis, Missouri. Outside of the franchise fee which is paid to Taste Buds Kitchen, the majority of the remaining expenses are paid to your local vendors over the course of your opening preparation. We work with you to keep your investment as low as possible.
- TYPE OF EXPENDITUREAMOUNT
- Initial Franchise Fee$45,000
- Lease and Utility Security Deposits$3,333 - $10,000
- Leasehold Improvements$200,000 - $330,000
- Signage & Visual Branding$5,000 - $10,000
- Furniture, Equipment, Appliances & Utensils$46,000 - $52,000
- Computer and Software$6,500 - $8,000
- Blue Prints, Architecture & Design$18,000 - $23,000
- Business Licenses and Permits$2,000 - $4,000
- Travel & living expenses while training $1,500 - $3,000
- Professional Fees$2,000 - $4,000
- Insurance$1,500-$2,500
- Initial Inventory and Supplies$2,000 - $4,000
- Grand Opening Marketing $10,000
- Background Checks/Certifications$370 - $925
- Additional Funds - 3 Months$25,000 - $50,000
- TOTAL$368,203 - $556,425
Submit your application to being exploring the opportunity.
Frequently Asked Questions
While we do not provide profit projections, if you become a qualified candidate, we would be happy to share our Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) that contains certain historical financial performance information for our corporate and franchised locations.
Our current Initial Franchise Fee is $45,000. Royalty fee is 9% of gross revenue. Brand Fund fee is 1% of gross revenue.
No. A love of food, families and fun is a must along with a strong comfort in the kitchen but official chef and education training are not required. We’ll teach you and your team what you need to know and after that, practice makes perfect.
All-in start-up costs range from about $368,203 to $556,425 depending on a number of things, including the size and condition of your location. A complete breakdown of these estimated costs is included in Item 7 in our FDD and reprinted above in the Startup Costs section.
No, you will be responsible for financing. We would be happy to introduce you to lenders and financing brokers who are familiar with our business.
Each location is different, but the most time-consuming steps tend to be site selection, lease negotiation, build-out (including permitting) requirements, and training. However, we anticipate it will take approximately 3 to 6 months from signing your lease to opening day at your Taste Buds Kitchen.
Yes. Certain qualified candidates may have the right to develop multiple Taste Buds Kitchen franchises under an Area Development Agreement.
Apply Today
Learn More
In order to take the next step in opening your own Taste Buds Kitchen, we ask that you fill out and return the following application. The information you provide will help us determine if we are a good match for each other.
This website and the information contained on this website is for information purposes only. This is not an offer to sell, or the solicitation of an offer to buy, a franchise. This franchise is offered only by our delivery of a franchise disclosure document to you in compliance with the Federal Trade Commission’s rule on franchising and various state and provincial/territorial franchise sales laws. Franchise offerings cannot be made by us, or on our behalf, in any state unless we are registered, exempt or otherwise qualified to offer franchises in that state. The communications on this website are not directed towards residents of any state where we are not currently authorized to sell franchises and we will not sell franchises in those states or to residents of those states until we are authorized. The following states regulate the offer and sale of franchises: CA, HI, IN, IL, MD, MI, MN, NY, ND, RI, SD, VA, WA and WI. If you reside in one of these states, you may have certain rights under applicable franchise laws.FOR THE STATE OF NEW YORK: This advertisement is not an offering. An offering can be made only by a prospectus filed first with the Department of Law of the State of New York. Such filing does not constitute approval by the Department of Law.FOR THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: Minn. Reg # 9974; Taste Buds Kitchen International, LLC., 800D Abruzzi Drive, Chester, Maryland 21619.
