SULLIVAN — Jamie Meeks grew up sitting on the kitchen counter while her grandmother taught her how to make homemade noodles, cookies and other goodies. She now carries on the tradition by baking for others and catering her creations for parties.
Meeks went to college for art. Nowadays she runs a large hazmat trucking company, but she still uses her art skills to create beautiful and tasty baked goods for her baking business, called The Gourmet Grandma.
The Gourmet Grandma name has a reason behind it.
“I wanted to cook like my grandma, but I wanted to have fancy things like macarons,” Meeks said.
Clients can order baked goods for celebrations, or have her cater for their events.
“I love to feed people, like my grandmother (did),” she said.
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Meeks makes a variety of baked goods, from macarons to cupcakes, but she is best known for her cookie decorating. When she creates an order of cookies for a party, she heat seals them, which keeps them fresh for up to three or four weeks.
When it comes to cupcakes, Meeks likes to create her own recipes and fill the cupcakes. She said cupcakes can be very versatile, and, similarly, macarons absorb the flavor they are filled with.
When it comes to ingredients, she likes to shop local.
“If you don’t use it, you lose it,” she said. “I get bulk ingredients from the Amish bulk food store.”
This isn’t the cheapest method, Meeks says, and recent increases in ingredients like eggs have affected her business budget.
She said everything she makes is made the day before it is needed — nothing is frozen, and everything is made to order.
When she’s not working her day job or baking for her side business, she can be found paddle boarding in the summer months or going places to watch her husband play music.
For more information, follow her “The Gourmet Grandma” page on Facebook or find her on Instagram @the.gourmet.grandma.
