Math teacher starts cookie company: Lauren Beitel teacher by day, cookier by weekend

Math teacher Lauren Beitel discovered a passion beyond teaching during the pandemic.

Like many, Central math teacher Lauren Beitel found herself exploring new hobbies during the pandemic. While watching the baking show Nailed It! with her husband, fellow Central teacher Peter Pham, Beitel was called to try her own luck in the kitchen. Consequently she found a love for decorating cookies, is now a self proclaimed “cookier” and runs a small side business LeBakery during the summer months and on weekends.

While Beitel’s time commitment to LeBakery varies on how many orders she has to complete, she spends about five to six hours baking every weekend. Beitel accepts orders from friends and family and runs an Instagram page that promotes her baked goods. While some profit comes with completed orders, Beitel says running LeBakery is more of a hobby than anything else, “It a hobby that turned into a small business, not super profitable, but enough to make back what I put into it.” She makes cookies for events ranging from birthday parties to wedding showers. So far her favorite cookie order was for a Frozen birthday party, where she was able to use her creativity to make edible snowflakes and Olafs.

Beitel’s attention to detail, creating original designs, and mouthwatering, flavorful cookies truly make an order from LeBakery, money well spent. All LeBakery cookies are vanilla almond flavored sugar cookies decorated with royal icing, an original Beitel design and are individually packaged. Beitel has used the preciseness in which she teaches mathematical functions, to originate visually appealing, designs, that have ranged from football themed cookies, to floral bridal beauties. Regardless of the event Beitel is able to create fresh decorative ideas that leave customers in awe. Beitel accepts orders for cookies in batches of a dozen, and priced at thirty five dollars per dozen. This breaks down to approximately three dollars per cookie, prices vary slightly depending on the chosen design. While three dollars may seem a hefty price to pay for a

single cookie, one must consider what type of business they would be patronizing. LeBakery is a small business, run by a local Central teacher, who creates one of a kind designs, all from her home. All in all, three dollars does not seem such steep a price to pay considering the realities of the business. LeBakery cookies are delicious, artistically designed cookies that are a must try dessert for all.