“I started cooking young,” Liberta said. “I was a very fortunate person that knew what I wanted to do since I was 7 years old.”
Liberta was raised in Connecticut with parents who worked long hours as the owners of a liquor and wine retail store. From a young age, she enjoyed spending time in the kitchen and started working in the hospitality industry at age 16.
Following her passion, Liberta said she had the opportunity to work in unique places such as at a dude ranch in Dubois, Wyoming, while attending culinary school.
Nineteen years into her profession, Liberta became a mother and decided to become a stay-at-home mom while occasionally doing side jobs cooking at home. In 2005 when Liberta moved to Texas not knowing anyone, she joined a support group for stay-at-home mothers.
Within the group, Liberta started selling Pampered Chef tools and holding cooking classes to demonstrate the kitchen tools. Through the local mom club and her side business, Liberta was inspired to start the cooking business Cookin’ with Kim.
“When you get a group of people in a kitchen, whether you're cooking together or around a dinner table and you're eating together, it truly does bring people together,” Liberta said. “I would have people that knew each other and some that would just come by themselves and by the end of that class, everyone would be laughing and having a good time.”
What started as a cooking class business expanded into a business focused on facilitating meal preparation.
Today, Cookin’ with Kim offers hands-on cooking classes, summer camps, cooking events, small-bite catering, freezer meals and granola bites for sale.
Kim’s Granola Bites are a high-fiber snack created in 2012 when Liberta was in search of a healthy snack for her daughter. The granola bites have 15 flavors with eight standard flavors at a time.
Known for its freezer meals, Cookin’ with Kim offers a variety of prepared meals made with fresh ingredients and frozen ready to bake or reheat. With gluten-free and dairy-free options, Cookin’ with Kim offers casseroles, pot pie, lasagna, soups, meatballs, and single-serve proteins such as pork chops and chicken breasts.
Freezer meals are available to purchase the first Saturday of every month from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. with meals varying weekly.
After 17 years serving the Cypress area, Cookin’ with Kim is undergoing an expansion with additional freezer and retail space. Liberta said Cookin’ with Kim will be able to offer more freezer meal options, a full retail space, birthday parties and more team-building events. The expansion is expected to be completed by September and will also support local vendors by offering their products in the retail space.
- 15818 Mueschke Road, Cypress
- www.cookinwithkim.com
