SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. — A beloved Long Island “cookie queen,” the founder of Tate's Bake Shop has written her first children's picture book, chronicling her journey paved with flour and a dream.
“Cookie Queen: How One Girl Started Tate's Bake Shop,” by Kathleen King of Southampton, is published by Random House Books for Young Readers and goes on sale July 18 for $18.99. The book was written by King and Lowey Bundy Sichol and illustrated by Ramona Kaulitzki.
“Eleven-year-old Kathleen King was positively obsessed with baking the perfect chocolate chip cookie. She experimented over and over and over with different recipes — less flour, more butter, longer baking time — until she got it right,” a release. about the book he said. “Customers flocked to her family's Long Island farm for Kathleen's huge, buttery chocolate chip cookies. And when she grew up, Kathleen started a cookie company called Tate's Bake Shop. Tate's grew into a multi-million dollar empire. Today, King's iconic cookies are sold across the country.”
The book, which is about a young girl's dream realized as a cookie empire, includes an original cookie recipe.
King's multimillion-dollar cookie company was named after her beloved father, the release said. “Tate's best-selling cookie is, of course, the chocolate chip cookie. Many famous people have called Tate's the best chocolate chip cookie in the world. Kathleen is also the author of Baking for Friends and The Tate's Bake Shop Cookbook,” the announcement said.
Mondelēz International then announced that it would acquire Tate's Bake Shop.
According to a statement, Mondelēz International had an agreement with The Riverside Company, a global private equity firm, and other shareholders, including founder King, to acquire Tate's Bake Shop.
In 1980, King turned her passion for baking into a career and opened her first bakery called Kathleen's Bake Shop. He later launched Tate's, which grew astronomically and became wildly successful. Even chef and talk show host Rachel Ray named her chocolate chip cookie the “Best Cookie in America.”
“It's always been my goal to make the best cookie in America,” said King of Ray's award.
King has long been a part of the East End business community – devoted to her hometown, where her family has deep roots in agriculture.
“I feel very, very loyal to the community and giving back as much as I can,” King told Patch in a previous interview.
