Kids learn to cook with this Kennewick caterer. Pop-up brunch coming soon
Kids who love to cook can now learn new culinary skills without messing up their mother’s kitchen.
Caterer Nena Cosic’s cooking classes for kids are proving popular at her new location at Red Mountain Kitchen.
Since Cosic was 5, she’s loved baking. So she knows the childhood joy that comes from creating something fun and tasty.
So far, she’s taught kids how to dip strawberries, make homemade chicken strips, bake lasagna and cook delicate crepes.
She’s also included a class on table etiquette and salsa dancing — to go with salsa making.
Cosic, the mother of two grown kids, offers the classes during school breaks when parents are looking to keep their children busy.
The owner of European Desserts & Appetizers by Nena, she also offers baking classes for adults and more.
“My little business is growing and growing a bit bigger every day,” Cosic told the Herald. “We have met so many new customers since we opened the door to the public at the bakery.”
She’s now part of the Red Mountain commercial kitchen, where caterers, cake makers and others can grow without the expensive overhead of their own restaurant or bakery.
Cosic’s latest idea is a pop-up restaurant for Sunday brunch, featuring a variety of crepes with fillings like Nutella hazelnut spread with banana and rosehip jam.
The first one is 9 a.m. to noon Feb. 23. No tickets are needed in advance, just show up and pay as you order.
Red Mountain Kitchen is home to several other pop-up restaurants, including Hot Mess Burgers and Fries and Catfish Alley.
Fleeing the Bosnian war
Cosic started her catering company less than two years ago to offer gourmet meat and cheese boards called charcuterie, and her business is already heading in directions she never saw coming.
Her love of cooking began as a child when she was forced to flee to Germany to escape war-torn Bosnia.
She always had a passion for baking, that’s where she began learning some techniques. When the war ended, she was forced to leave Germany, ending up with her sister who had already immigrated to the U.S.
In the Tri-Cities, she spent 11 years working as a technician at Kadlec Regional Medical Center.
She would take her food to potlucks and co-workers kept telling her she needed to start her own business. So, when she quit her job to begin catering in 2018, her Kadlec colleagues gave her an immediate clientele base.
“I was really blessed,” she said.
Her initial plan was to cater weddings with her charcuterie boards. But they proved extremely popular with area wineries. Then she started adding some of her Southeastern European sweets.
She soon wondered how she could expand from the Pasco Specialty Kitchen without all the expense of owning her own kitchen or restaurant.
Red Mountain Kitchen in downtown Kennewick opened in December 2018 to offer a place to bakers and cooks like Cosic.
Chris Bauer and her daughters, Courtney Bauer and Alanna Lindblom, rent kitchen and prep space by the hour and offer a flex space next door for parties, brunches and pop-up restaurants.
One of their initial tenants, Layered Cake Artistry, has already graduated into its own building. Sisters Elena Gavin and Concetta Gulluni opened their own cake studio down the street earlier this month.
For now, Cosic is happy to continue catering, offering her classes and experimenting with pop-up brunches. She also sells pastries to drop-ins at the Red Mountain storefront, 212 W. Kennewick Ave., from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday-Sunday.
She says it’s all about quality not quantity.
Cosic can be reached by email at cateringbynena@yahoo.com or call 509-948-3323.
Check out the Red Mountain Kitchen Facebook page for a long list of classes from various chefs and bakers, including couples Valentine’s Day sushi making, bread baking, Keto/low carb cooking, freezer meals and cancer-busting cuisine.
This story was originally published January 21, 2020 at 2:35 PM.