Cumberland Cooks transforms a five-minute idea into an immersive family experience filled with New Orleans food, history, music and imagination.
In just five minutes, Je’Lesa Jefferson created a concept that could bring children into the library for a hands-on experience connecting food with culture, history and imagination.
Jefferson, a library associate with Cumberland County Public Library, developed “Beignets on the Bayou” during a youth services training at Headquarters Library. Staff members were challenged to create a program idea in five minutes.
Jefferson’s thought was simple and immediately visual.
“Wouldn’t it be cool to eat the food that we see on the screen?” she recalled.
A self-described “very Disney-coded” person who carries a “The Princess and the Frog” backpack, Jefferson looked to Princess Tiana’s beignets as a familiar entry point for children and families.
“I thought that it would be cute to set up a program and not just talk about Princess Tiana and beignets, but actually talk about the culture behind it in New Orleans,” she said.
The program is part of Cumberland Cooks, an initiative that uses two Charlie Carts shared among all eight Cumberland County Public Library locations. The carts are mobile kitchens that allow branches to offer hands-on cooking instruction.
Participants in “Beignets on the Bayou” will enter a room decorated to resemble a bayou before dividing into smaller groups for hands-on activities. They will prepare bite-sized beignets, listen to jazz, sip “swamp juice” and explore a presentation featuring New Orleans history and culture.
While the beignets bake, children can move through themed activities, including a Jazz Junction station, a frog craft station, trivia and a beignet bakery station. Jefferson also plans to introduce them to early jazz pioneer Charles “Buddy” Bolden and the cornet.
The Disney theme gives children and adults something familiar before leading them into a broader conversation about the people, music and traditions behind the food.
The goal is to let children taste, listen, create and learn their way through the experience.
Wendy Foley, Hope Mills Library associate for youth services, recognized the potential in the idea and encouraged Jefferson to take the lead.
Foley helped define the target audience, work through the budget, determine the necessary supplies, build a timeline and think through the logistics involved in bringing the program together. Her role was to provide structure while leaving room for the idea to grow in Jefferson’s hands.
“She brought all the creativity, and I was just there to help her turn her vision into the program,” Foley said.
“Beignets on the Bayou” is the first program Jefferson has developed, and she said watching it move from idea to execution has shown her what goes into building youth programming from the ground up.
During the process, she was promoted from library technician to library associate and is preparing to join West Regional Library as a youth services associate.
“Seeing the stages from the idea to the execution and everything that goes on within it is pretty great,” Jefferson said.
“Beignets on the Bayou” will take place Monday, Aug. 17, from 3 to 4:15 p.m. at Hope Mills Community Library. The class, designed for 10 children ages 6 to 11 and their parents or guardians, has reached capacity.
Cooking together gives families an opportunity to connect while children practice skills they can carry into adulthood, according to Amanda Dekker, branch manager at Headquarters Library. That shared experience is why parents and guardians participate alongside their children.
Dekker said Cumberland Cooks classes became popular enough at Headquarters Library that staff continued offering monthly cooking programs even when the Charlie Cart rotated to another location.
With grocery prices placing added pressure on household budgets, Cumberland Cooks focuses on recipes that are affordable, quick and approachable. Staff also try to use equipment commonly found in most home kitchens so families do not have to purchase specialty tools to recreate the meals.
Across the Cumberland Cooks program, Dekker said participants have enjoyed the recipes and become more willing to try unfamiliar ingredients. She hopes the broader initiative continues growing until all eight library locations can offer regular cooking classes.
That same mission is reflected in “Beignets on the Bayou,” where the value extends beyond the beignets families will prepare.
“Food can be something more than you just eat,” Foley said. “It can tell a story about the culture and traditions.”
Jefferson hopes families leave with a positive memory, greater curiosity about other cultures and a renewed connection to their local library.
What began as one quick thought has become an experience inviting children to taste, listen, create, learn and return.
To learn more about programs the Cumberland County Library system has to offer, visit https://cumberland.librarycalendar.com/events/upcoming