Kristie Reid didn’t have a lifelong passion for food or a background in restaurants or a history in education. What she does have is years of operational business experience and seeing the joy it brings her family to cook together. 

“I never thought I had a passion, but I think I found that,” Kristie says. “It’s pretty surprising to me!”

Erin Fletter, founder and CEO of Sticky Fingers Cooking®, is not at all surprised by Kristie’s can-do spirit and business acumen. “Kristie is someone who so clearly knows what she wants and how to achieve it,” says Erin. “She is exactly the right person to bring Sticky Fingers Cooking classes and camps to families in the Colorado Springs area!”

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Cooking As a Kid to Cooking With Kids

Kristie grew up as a “latchkey kid,” she says, with a single mom who relied on her to get the nightly meal started for them when Kristie was as young as seven years old. 

“When she got home, we’d finish it together,” she says, describing how her mother left her a list of things to do. “Although my mom passed away when I was in high school, I still use her lasagna and sugar cookie recipes today.”

As a mom of two–her daughter is now in college and her son is a senior in high school–she watched how her own kids developed confidence and independence in the kitchen from an early age. 

“Cooking together or for someone is a way to show your love through food,” Kristie comments. “It always brings family and friends together and it’s a social time.” 

At her home, there is a no cell phone policy for meal times, which she believes contributes to making this a meaningful time for all of them. 

And it was through nurturing her own children’s love of cooking that Kristie discovered Sticky Fingers Cooking. 

“We threw a Sticky Fingers Cooking birthday party for my daughter about ten years ago,” she explains, adding that her kids may have also taken some after-school classes too. “When I was thinking about a career change with my kids going off to college, I was ‘talking’ to Microsoft Copilot, and exploring something in the culinary field that wasn’t owning a restaurant. Then I saw a Sticky Fingers Cooking sticker from that party in my daughter’s bedroom and it felt like a sign!”

She adds that she was reflecting on what she’d miss about having her kids at home, and memories of cooking with the family were top of mind. “My son’s mac and cheese is requested at every family event,” she gushes. “This just felt like a calling to me to join Sticky Fingers Cooking.” 

The timing was perfect since Sticky Fingers Cooking launched its franchise opportunity in 2023. 

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Embracing Franchising for Her Future

Kristie earned her undergraduate degree in finance and international business (“I never used it,” she says with a laugh), then got a Master’s degree in IT and an MBA from the University of Denver (DU). Her husband, Jon Reid, has his own structural engineering firm and recently retired as the mountain bike team head coach at Golden Senior High School. 

Kristie has spent much of her career as a consultant, most recently as a Principal at EY with a short stint at a well-known franchise company.

“I was scared of franchising,” Kristie says candidly. “I saw some bad examples. However, I really respect how Erin and her team have this vision that isn’t solely focused on money-making but to spread her ideas about teaching kids to learn cooking skills throughout the country. This is very different from other concepts and I can see they care about what they are doing and the number of kids impacted. I’m excited to be a part of it!”

She notes that Colorado Springs has a mix of diverse populations and backgrounds that make this the ideal place to expand Sticky Fingers Cooking to even more kids and their families. 

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Franchising Might Be a Fit For You Too

The Sticky Fingers Cooking franchise opportunity is available outside of Colorado too. Maybe you are looking to leave your corporate job or pursue something where you can inspire the next generation?

Get to know all of our franchise owners on this page. 

We have answers to some of our most frequently asked questions here and you can find out what to expect on Meet the Team Day and on Discovery Day. Reach out to learn more.