Betsy Kabaker is obsessed with French almond cookies.
“I was in awe of every pastry case,” she said of her year studying abroad in Paris, where she took a class to learn the art of making macarons in the trendy Le Marais neighborhood. The UCSB student, who graduates next month, turned that knowledge into The Kabakery and is now seeking investors to grow the business, which fills French cookie orders out of a commercial cooking space inside the Goodland Kitchen in Old Town Goleta.
“I didn’t know my talent before sharing it with other people,” explained Kabaker, who launched the label by passing out cookies in front of trendy cafés and hotels and then interviewing the passersby for feedback. Convinced she was onto a good thing, Kabaker enrolled in UCSB’s Technology Management Program and entered the New Venture Competition.