Stefan Jafari starts cookie business

Senior launches his baking business

The blue house on Quentin Street is the classic image of a suburban household. One thing that sets this house apart, however, is the delicious smell that comes from the kitchen every Friday after school.

Senior Stefan Jafari is the creative mastermind behind Stef’s Sweet Treats, a baking business he launched this fall. After becoming fully operational in September, his cookies quickly became a neighborhood favorite.

Jafari began his journey by perfecting his signature chocolate chip cookie, which helped to start his baking career.

“Other cookies are great, but chocolate chip are a classic,” Jafari said. “You can’t beat the classics, you know?”

Once he had mastered making chocolate chip cookies, Jafari added snickerdoodles, sugar cookies, brownies and coffee cake to his repertoire. He expanded his business by showcasing his products at neighborhood social events during his first month of running the business. Hundreds of local residents of all ages attended, and soon enough all of Quentin Street and the surrounding area knew about his startup

McLean High School students quickly caught onto the Jafari cookie craze.

“The pastries Stefan is able to provide to his customers are simply remarkable,” junior Gary Tomasulo said. “It’s insane how he can consistently produce this good of a product.”

Thomas ham reporter

IT’S INSANE HOW HE CAN CONSISTENTLY PRODUCE THIS GOOD OF A PRODUCT.”

- GARY TOMASULO JUNIOR

While it’s clear that his products are excellent, running a business has not always been simple.

Jafari has faced logistical problems related to operating in a domestic kitchen.

“Because I operate from my own home, packaging was very difficult to do,” Jafari said. “I wasn’t going to put any additives, preservatives or processed [ingredients] into my product…so I was forced to get really creative.”

The challenges were even more difficult considering that he was not in the financial position to spend large amounts of money on starting his company.

“I’m a high school kid, so I don’t have a lot of money or funding. I had to [find] a way to store my baked goods,” Jafari said. “My dad gave me this idea of vacuum sealing the cookies in order to preserve [and package] them, and it worked out perfectly.”

Grades, college applications, homework and tests are more than enough to keep Jafari fully occupied throughout the day, but he finds a way to balance school and work. His secret ingredient? Scheduling. Jafari attributes organization and hard work to his ability to stay focused on school while running his business.

“I think it just comes down to making sure that you maximize every single second of the day,” Jafari said. “I always find a way [to prioritize my business] no matter how much I have on my plate, because it’s something that I truly love to do.”

Jafari plans to continue to spread the word about Stef’s Sweet Treats throughout the area in hopes of reaching a larger audience for his baked goods, and when he sets goals, he tends to reach them.

“Stefan is driven,” his father, Nasser Jafari, said. “He’s really focused. When he wants to do something, he sees it through, guaranteed.”