A new cookie food truck featuring sweet staples and unique creations will roll into the Capital Region at the end of the month.
Cookies By Freddie officially opens June 28 and will be parked in the Acadian-Perkins Plaza shopping center in place of Crawfish on the Geaux once it closes for the season.
The concept has been in development for around four years, but baking has been a passion for owner Frederique Bekale, or Freddie, for much longer.
Originally, Bekale baked for friends and family for fun, but everything changed when she had her first child in 2018. Bekale says she began using baking as a way to cope with the pressures of new motherhood.
“Baking became my refuge,” Bekale says. “So, the routine of baking every day, measuring ingredients and testing out creations, it restored a sense of purpose and joy in me when I needed it the most.”
Later, with the encouragement of her best friend and others close to her, Bekale decided to expand.
“I decided to take a leap of faith and turn it into a business,” Bekale says.
Bekale says she knew a brick-and-mortar storefront was out of the question from the beginning due to the cost, commitment and time constraints. She runs the business as a one-woman show while also working a full-time job as a claims adjuster and caring for her now 6-year-old daughter. Bekale says she thought a food truck would be the perfect fit.
The Cookies By Freddie food truck started to come together in August 2024. Bekale says it took her around six months to find the right vehicle. From there, she worked with companies on the flip and design.
Today, the food truck is easily recognizable, featuring a custom-made wrap by Quattro Signs & Graphics’ Marlon Cespedes with photos of Bekale’s cookies.
“I’ve been following him for a while, so I knew that he was going to wrap my truck before I had the truck,” Bekale says. “He’s just the best in the game.”
Cookies By Freddie will serve eight cookie flavors—four classics: chocolate chip, cookies and cream, lemon white chocolate and white chocolate macadamia; and four deluxe varieties: s’mores, praline, brownie-stuffed chocolate chip, and peanut butter and jelly.
The inspiration behind each cookie recipe comes from different places. Some, like the lemon white chocolate, were accidentally discovered while experimenting with flavors. Others, like Bekale’s chocolate chip cookie, were meticulously tested to ensure the best quality and flavor.
“It took eight months. After like the 20th batch of my chocolate (chip) cookie, I stopped counting,” Bekale says. “It was just over and over again, trying different chocolate combinations, different sugar combinations.”
The food truck will serve four flavors of cookies every weekend, which will be announced on social media by Thursday of every week.
Cookies By Freddie will hold its grand opening Saturday, June 28, from noon-6 p.m. It will be open Saturdays and Sundays, with one off weekend each month. For updates, check out the truck’s Instagram at @cookiesbyfreddie.
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