The Pastry Engineer
By: Daniel P. Smith | Categories: Alumni Association News
BEVERAGE GUIDE
THE PASTRY ENGINEER
KIA BENION TOOK HER TWIN LOVES FOR BAKING AND SCIENCE AND MIXED THEM UP INTO A CRAFTY BUSINESS IDEA THAT MAKES SCIENCE MORE RELATABLE AND ENJOYABLE FOR MIDDLE AND HIGHSCHOOLERS.
BY: DANIEL P. SMITH
In between undergraduate civil engineering courses at Georgia Tech centered around topics like building design and planning, Kia Benion, CE 13, crafted cupcakes, cookies, mini-pies, and other goodies for Soco Sweets, her dessert catering company. While baking and civil engineering seemed disparate fields to most, Benion reveled in the similarities. “Both rely on formulas, ratios, and analysis, which I thought was wonderful,” Benion says.
So wonderful, in fact, it became a business when Benion launched The Pastry Engineer in 2017. Through partnerships with schools and summer camps around Atlanta, Dallas, and Chicago, Benion uses cookies, cakes, and other tasty treats to make science more relatable and enjoyable for middle and high school students.
While the pandemic halted Benion’s onsite demonstrations and sparked a move to virtual events, it also compelled Benion to answer growing calls for adult programming and to incorporate cocktail training.
“From the breakdown of the chemical compounds to the flavor pairings, the scientific approach to cocktails is similar to baking,” Benion says, noting that juniper, the botanical found in all gins, features 28 chemical compounds carrying notes such as citrus, floral, and pine.
Benion has since directed teambuilding events and workshops for a client list that includes AT&T and Morningstar. She also led a class for the Georgia Tech Women’s Alumnae Network in which she unveiled a custom cocktail called the Sting ’Em, a Bee’s Knees spinoff infused with additional citrus components and spice.
For Benion, a self-professed lover of red velvet cake and gin-based cocktails, crafting food and drink provides a gateway to scientific understanding as well as heightened confidence and deeper human connections.
“Food is such an important piece of how we build community and show up for one another,” the Chicago native says. “If I can give people the tools to execute in the kitchen, I know that can bring good to people’s lives.”
Sting 'Em Recipe
+ 2 oz Gin (or vodka)
+ 1 oz fresh lemon juice
+ 1 oz honey or simple syrup
+ 0.5 oz fresh orange juice
+ pinch of cayenne pepper
Combine gin, lemon juice, honey, orange juice, and pinch of cayenne. Fill with ice and shake until frosted. Strain into coupe glass and garnish with lemon peel.
