Jackie Diaz — cook, inventor, dessert lover — worked for years to develop the perfect ice cream cake. Her quest produced a unique food mold and a career for herself.

        It all started with the ice cream cake she served on her 21st birthday. Her stepmother had slaved over the creation, but the exposed ice cream melted so quickly it had to be slipped back into the freezer repeatedly when being served.

Jackie Diaz founded Cooks InOvation. (Glenn Hartong photo) | ZOOM |

        Some years later, Ms. Diaz's son invited his entire preschool class to his birthday party. To streamline serving, Ms. Diaz made what amounted to a giant ice cream sandwich: thin layers of cake with a slab of ice cream in the middle.

        “I thought, "This really insulates the ice cream. I'm onto something. How can I improve on that?' — and realized I could completely surround the ice cream with cake,” Ms. Diaz said.

        Several sketches and “ahas!” later, the inventor produced a final drawing and in 1983 got a machinist to turn it into a prototype. The two-part cake mold featured a circular cavity for filling and a central pillar to give the cake stability. When the cake was removed from each mold, filled and the two halves joined, the result was a cake with a hidden filling.

        “A high-class Twinkie,” Ms. Diaz said.

        But when the inventor took her prototype to a member of a local patent law firm, he told her the product could not be patented. Disappointed, she shelved the project and concentrated on number-crunching in her husband's accounting practice.

Ms. Diaz puts filling in a cake made with her Culinique molds. | ZOOM |

The top half of the cake in a mold fits into the bottom half. | ZOOM |

The result is a cake with a hidden filling. | ZOOM |

        Then, in 1991, her husband died, and the accounting firm was no more. Weighing her career options, Ms. Diaz dusted off her prototype mold and approached the law firm again. This time, a lawyer encouraged her and began the patent application process.

        While awaiting the patent, Ms. Diaz searched for a way to manufacture her mold. Hukon Manufacturing of Over-the-Rhine produced 600 units for her but was too small to turn out the volume she needed. After talking, unsuccessfully, to metal fabricators here and abroad, she approached the M.E. Heuck Co. in South Cumminsville, a manufacturer of kitchen products.

        “The company was being sold,” Ms. Diaz said, adding that the outgoing president was very encouraging. “When I went to talk to the new owner, he suggested he might be willing to back me financially.”

        That didn't work out, but the company agreed to produce the molds if Ms. Diaz paid them. It was a critical juncture: Yes, the inventor would retain control of her product, but she would be totally responsible for introducing, marketing and selling it. Could she wear that many hats?

        “I am an inventor who will do what I have to do to enhance my products,” she said. “I did not make failure an option.”

        With financial backing from a friend who's now her business partner, and moral support from The Inventors Council of Cincinnati, Ms. Diaz accepted the challenge of operating her own business. She named her company Cooks InOvation and dubbed her food mold kit “Culinique.” With product and method patents pending, she was ready to unveil her invention. The question was how.

        “This being a puny little company, it dawned on me that I had to introduce (Culinique) in a high-profile way so that if someone did infringe on my product, everyone would know it,” Ms. Diaz said.

        She bought booth space at the annual Gourmet Products Show in April 1999 and found her space was in an obscure corner. Would she get noticed?

        “QVC was in my booth an hour and a half after we started, and I was approached by the buyer,” Ms. Diaz said.

        The chance to showcase her product on TV seemed a wonderful opportunity, but the price wasn't right. It took three negotiating sessions for Ms. Diaz and the shopping channel to strike a deal. She also signed up with QVC Product Works, a marketing consulting service of the network, which assists her in exchange for 10 percent of her sales.

STAYING ON TRACK

Jackie Diaz is on the board of advisers of The Inventors Council of Cincinnati. ICOC is a chapter of The Inventors Council, a nonprofit alliance begun in Dayton, Ohio, with chapters in nine cities in the Tristate region. Its mission is to foster, promote and encourage inventors.     The organization provides education, mentoring and camaraderie for a diverse group of people who share a passion for designing new gizmos and gadgets that make life a little easier or more interesting.     T.J. Tully, ICOC president, says the group's meetings are free and open to the public. They occur the second Wednesday of the month at 7 p.m. in Room 318 Alter Hall on the Xavier University campus. Information: Call 772-9333 or 321-7280, or check the Web at www.xec.com/invent/index.html.

        In June of this year, Ms. Diaz debuted on QVC, surrounded by a variety of desserts and main dishes made with her food molds. Within seven minutes, her entire stock of 2,000 units was sold. Three subsequent appearances have yielded greater sales.

        “I'm attempting to educate because I don't want Culinique to be a novelty item,” Ms. Diaz said. “It is designed for the home cook, and I have even octogenarians baking again.”

        The inventor works out of her Blue Ash home, which is part laboratory, part test kitchen (she constantly adapts new recipes for use with Culinique) and part sales office. While she sells Culinique directly to the public, it's also marketed in several kitchen product catalogs and through a wholesale distributor. To date, she has sold about 29,000 units, which retail for between $25 and $35.

        Sandwiched into her schedule is time for product development. Ms. Diaz is perfecting utensils designed to use with Culinique. Inventing is still an important goal.

        “It's all I think about sometimes. I sit and watch TV, but the wheels are turning in my brain.”

        Cooks InOvation can be reached at (800) 947-3572 or www.culinique.com.
       

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