To celebrate Small Business Saturday, we sat down with Laurie Buckle, our CEO and founder for a quick Q&A! She answered a few fun questions about running her own business, including her inspiration behind the name CookIt Media and her go-to power lunch.
Laurie: Entrepreneurs run in my family, and in some ways I’d always thought of my corporate roles as being my “own business.” I worked in food magazines, but it was pretty clear that the shift to digital was coming. So I set out to better understand food bloggers and help them appreciate their value as content creators. That idea turned into a consulting business, which turned into a talent agency, and here we are today almost eight years later!
Laurie: Working in food, the ultimate goal has always been to get your reader or follower into the kitchen, to get them cooking. That’s where the food is the most delicious, the healthiest and the most fun. Just cook it – and everything good will come from there.
Laurie: That time we earned a spot on the Inc. 5,000 list of fastest-growing companies. I still have the Champagne cork!
Laurie: Let your enthusiasm show! When you love what you’re doing and you’re working to convince someone to back your idea, be your real can’t-stop-me-now self!
Laurie: Honestly, I can’t imagine doing anything else!
Laurie: There’s really only one answer to both of those questions: Riding the wave that is this always-changing, potential-packed, never-dull industry!
Laurie: Usually a salad. I make a batch of dressing every week, then use some version of my two salad formulas: greens, avocado, tomato, cheese, nuts, crunch (like tortilla chips) or greens, fruit (apples, berries), cheese, nuts, crunch (croutons, crackers). I’m big on crunch.
Laurie: Watching Fleishman is in Trouble (love Taffy Brodesser-Ackner so much); reading Horse; listening to Omar Apollo and the WIIM podcast.
We’re incredibly honored to be nominated for Top Boutique Agency in @withjulyhq’s 2025 Creator Agency Awards! 🎉
CookIt turned 10 last year, a milestone that gave us the opportunity to reflect not only on how far we’ve come, but on where the creator economy is headed next.
With that perspective, we’ve become increasingly clear about one thing: the future of this industry belongs to creators who are built for longevity, not just momentary reach. That belief has shaped how we operate and why we’ve continued to evolve the traditional agency model — placing creators and their growth at the center of everything we do.
If you think like we do, please vote for us via the link in our bio. It only takes a minute. And thank you for supporting what we’re building!
Starting off the year strong! @imashleybreannn on the CookIt roster reached 100K followers on Instagram yesterday! 🎉 Swipe through memory lane to revisit some favorite partnerships along the way, including @getgraza, @labreabakery, and @amoretti. 💛
And just like that, 2025 came to a close the best way we know how. ✨ With great people. With good food. With a holiday party that turned into a hands-on cooking class with @thefooddragon, learning how to make @thefooddragon’s homemade gnocchi sardi with pistachio pesto. Grateful for this team, our talent, our brand partners, and everything we accomplished this year! 🥂
This past weekend, our Founder & CEO @lauriebuck attended @cherrybombe’s Jubilee in Los Angeles, a celebration devoted to women in food. From restaurants to cookbooks, bakers to winemakers, every conversation and every bite reflected the creativity and drive of this community.
Icons were everywhere, including @nancysilverton, who kicked off the weekend with a backyard gathering at her home, @mollybaz, @chefmelissaking, @suzannegoin, and @kerrybombe, women whose talent and vision have helped shape today’s food culture.
What stood out most was the spirit of the Jubilee itself: inspiring, generous, and truly “the Bombe.”
When you work with talent as driven and creative as the ones on our roster, showing up for them isn’t a question, it’s a priority! Yesterday, @lauriebuck and @molls.benton from Team CookIt joined Meg of @ainttooproudtomeg at the @saltworthstudio, where Meg is deep in the middle of a new, can’t-say-too-much-yet kind of project. (Spoiler: it’s big, and it’s going to be SO good.) 👀
It’s not unusual for us to hop on a plane, walk a trade show floor, or spend a day behind the scenes - whatever it takes to support the talent we work with. Because when you’re a talent building something new, having a team that believes in your vision, has the resources to support it, and is willing to show up for it makes all the difference. 🧡
© 2025 CookIt Media, LLC | All Rights Reserved. | Branding & Website Design by The La.Rue Creative Studio. | Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions
