About Naima

Hola amigos!

My name is Naima Winston.

Thank you for taking the time to learn a little more about me!

WHO AM I?

I am 13 years old and live in Baltimore, Maryland! My business name is called Cocina Naima because I cook as well as bake. Cocina means kitchen in Spanish. I attended a language immersion school where all my classes were taught solely in Spanish from kindergarten through 6th grade, so I’m *mostly* fluent in Spanish. Also, I know a little bit of American Sign Language because my mom is hard of hearing and made me learn it. In 6th grade I started learning Mandarin Chinese at my school so I know a little of that. For 7th grade, in wake of COVID, my mom decided to homeschool and I am taking classes currently through Aya Institute which is based in GA. I think I want to keep learning languages—as many as I can! Currently I am learning Isuzulu and French.

In addition, I am a dancer and have been dancing ballet and a few other styles like jazz and tap since I was 5 years old. I’ve danced with Inertia Performing Arts and in the TWIGS program through Baltimore School of the Arts.

Beyond that, I am just your normal kid. I love to paint, be on the phone and hang out with my friends. 🤪

MY CULINARY JOURNEY

I’ve been in the kitchen since I was a toddler. Cooking and baking was something me and my mom always did together. I started out mostly cooking and got into baking when I was 9.

I love BOTH cooking and baking! It is so relaxing and calming and I enjoy being in the kitchen and trying new things. In 2018, I won 1st place in the Healthy Kids Cook-off competition put on by Healthy Little Cooks. The winning dish was Zucchini noodles with Homemade Rainbow Veggie Sauce.

From that experience, I was able to teach my winning original recipe at the grand opening of Simple Cooking with Heart Kitchen in Baltimore, a project run by the American Heart Association. I’ve also been able to work with other local chefs and bakers in the Baltimore area who help me to hone my skills and techniques. I hope to keep learning and become the best chef (and pastry chef) I can be. For now. When I grow up I would like to be a midwife or OBGYN.

Kid’s Baking Championship!

I was lucky to be able to participate on Food Network’s Kid’s Baking Championship, Season 8 which aired in January of 2020. I was double lucky to also be able to return to compete a second time on the 2020 Season’s Sweeting’s Holiday Episode. If you have the Food Network app, you may be able to still watch the season! I hope you will if you didn’t get a change to when it aired!

It was an amazing experience and I made many friends whom I still keep in contact with today!

Health Journey

When I was 3 years old, I was diagnosed with an auto-immune disease: Type 1 diabetes. It does make being a baker a bit harder because when I am tasting things I have to also be aware of how it affects my blood sugar and make sure I give enough insulin to cover for it. Type 1 diabetes is very different from type 2. It’s autoimmune which means the body’s immune system attacks itself. In my case, my immune system attacked the beta cells made by my pancreas. The beta cells are what produce insulin to regulate blood sugar in the body. Because mine are being attacked and do not work, I have to forever take insulin and balance my blood sugar on my own. Basically I have to be my pancreas (or part of it)! However my diabetes is part of the reason I am into cooking as I was focused on creating healthy meals and low carb meals that don’t affect my blood sugar so much. I’ve been through a lot with this disease but I am happy that it hasn’t kept me from doing the things I enjoy, and I really want other children with type 1  diabetes (or any other medical conditions) to know that they can do what they dream of also!

THAT’S ALL!

I hope you enjoy my desserts and that you will buy from me not just once but anytime you need any baked goods! (I’m constantly expanding my repertoire).

Enjoy! 😊