RHIANNA Mc KENZIE
Samuel Hinkson, affectionately known by his friends and family as Sammy, is, for the most part, your average 14-year-old boy. He loves spending time with his family and their dog Stella, he enjoys a game of football at the Oval with his friends, and he passes the time during vacations with his cousins at sleepovers and playing video game.
Unlike most teenagers, however, Sammy struggles with Tourette Syndrome, a condition that affects his nervous system causing sudden and uncontrolled twitches, movements, or sounds.
While it was hard for him and his family to understand his condition when it first presented itself at the age of eight, he has since learned how to live with it, manage his symptoms, and boost his confidence.
One of the ways he has been able to do this is through his love for cooking and baking. At an early age, Sammy would spend time with his grandmother, Caryl Hinkson, in the kitchen, baking everything from pancakes to brownies and cookies.
“Every afternoon, there’s a little gathering out there on the bench (near the family home) and he would go out and offer everyone cookies and got the idea that we could charge,” said Caryl.
“He started charging $5 per cookie and, when he realised he could make money, he started making more.”
She said soon after, a neighbour loved Sammy’s cookies so much she ordered a dozen, and his business took off from there.
[caption id="attachment_937395" align="alignnone" width="757"] Sammy Hinkson and two of his supporters behind his One Tough Cookie Sammy business, mother, Michelle Hinkson, left, and grandmother, Caryl Hinkson, at the family home in Maraval.- ROGER JACOB[/caption]
Sammy’s mother, Michelle Hinkson, decided to name the business One Tough Cookie to acknowledge her son’s struggle with Tourette’s. “We always told him he was one tough cookie with all of his challenges,” she said.
Sammy said he started making cookies with his grandmother using store-bought packs from the supermarket. “We made cookies to sell around the avenue,” he told Newsday. Eventually, granny would teach him a home-made recipe, which is what they use today.
He listed the ingredients for his cookies, including eggs, butter, baking powder, sugar, and vanilla essence. “Oh, and chocolate chips. The most important part,” he said with a smile.
Although he only sells chocolate chips now, he said he would love to expand with other flavours and ingredients, such as cookie dough and M&Ms.
Sammy has big dreams of one day exporting his brand to different countries. “Cookies expire quickly. I have to find out how to do that.”
He said as much as he would like to spend his money on new games, his parents are teaching him accounting. “I can’t spend it. I put it back into the business. My parents taught me that.”
Caryl joked that he shared with her his plan to build a 19-bedroom house with his money. Sammy said one room would be for his games and another just for football.
Hinkson also sells to his friends in school, taking a dozen cookies every week to se
