Riverhead Cafeteria Mom's Invention Could Win Millions

It all started with a dream.

By day, Riverhead resident Melissa Senatore works part-time in the cafeteria at the Pulaski Street School. But at night, Senatore lets her imagination run wild as she seeks to invent a new product that could make millions -- and change her life forever.

And now, Senatore has a chance to realize those big dreams. Her product, the "Flip it Baking Basket," has been chosen, along with the inventions of 24 other hopefuls, to vie in a competition sponsored by TeleBrands, the company behind the "As Seen on TV" infomercials. 

Senatore, who will travel to Minneapolis, MN for Inventors Day on June 6, has five minutes to pitch her product to TeleBrands CEO AJ Khubani, as well as to a panel of judges -- and possibly make it big, if her product is chosen to win the competition.

Senatore, 55, the divorced mom of two young adults, Jimmy and Jeremy, works in the Pulaski Street School cafeteria. 

In the past, she owned a Jamesport antique store that closed last year. But in her spare time, Senatore, who's always had a penchant for thinking of new products to create, spends time chatting with other would-be inventors on websites geared to coming up with ideas.

When she met a man with the same last name, Peter Senatore, the Riverhead mom teamed up with him and others in a collaborative effort after they met on the Quirky website.

Of TeleBrands, Senatore said, "It's an inventor's dream." 

The product that grabbed the attention of the TeleBrands execs was Senatore's idea, the "Flip It Baking Basket," a device that allows meal preparers to flip over chicken nuggets, fish, mozzarella sticks or any other food, so that both sides cook evenly.

If her product is chosen, TeleBrands will manufacture and market the "Flip It Baking Basket" -- and Senatore stands to earn millions.

"I'm excited," Senatore said. "I was told you could make $1 million just in the first year."

TeleBrands, she said, has launched more direct response products than any other company in history.

Although she thought of the idea, Senatore is sharing the experience with her fellow inventors. "We're a team," she said.

Her product, Senatore said, has a provisional patent, good for one year. 

Looking back, Senatore, who was born in East Meadow and moved to Mattituck during high school,  said her passion for creation was inspired by her father, Harold Klinge. "I got the invention bug from my dad," she said. 

Although he came up with a number of ideas, including a potato peeler shaped like a hand and a pet carrier with wheels, those concepts were eventually produced by others. "In his lifetime, he never saw his ideas invented," she said.

If Senatore wins, the money could change her life. "The economy is so bad. I'm only working part-time and I have no medical benefits," Senatore said. And, if her idea wins the competition, other plans include traveling to see family in New Mexico, buying a new house and helping others.

"It would be nice to be able to afford to do some of the things I haven't been able to, in the last six years," she said. "This would be a dream come true."