Cooking Classes for Kids

[bookluvingbabe]

Now that BLBaby is 5 (gasp!) and about to start K, I think he'd enjoy learning how to cook a bit. He helps mix things now and he can use the blender with adult supervision. He blends his fruit and yogurt together everyday for school.

He already has the shopping at the farmers market part down.

I know about the Mollie Katzen books but I'm wondering there are in classes in Montgomery County to help teach little folks basic kitchen skills.

Thanks!

[DanielK]

I looked a few years back, and wasn't too thrilled with what I found. Expensive, and none of them impressed me.

Then I realized I wasn't the audience - it's the yuppie stay-at-home mom with the $50k kitchen that they don't actually cook in.

As it turns out, I'm a pretty good teacher for my kids. Started out with basic knife skills, and just had them help in the kitchen when I'm making dinner. Neither one is cooking a gourmet meal anytime soon, but they can do salad, steamed/sauteed veggies, omelets, burgers, potatoes, pasta, rice, etc., and can follow a basic recipe from a cookbook.

[DonRocks]

Matt has gone twice to Stratford's cooking camp (Falls Church, Route 7, right off the beltway), and it has been wonderful (Chef Gordon is a kind and gentle soul). At the end of his first session, he made me a rocking chocolate molten cake (laugh if you will, but it was better than you get in most restaurants, and the sense of achievement he felt when he saw my genuine reaction of "Wow!" was palpable). For Montgomery County, you have to start with L'Academie de Cuisine. Yuppie moms or no, I judged their graduating class's cook-off last year, and was bow-down-and-kiss-the-ground impressed with the multi course meals these young men and women had produced. (If this is what is in store for our city's culinary future, then we're in good hands.) Admittedly, that's several levels above what you're looking for, but they do offer cooking camps for wee ones, and I'd call them first. If there's no obvious match, then ask who they'd recommend based on what you're looking for. It's a start, for sure.

Side note: I've been in a fairly extensive discussion this evening with one of our area chefs about what, exactly, it takes to become a chef, and maintain it over the long term. This is as good a time as any to express the immense respect I have for our young line cooks (hell - dishwashers, busers, AGMs), and the work that they do. And by damn if I have any say in the matter, people in this town are going to be as familiar with these "supporting" performers as they are with Chefs de Cuisine. These positions need to be scrutinized just as closely as "lesser players" in the NFL draft by people who know what they're talking about and who have the bankrolls to support them. I have so much deep, genuine respect for these great artisans that I cannot properly express it in words without sounding like an idiot. I'm going to help them as well as I can; I just have to figure out the best way to go about doing it.

Cheers,

Rocks

[goodeats]

I have not thought about it for little man, but I have seen a number of them advertised on the local coupon site Certifikid (a local mom started this site).

Arlington County has started offering cooking summer camps as well.

A quick google search yielded the following results:

Tiny Chefs (DC-area)

Cookology (VA)

The Kitchen Studio (Frederick, MD)

Classy Kids Cook (DC)

Cannelloni Kids Cook (Ellicott City, MD)

Just Cakes (Baking in Bethesda, MD)

*If one of the media folks is reading this, I think this would be a good mini-food article to help folks compile info on!!

[Sundae in the Park]

I just read a cute blog post (Amy from DCfoodies/Amalah) that mentioned Mini Chefs for her 3-yr old at the YMCA and I think she lives in MoCo.

[DC Deb]

.... immense respect I have for our young line cooks (hell - dishwashers, busers, AGMs), and the work that they do. And by damn if I have any say in the matter, people in this town are going to be as familiar with these "supporting" performers.....

Aw, shucks Don. You are very kind.

It may be too early for BLBaby but CulinAerie at 14th & L http://www.culinaerie.com/ has summer cooking camps. Chef Amanda is fantastic with kids.