Bringing Kids Into the Kitchen
By Micah Cheek
Cooking classes are no longer an adults-only attraction. For a child’s birthday or other event, parents increasingly have the option of skipping the usual arcade and pizza venue for kid-sized kitchens that educate as they entertain.
While taking children to classes might not seem intuitive for entertainment, cooking classes let kids play with their hands, socialize, use ingredients with bright colors and put whatever they want into their mouths, all hallmarks of a fun time. As they do so, they learn by playing with their food. “We’re teaching more than just cooking, we’re teaching math, science, counting, color, social skills, music, art nutrition, I could go on and on,” says Cricket Azima, Founder and Big Cheese of The Creative Kitchen in New York City, New York. Azima, a professionally trained chef with 17 years of experience teaching cooking classes, finds that children have a great time cooking, and often want to cook more after classes. “We are educating kids through and about food inn hands-on and engaging ways,” says Azima. “We have some families, they’re on sibling number three [attending The Creative Kitchen], and our recipes are part of their dinner repertoire.”
For any cooking class, judging the audience correctly is key. But bored kids could start throwing pizza dough or simply wander away. “That’s why we keep everything so fast paced. Generally in the older ages, we‘ll have them read the recipe cards, but for the younger kids we just move as fast as we can to keep them interested,” says Anastasia LaBorde, Co-Owner of The Kid’s Table in Chicago, Illinois. “We have a constant problem. We have a play kitchen in the front. Convincing the two- and three-year-olds that we’re going to go back and make real food, and it’ll be just as much fun – that’s a challenge.”
She recommends that two- and three-year-olds need to have a parent or guardian standing by to help out. Older children can generally be depended on to handle a lesson without parental intervention.
Another important part of teaching young cooks is figuring out how much of the prep work needs to be done ahead of time. Getting to do a little bit of chopping is fun, but too much becomes a chore. “Everything is sliced ahead of time. We’ll cut rainbows of onions. That way they can chop it all themselves, but they don’t have to do a whole onion,” says La Borde. Other tasks, like making pizza dough, have enough mixing, bubbling and kneading to keep the activity fun.
Working with children also requires some special communication skills. “Obviously patience is a very important one. Bring things down to the children’s level, as far as explaining how things are grown and where it comes from, because that’s where a lot of it is lost,” LaBorde adds.
Specialized tools can make the cooking experience easier and more fun for youngsters. “We do a lot of experience cooking with special needs children. The things we use will be useful to children of different abilities,” says Azima. “Tovolo has a whipping device that we find is really fun for kids who can’t grab a bowl and whisk. We use a mini box grater, but we’re doing that hand over hand in a very safe way.”
Obviously, little hands need little tools to work with, but providing small spatulas and bowls isn’t just about function. “Utensils that are a smaller size, it makes the kids feel like it’s just for them,” says Azima. “It can make the process of cooking more fun.” Tools should be chosen for fun too. “When I’m cooking at home, kids love the spiralizer or a melon baller or a cookie cutter – things that would be fun in terms of changing the shape,” Azima adds. “I’m not a big pusher of playing with food, but it makes it more fun.” Most of the tasks requiring knives can be done by the instructor before the event, and plastic knives are sturdy enough to cut through fresh items like onion slices or bell pepper strips.
When choosing recipes for a kids’ event, it’s a safe bet to go vegetarian. “We do all vegetarian. We’re all healthy-based just doing a healthier spin on classic foods,” says LaBorde. Both Borde and Azima suggested vegetarian options for a variety of reasons. Many vegetable ingredients can be eaten raw, limiting the need to use heating elements. Fruits, vegetables and pastas like tricolor rotini have lots of bright colors that children enjoy. Leaving meat out of the equation also reduces the chance of cross-contamination and potential food-borne illness. The best part is that these vegetarian options appeal to parents, who are excited to see their children get excited for healthy foods.
