When it comes to preparing a meal, here’s a quick and easy recipe: take one child; add a patient, kind cook; mix in siblings, family, and friends; stir in a dose of fun, and there you have it: a youngster who begins to get the basics of cooking.
Those in the Toledo area who offer cooking classes designed for children say the benefits are both short- and long-term, and in a sense, a recipe for success.
Foodology
“Most professional cooks and chefs have something in common,” said Andi Lawrence, chef and owner of Foodology. “It’s that we grew up cooking in the kitchen with a parent, grandparent, aunt or uncle.”
Lawrence has combined cooking and education at Foodology, that provides recreational cooking classes for all ages and skill levels at its Laskey Road location.
“Our classes are interactive – everyone’s cooking, chopping,” she said. “There’s a demonstration portion, then the chef guides the group through the process. We try to make it as inviting and comfortable for kids, those who haven’t been in a kitchen or those who like to cook at home.”
577 Foundation
In its Little Chefs series, the 577 Foundation in Perrysburg takes the concept of putting the children-cooks at ease one step further, by sharing the communal meal.
Kelly Rose Hirsh, 577’s assistant director of administrative operations, said the every-other-month one-day class is built around a theme. The next class, Tuesday, Aug. 6, from 5-6:30 p.m., is Breakfast for Dinner. “We’ll have homemade pancake batter and a yogurt parfait,” she said, adding that typically 577’s child-cooking classes include three recipes. In this case, the children also will make a smoothie.
After the children – usually aged 7 to 12, with 10 to 12 per class – prepare the meal’s components, “we go to the tables in the dining room and eat together,” Hirsh said.
“In the kitchen, we’re all working together, like you would as a family. They take turns pouring and stirring – it works well,” she said.
“We try to incorporate at least one or two ingredients that the kids never encountered,” Hirsh added. An example was the June class, which was making “walking tacos” – cooked ground beef put in a snack bag of corn chips. One of the toppings available was cilantro. “Some knew what that was, most didn’t. They smelled it and felt it before trying it. It was cool to see them experience something new.”
Hirsh added that when possible she uses fresh vegetables and herbs grown on 577 Foundation’s grounds and greenhouse.
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YMCA
Health, such as through fresh fruits and vegetables, is a hallmark of the classes at the YMCA of Greater Toledo. “Our overall theme is to keep the kids healthy,” said Linda Napier, membership director at the Wolf Creek YMCA, one of three “Y” sites that offer cooking classes for children.
The Y’s Kids That Cook offers three class levels: for those aged 3 to 5, 5 to 8, and 7 to 12. “Those in the 3 to 5 class might make pasta salad, with the pasta already cooked; in 7 to 12 they might do everything from scratch,” Napier said.
The Y classes teach children how to measure, wash fruits and vegetables, cut and mix ingredients and learn how to use some kitchen appliances, such as instant pots and air fryers.
Napier said the classes expand the children’s palates as they are introduced to different foods and find what they like and dislike.
One thing they universally like is the classes themselves. “They’re excited when they come out of class with a plate of blueberry pancakes that they made and show their mom and dad,” Napier said. “They’re excited about what they do and what they learned. Some even bought chef’s hats to wear.”
That excitement is just one of the side benefits of the class. “They learn life skills, math, reading,” Lawrence said. “The big thing is learning how to organize yourself while cooking.”
Hirsh said the 577 class also teaches children how to set a table. “Establishing eating at the table is important,” she said. The hope is that the children can help make a meal and give families more reasons to gather around a table.
Helping to cook a family meal at their home builds confidence in children, Hirsh said. “When a kid can make their mom a meal on Mother’s Day,” she said, “that makes them feel good.”
She’s found that some kids are quiet, but develop self-esteem through cooking. “For some kids that means a lot – not every kid is into soccer or other sports. Some kids might find that to be their thing.”
Which circles back to Lawrence and her view that many chefs start as children, helping their parents in the kitchen. “I would suggest parents encourage kids to help, even if it’s not the most convenient,” she said. “Myself as a parent, you just want to get dinner done as easily as possible. To have the patience to slow down and have children help is huge. It might take longer and be messier, but to step back and show how to slice tomatoes is worth it.”
Lawrence added that parents might be surprised at their children’s reaction. “Children assume they can’t help, but take the initiative and have patience and trust them. They can do more than you think they’re capable of.”
For more details, visit foodologytoledo.com, 577foundation.org/classes-events/youth-family, and ymcatoledo.org/specialty-camps.
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