Is May about the newly arriving crocuses (crocii?)? Or about the greening of our lawns after the longest winter ever? Nah. Let’s get down to business-it’s about finding camps for your kiddos before the summer hits and all of those spots are filled! The emails have begun flying and the scramble is beginning. What’s new? What’s fun? How about forgoing the traditional Camp Gitchigoomee canoes and bonfires and, instead, fan the flames of summer creativity in some area kitchens with cooking camps for kids!
Here is a list of 8 Kids Cooking Classes & Summer Camps for 2014:
Give a man a fish and he eats for one day, but TEACH him to how to bone, saute and dress up that fish, well, that’s another story. The school year has come to a close for our under-21s but we know that you hunger (pun totally intended) to learn something new...in the kitchen. Cooking classes abound in our area; some will teach you how to make the perfect french macaron (not to be confused with the American macaroon with two “o’s”), cooling summer soups or regional delights that transport you without standing in pesky security lines. Don your best apron, raise a spatula and proclaim this the summer that you learn some rockin’ cooking skills and new recipes! Summer school has never looked so good.
Here is CTbites' Guide To Cooking Classes For Adults & Kids for 2013...
And now a word from our 10 yrs old food critic....
Cake, bacon, and cinnamon; these are the words that my nose told my brain as soon as I walked into the kitchen at Aux Delices. I was so delighted that I was going to be cooking a scrumptious meal and not trying something that a professional chef created.
The cooking class that I went to was instructed by Lynn Manheim. She is also the cooking school director. The first recipe that we made was scones. Most of the ingredients were out on the table but the sugar and the flour were in two big bins. Mrs. Manheim shows everyone exactly how to do each step and how much of each ingredient to use. She will wait for everyone to finish one step before she goes onto the next, and if you need some help Mrs. Manheim will always give you a hand (especially if you’re grating butter like I was).
I recently had the pleasure to sit down with Ramin Ganeshram to talk about her cookbook; her newly released Stir it Up! a novel written for young adults, as well as her involvement in the community.
But before you start reading...In Stir It Up! heroine Anjali Krishnan enters a video cooking contest for a shot at a reality cooking competition show on Food Network. She does such a good job she makes it to the finals. If you have a young aspiring chef in your family, check out Ramin's video contest below.
Ramin, who grew up in Brooklyn, New York, was greatly influenced by the cultures of her Iranian mother and Trinidadian father. The marriage of two different heritages and lifestyles would result creating in new traditions; food was one of them. Ramin explained, “We had access to Middle Eastern markets growing up, but all Middle Eastern ingredients are not the same.
Camp Fine Dining is a two week camp for teenagers that will run this August led by Paul Desiano, Chef and Owner of Cello (formerly Plate) located in Copps Hill Plaza in Ridgefield.
In the first week, Camp Fine Dining will focus students on basic skills including knife cuts, butchering, sauces, and pasta making. By the second week, the students and Chef Desiano will brainstorm a 5-course tasting menu. The class will spend the first week preparing and the program will conclude with the students cooking that menu for their families.
Dates and time: August 16 -18, August 23 – 25 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
I don’t remember any of my peers taking cooking classes when I was a kid, but the world is different now, what with the Food Network and all the other TV cooking shows, websites, special events and the general blossoming of our foodie culture. At the same time, it’s no longer a given that a child learns to cook at home with Mom or Grandma, soa little outside instruction is often welcome. Whatever the reason, cooking classes for kids are a phenomenon of our times, and Fairfield County has many options for kids who are so inclined.
This will be an occasional series on opportunities for kids to learn to cook (mostly) in the Fairfield County area. Because right now is the time to think about summer camp, let's start there...
Wish you could throw a party in your own home, where people could meander from room to room to avoid that stuffy, restaurant feel? Hate being stuck at some long, rectangular table where the only person you are speaking to is the one right next to you? (You know, the one that you had been trying NOT to get stuck with.) Want to be relaxed and enjoy the food with your guests while someone else prepares, serves, and cleans up? Want to stop worrying about the red wine spilling on your white sofas? Tired of stressing about the fancy gadgets in your medicine cabinet that people might discover while they “powder” and snoop? Have your (organic) cake and eat it too at Jennifer Balin’s eclectic and fabulous “space” in Norwalk. SUGAR and OLIVES is the name and quirky and sensational is the game!
