I had an old friend reach out to gift her niece some cooking classes.
Why not? I can teach kids! And they’re SOOOOO excited about everything.
So, we did 3 weekly classes, and they were great. We’ll likely be continuing them, too, as she’s looking into going to a culinary magnet school!
So, what did we study? I had to figure out a good starting point.
- Lesson 1 – Flavor profiles: Sauces and Dressings
- This was a longer class than I’d like when teaching a young teen, but it gave the girls a great start, and homework for expanding on their knowledge.
- We talked about what a “salad” is (or could be), and worked on a couple dressings as well as a great formula for the perfect show-stopping balsamic salad (available now if you book this class!)
- We also taught two of the Mother Sauces, which we used to make Spaghetti and Meatballs and a Mac and Cheese. There was much rejoicing.
- Lesson 2 – Baking
- We had to start her on the pastry train, too. It’s a good way for people to figure out if they want to be a pastry person or not. Spoiler: she likes the pastry.
- For this one, my lovely sous chef, Kate, was on-hand to help teach some of her favorites. We had her make a self-saucing pudding, as well as scratch-made chocolate chip cookies. BUT to throw in a twist, we offered her three different ways to use the cookie dough, and she did super well at all three. Great job!
- Lesson 3 – Grilling
- This class was all about a lot of prep followed by a lesson of how to use a grill. Being summer, it was a heck of a bit of heat out there, but the girls powered through!
- They made a whole menu for their family all on the grill! Grilled Panzanella, Grilled Carrots, Pork Tender, and (of course) the perfect burger. A fabulous ending for 3-class package!
If you’d like to have your kids start learning their way around the kitchen, get in touch! Here are some of our favorite photos of our adventure.
