Pint-Sized Iron Chefs

More and more children are taking an interest in the culinary field. Special fun and competitive cooking school camps are designed to create Iron Chefs of the future.

by Sue Booth
sue.booth@Cooking-School-Search.com
Cooking School Search Columnist

Rising popularity of cooking shows like Iron Chef have spawned cooking schools or camps for kids with a competitive edge. Young adults are now learning the ins and outs of the culinary field. The twist: a camp-ending Iron Chef-style cook-off designed to show off their newly acquired culinary skills.

Mini Iron Chefs In-the-Making

Some of these camp style cooking schools are about two weeks long and target children between 11 and 14. The programs teach students basic culinary safety, preparation, and how to make individual courses from scratch. An important lesson is that children learn how to cook a meal instead of just grabbing a pre-made, processed microwave meal; the goal is to encourage them to eat healthier.

Kids are passing on the canned Campbell’s soup and whipping up their own concoctions. Students’ parents are also thrilled to get a little help in the kitchen come dinnertime. Is there some competition at home? Some students’ basic culinary skills are impressive enough to even out-cook their parents.

Ready, Set, COOK!

One fun part of these cooking schools is the Iron Chef competition at the camps’ conclusions, Here’s the dish on the contest:

• Teams prepare a meal from scratch
• Parents can watch a video of their children cutting, mixing, and cooking their meals
• Judges are selected for blind food tasting; each meal is judged on presentation and taste
• Camp coordinators judge the teams on teamwork and students’ ability to stay on task

Culinary Stepping-Stone

Students are not only learning important life skills, they’re getting a taste of the culinary real world and a possible jump-start on a culinary career. The U.S. Department of Labor claims that cooks and chefs are the largest growing professions in the country. These types of cooking schools are great stepping-stones for young chefs who want to continue their careers in the thriving culinary field. Mom and Dad aren’t complaining either.

Sources

Now They’re Cooking! - Gloucester County Times
Chefs, Cooks, and Food Preparation Workers- US Dept of Labor

About the Author

Sue Booth is a freelance writer and a former panel taste tester for Good Housekeeping magazine.

Posted on January 24, 2007 at 1:19 PM

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