Kids Cooking Classes: Gateway to an Essential Life Skill

As parents, we work hard to prepare our kids to live happy, fulfilling lives. While they are growing up, we achieve part of that by making healthy food for them to eat so that they can grow. However, once they are off in the world, it will be up to them to be able to choose and prepare healthy food on their own.

It's also cheaper for money-strapped college students and, let's be honest, a real bonus when dating. Going out to dinner is nice, but a homecooked meal is far more intimate.

Exposing kids to cultures other than your own is a great way to help foster cultural awareness. Food is universal and an excellent gateway to exploring different cultures. You can explore so much of the world through food, learning about how and why various cultures have come to create and enjoy some of their favorite dishes.

Live in New York? Try making some gumbo. Never been outside of Texas? Try some whipping up some fresh New England clam chowder.

Even kids that hate math can get a dose of fun in kids cooking classes. Learning to cook can help your young child explore mathematical concepts like shapes and numbers as they help you bake cupcakes.

Early elementary kids can get hands-on with concepts like measurement, weights, and volume. Older kids can put their fraction and decimal calculation skills to practical use while scaling recipes up or down.

Kids cooking classes can give your child a window into the world of science through food. After all, when you break it down, cooking is just a science experiment that you can eat.

Cooking is full of chemistry: physical interactions as well as chemical reactions. Making mayonnaise, for example, is all about creating an emulsion, or distributing one or more liquids (egg) in another liquid (oil.)

The Maillard reaction produces a crispy brown crust on toasted marshmallows, bread, and other foods. It's a chemical reaction between sugars and amino acids that give food a distinct, delicious toasted flavor.

There’s no denying that ​food brings. Kids cooking classes offer a variety of ways to help families bond through food. For younger ones, learning how to make food with their parent or other loved one is sure to be a cherished memory to keep for their entire lives. 

As children get older and learn how to cook through kids cooking classes, bringing home their creations to share is a point of excitement. Most importantly, let’s not forget about the sheer pride a child can take in creating a meal for their family all by themselves.

When looking for kids cooking classes, it is important to note the age range that the class accepts. Learning to cook is super fun at any age, but as with all learning, it should be developmentally appropriate for the child.

TODDLER THROUGH KINDERGARTEN​ERS

Toddlers and pre-schoolers love to help out in the kitchen but are still developing their fine motor skills. Kids cooking classes for little ones around this age tend to be geared more towards simple recipes that help them learn the basics like stirring, pouring, and chopping, with adult supervision.

For your youngest cooks, look for kids cooking classes made specifically for younger children. These classes will often be shorter in length to accommodate your usually less-than-attentive little one. Also, kids cooking classes for little ones will require a parent or other adult to attend as a “helper.”

PRIMARY SC​HOOL-AGED KIDS

School-aged children, from approximately 6 to 10 years old, have better fine motor skills and longer attention spans than little kids. Depending on the instructor and program, these kids cooking classes will likely be mostly about learning the basic kitchen skills. These skills may include measuring, reading recipes, and beginner knife skills.

P​RIMARY SCHOOL-AGED KIDS

Older kids, from tweens through teens, can do more in the kitchen than the school-aged kids. While you can still readily find beginners classes for older kids, you can also find more advanced ones that can help your child hone their culinary passions.

Depending on the class and instructor, these more advanced classes may include delving deeper into traditional culinary techniques and terminology.

Kids cooking classes for older kids can help them further explore their interests. A teen that is interested in healthy eating may enjoy a class that teaches them how to make vegan desserts.

If you have a tween that is very artsy and loves to bake, a cake or cookie decorating class may be something to look into.

Kids cooking classes are fun but can be full of potential hazards if your child has food-related concerns. Before signing up for a class, check-in with the class provider about the ingredient list and procedures.

If you have a child with severe allergies or sensitivities, seek out allergy-friendly kids cooking classes. These classes are more likely to be tailored to exclude allergenic ingredients with instructors that understand the dangers of cross-contamination. Even so, it is a good idea to check in with the instructor before signing up. This way, you can confirm that appropriate safety measures are taking place.

The chances are that you may not need to look too far to find kids cooking classes. Having your kids in the kitchen while you cook is a great way to learn this basic life skill. Kids, especially little ones, learn best through imitation.

You can still teach your children the essentials even if you are not the greatest cook in the world. BBC Good Food has a guide for age-appropriate cooking skills that you can help with. For example, you can teach your five-year-old how to wash fruits and veggies or pick the stems off of strawberries.

Parents magazine suggests keeping the mood light and be sure to teach your kids the correct terminology while cooking. These are all lessons that you can build on when you decide to enroll them in formal kids cooking classes.

Do you have a group of parent friends with someone that loves to cook or would like to learn? Put together a series of kids cooking classes play dates! It's especially fun for little kids, but even older kids could get into the swing of things with some great food.

School-aged kids may enjoy rolling out pre-made dough while tweens and teens can really get into it by making their dough from scratch.

Your local community center is a great place to find kids cooking classes. During school vacation times, you may be able to find kids cooking classes in day camp form. Here, they attend a series of cooking classes over a week.

If you are still unsure, ask around on local parenting groups or local interest groups on social media. Hyperlocal websites like NextDoor are especially helpful as these are your neighbors who can help give you feedback on community happenings and classes.

Grocery stores and gourmet food stores may offer cooking classes, including kids cooking classes. For example, some Whole Foods Market locations hold kids cooking classes throughout the year.

Please note that cooking class availability varies widely from market to market. Be sure to check with your local store. You may find announcements on the market’s website or on posters at the store itself.

Also, if you are interested in ethnic cuisine, check if your local ethnic supermarket offers kids cooking classes. For example, 99 Ranch, an Asian supermarket chain, sometimes offers kids cooking classes at its larger markets.

Cooking schools and cooking clubs are another option to explore. There is a good chance that if you do a local online search for “kids cooking classes,” you may find a variety of classes, run by private organizations in your area.

If you cannot find local kids cooking classes for your family, or have other constraints that make attending a class difficult, there are a variety of online options you can try. Online kids cooking classes have the advantage of allowing your child to take things at their own pace. For kids that prefer to work independently, this may be an ideal solution.

Other online kids cooking classes like Raddish and KidStir are more of a subscription box model. In this case, a box with a project comes every month or so with instructions. Sometimes, these subscription boxes may include a specialized tool for the cooking project.

Unlike real life cooking classes, online kids cooking classes do require more parent involvement. Specifically, parents will need to help set up the learning environment by purchasing ingredients and providing basic cooking supplies.