At Chef Alyssa’s Kitchen, one of the biggest growing areas is kids’ programming. They cook with only real, local and healthy ingredients and teach them foundation skills that go into making adult meals.
“It is so exciting to see the enthusiasm they have for learning how to cook and creating to a meal,” Alyssa says. To foster this same energy at home, she agreed to share some ideas below that can help.
1. When working on the stove, encourage your kids to think of their utensil, like tongs or a spoon, as their hand. This way they remember not to get their hands or arms too close to the stovetop.
2. Make sure your kids are wearing closed toe shoes. It’s common to be in flip-flops or barefoot in the summer and when hanging out at home, and with hot food or sharp objects this can be a concern.
3. Keep that opposite hand and fingertip tucked under. Get kids comfortable with forming a gentle claw hand shape; if they use something sharp with their dominant hand, they will be safer gripping the ingredient.
4. Create a fun math lesson through recipe measurements. Learning how to use liquid and dry measuring cups to portion ingredients is great. Also look for recipes they can measure by weight using a scale. Help them understand how many teaspoons are in a Tablespoon (3) and how these measurements build together.
5. Quantities are very important in baking to make the recipe work. A great way to make this educational is making a half or even a quarter portion of the recipe. This is the perfect way for kids can work on their math skills!
6. The procedure is the code steps for completing a recipe, however, especially in savory cooking, there can be many adjustments made like in the flavor profile. An opportunity to have kids learn more is through their creativity. Let them look through the pantry and fridge to choose their own substitutes for items like herbs, vegetables and spices.
At the end of the day, cooking is about having fun and being creative! I hope your kids find an outlet in the kitchen and expand their palates! At Chef Alyssa’s Kitchen, they offer week long culinary camps and cooking days throughout the year. Send an email to join the mailing list for newly-added dates and upcoming events: info@chefalyssaskitchen.com
