Children’s Classes

My mission is to provide a fun, creative and educational cooking experience for children, to learn life skills and discover new recipes, in a fun and creative environment.

Class Categories

Mini Chef (5-7) years 

Mini Chef classes for age 5-7 are 90 minutes long, with a limited attention span we work on small tasks.  Here they learn about cooking by watching, feeling, smelling, tasting and using hands on experiences.

Mini Chef’s love to get involved with cooking just small tasks like mixing or adding cheese or crushing potatoes builds enthusiasm and helps them to grow in confidence.  Learning kitchen skills through small tasks encourages them to learn and gain sensory feedback and develop motor skills.

Our Mini Chef’s will be able to cut using the KiddiKutter knife designed for children 3 years & older to cut their own food SAFELY. This fabulous knife will cut anything that a sharp knife can but it won’t cut little fingers due to the rounded serrations of the stainless steel blade. It works by using a sawing action, the knife is not sharp, so it won’t chop allowing for fun and a safe way for children to learn one of life’s most important  skills – Cooking!

View Demo Video

Lesson plans include easy child recipes and some no bake recipes. All these kids cooking ideas bring your kids one step closer to learning how to cook.

Some of the tasks we cover include:
  • Washing vegetables and fruits
  • Covering rice with water to soak
  • Washing work surfaces with a cleaning cloth
  • Tearing lettuce
  • Stirring sauces
  • Spreading and chopping soft fruits and veg with a child safe knife KiddiKutter knife
  • Pouring ingredients
  • Adding pre-measured ingredients
  • Gathering ingredients
  • Greasing pans
  • Peeling eggs, oranges, bananas
  • Crushing nuts, crackers, etc. for toppings

Junior Chef (8-12) years 

Junior Chef classes are for age 8-12 and are 2 hours long allowing for them to get more hands-on experience, with guidance they can accomplish great things with some really tasty dishes, whilst continuing to add more advanced tasks to their repertoire as they grow in confidence.   Our Junior Chef’s will have the use of the Opinel Le Petit Chef – Junior knife designed specifically for Junior Chefs.

  • Le Petit Chef Knife – with a rounded end to make it safer for children. It also features an ‘educational ring’ – designed to promote proper finger placement when using the knife, as well as stop fingers from slipping forwards onto the blade.
  • Le Petit Chef Peeler – also features a ring to make it easier for little hands to hold and control. Suitable for peeling most fruit & vegetables, including potatoes, apples and carrots.
  • Le Petit Chef Finger Guard – your child can use this to protect their fingers on the hand that’s holding the ingredients while cutting and chopping.
Some of the tasks we now cover include:
  • General Health & Safety in the kitchen
  • Knife safety (Chopping & Cutting an array of ingredients with supervision using the Le Petit Chef Knife & Finger Guard designed especially for child chefs
  • Oven safety (Using oven with supervision)
  • Food Safety
  • Recognize what cooking tools do
  • Read recipes
  • Read labels
  • Help with menu planning
  • Cracking eggs into bowl
  • Filling and levelling measuring cups or spoons accurately
  • Using a can opener
  • Using a vegetable peeler-some may already know how to use one and some children may need instructions
  • Stirring ingredients
  • Filling tins
  • Finding and gathering ingredients
  • Cutting foods
  • Kneading dough
  • Rolling out dough
  • Using a whisk
  • Using cookie cutters
  • Helping plan a meal
  • Making fresh pasta
  • Creating simple recipes with around 6 or less ingredients

Teen Chef (13-16) years 

Teen Chef Classes are 2 hours long where they can do much more with little supervision.  Add more advanced tasks as they improve. lesson plans allow to cover the areas below whilst allowing them to practice cooking skills & techniques.

By now children have learned the basics of making doughs, rolling, combining ingredients and knife skills.

Now is the time to use these skills to create masterpiece meals, as we introduce elements like texture, to their ever growing expanding taste and repertoire.

In this class Teen Chef’s have access to a Hygiplas 7 Piece Starter Knife Set With 20cm Chefs Knife and Wallet the set comprises of a Chef Knife, boning knife, paring knife, fillet knife, peeler, palette knife and Steel stored in a wallet.

Of course the Junior Chef knife is available to use should anyone not feel comfortable.

For all our Teen Chef’s

This activity may count towards your Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Skills Section, please check with your DofE Leader for applicability before booking.

Some of the tasks we now cover include:
  • General Health & Safety
  • Knife safety
  • Oven safety
  • Food Safety
  • Planning and shopping for meals
  • Using more advanced equipment, blender, mixer, most kitchen appliances with supervision
  • Learning more advance techniques expanding their ever increasing knowledge, like pickling and understanding meat cuts & fish preparation.
  • Following steps and preparing recipes
  • Practice with halving and doubling recipes.
  • Try some international foods Mexican, Italian, Indian, Chinese, etc.
  • Learn shopping techniques with an emphasis on seasonality and the benefits of buying fresh locally sourced produce, start to understand the importance provenance.

Some children will progress on different levels. Our age groups are just guidelines. Supervision is key and whilst teaching good judgement will be exercised in deciding what is and is not appropriate for the child cooking.