Kids in the Kitchen creates the aroma of success
Youth dove into the kitchen realm and created plenty of meals that they were able to take home to let their families dine on during Ohio State University Holmes County Extension’s Kids in the Kitchen program.
The aroma of some fantastic food wafted throughout the Love Center’s community room recently, and while there were plenty of dishes of prepared food emitting those aromas, it wasn’t seasoned chefs or adults doing the cooking but rather a host of youngsters who were participating in a summer session designed to introduce kids to the art of cooking.
Kids in the Kitchen took place June 13-15 and 27-29 in the Love Center’s community room in Millersburg.
The event was under the direction of Kate Shumaker, Ohio State University Holmes County Extension educator, who has been presenting the class to youth for several years.
Shumaker said working with kids between the age of 8 and 12 is an exciting opportunity to introduce the joy of cooking into their lives.
“Cooking is a life skill, and everyone should learn the basics. And what better time to start than when you’re a young person?” Shumaker said. “It’s summertime. They have the time, and you can see by their eagerness and smiles that they want to be here.”
Madi Hernandez, 11, has been to the past several years of Kids in the Kitchen. She said she likes the opportunity to get in the kitchen, experiment with different foods and learn more about developing her cooking skills.
“I love cooking and making food, and my grandma and I would always cook at her house, and whenever we did, she would always watch and teach us, so that’s kind of where I started cooking,” Hernandez said.
Working with new foods like edamame, mushrooms, pumpkins and more, the kids were introduced to a variety of new foods as they created meals each day. For Hernandez, her favorite food during the sessions was making pumpkin muffins.
Hernandez said she learned one simple truth when it comes to making food.
“It’s not as easy as it looks,” she said. “It takes a lot of work, but it’s worth it.”
While Shumaker led the activities in the kitchen, which included cleaning up after they were done, she got plenty of help from volunteers who worked at different stations in the kitchen.
Kay Klein is one of the volunteer adults who has been involved in taking the adult cooking classes with Shumaker. She and others said that experience led them to want to volunteer for the Kids in the Kitchen classes.
“Kids cooking has almost become a lost art because of electronics, fast food and being pulled in so many different directions,” Klein said. “I enjoy cooking with the kids through 4-H and teaching them new skills and teaching them what cooking meals in the adult life looks like.”
She said investing in the kids is an important part of 4-H, and she said teaching life skills in a variety of ways is something the 4-H Life Skills program does so well, including spending time in the kitchen.
Shumaker creates daily recipes that provide for a well-balanced meal.
On the final day, the kids made apple cinnamon bars, along with a chicken and pasta dish. The kids also made a broth, cooking down mushrooms, making pasta and making sauce.
They topped it off by making a pizza salad that consisted of everything one might find on a pizza, along with a tomato sauce-oregano/vinegar based dressing.
“You try to find dishes that are creative and have interesting twists, but one of the things we focus on is introducing new foods to the kids that they might not have ever tasted or aren’t familiar with,” Shumaker said.
She said creating the food and allowing the kids to take some home to give their family is a good way for the kids to get some feedback on their creations. Shumaker said they will sit down the following day and discuss what their families thought of the food and what were some of the challenges and joys that accompanied making the food.
“The exciting part for me is introducing new foods and new kitchen tools to the kids and seeing them get excited about what they’re doing,” Shumaker said. “They learn knife skills, safety in the kitchen, and how to read and follow a recipe, and hopefully, they are gaining a sense of the joy that can come with cooking.”
Shumaker said each session was completely filled, and they have a waiting list.