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Neighborhood Report

Children invade the kitchen, and all is well

A cooking school pleases young chefs and their relaxed mothers.

By SAUNDRA AMRHEIN
Published November 3, 2006

Emeril Lagasse probably never needed to tell his audience members to get their fingers out of their mouths and wash their hands.

But at the Young Chefs Academy, instilling hygiene in the kitchen is one of the principal lessons before moving on to the fine art of cooking cheesy bread.

That's because some of the young chefs-in-the-making barely stand as tall as the prep tables. They range in age from 3 to 14.

Young Chefs Academy is a phenomenon that has been spreading across the country since 2003, trying to nourish the family traditions of time spent together in the kitchen. Several franchises are opening this year throughout Tampa Bay.

Local semiretired residents Jack and Mary Ann Metz bought the Lithia franchise. It's operated by their daughter, Amy, who has a background in marketing and public relations.

They opened in mid September with free demonstrations and began signing up regulars for weekly classes that start this month.

"Lots of kids love to cook," says Amy Metz. "My children are hooked to the food channel."

'Ants on a log' - not

Young Chefs emphasizes creativity and safety in the kitchen. It focuses on nutrition, food preparation, table manners and presentation, and it leaves the use of blenders and stoves to the adults.

"One of our goals is not to just come in here and cook ants on a log raisins and peanut butter on celery," Metz said. "We try to stretch the palate and introduce them to a variety of foods."

For instance, October was squash month. Spaghetti squash. Calico squash casserole. Stuffed acorn squash.

A few hundred children have passed through the tryouts, and several dozen have signed up for eight months of classes. Kids and their parents can take one class at a time too.

The classes will teach proper hand washing, reading recipes and nutrition labels, setting up all the ingredients, then preparing the food.

"Children love to make their parents happy," Metz said. "It's a great self-esteem booster."

Rolling, Kneading 101

On a recent weekday during a demonstration class, two sets of children climb onto stools behind stainless steel prep tables. They are divided between two adjacent kitchens depending on age.

The walls are painted purple and cream. The cabinets are cheerful Nickelodeon colors: red, blue, green and white. White aprons hang on little toy chicken face hooks for the kids.

In one kitchen, after the younger children learn the proper way to measure flour, they get to press the rolling pin against the dough, one at a time, at the chef's table up front.

When it's Kayla Jenkins' turn, the 5-year-old reaches her arms up over the table. She gingerly takes the rolling pin in both hands and slowly lets its weight glide across the smooth, pale dough.

On her way to her seat, her eyes dart to the back of the room, seeking out her mom's face.

Her mom smiles back, proud, as if Kayla had just played a sonata on the piano.

"She likes to cook with my mom," Kirstin Benoit said later about Kayla. Kirstin herself doesn't like to cook, so she wanted to give her daughter more exposure to it.

In the other kitchen, with the older children, chef Terika Parris starts them on the kneading process.

"We have to do this for 10 minutes," she says.

Erin Coleman, 8, folds her dough in half. Then she pushes down with both hands. Then she stands up on the stool's foot rests and towers over the dough, pressing down with both arms.

Feeling expressive, she presses down with one hand and lets the other arm fly behind her, as if she were kneading dough for a Broadway show. Then she switches arms.

Outside, her mother, Tonya, snacks on some pizza with another mom while they wait.

"Erin's always been interested in helping me in the kitchen," she says. "I wanted to teach her some nutrition (in this class) because you know how kids are at that age."

Back inside, some of the children make handprints in the dough. After touching their faces, a few are sent back to the sink by Parris to wash their hands.

Teaching with stories

Parris uses stories and analogies the children can understand. She explains how the egg wash is like a little bath and how it will make the dough a nice golden brown.

In between lessons, the children banter.

The dough is cut into pieces and placed in the oven by the chefs and their adult assistants.

Nicole Brown of Brandon was excited to get all three of her children, ages 5, 6 and 10, into the classes.

"They love to make pancakes on Saturday," she said. "I thought it would be better to get them experience somewhere else before they burn down my kitchen."

Angela Reeder said she brought her daughter, 8-year-old Raegan, because her own schedule is too busy to teach the kids how to cook.

"This is a great way for her to get the experience without the mess," she said.

As Parris and her helpers pulled the finished product out of the oven and the smell of fresh bread wafted through the room, she had one more lesson for them. This time it was about the sauce.

"No double-dipping," she said.

Saundra Amrhein can be reached at 661-2441 or amrhein@sptimes.com.

If you go

Young Chefs Academy is at 1576 Bloomingdale Ave. in Valrico, just west of Bloomingdale High School. For more information, call 643-7025 or visit www.youngchefsacademy.com.

Other stores in the area now enrolling or about to enroll students are in Hyde Park, Largo, Lutz/Carrollwood and New Tampa. Visit the Web site for more information about these other locations.

[Last modified November 2, 2006, 08:30:30]