Kid’s Cooking returns to The Community House
For the second season in a row, The Community House on Sanibel is offering a cooking class for children on one Monday out of every month, with each session featuring a different menu.
Taught by Resident Chef Jarred Harris, the Kid’s Cooking classes will teach fundamental nutritional cooking skills and help participants develop basic kitchen awareness and food preparation. Held on the first Monday from October through May – except in March – they will run from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m.
“There’s a lot of science out there right now about childhood obesity and the fact that a lot of parents don’t have time to cook,” Executive Director Teresa Riska-Hall said. “So by starting young, we can get them interested in cooking and cooking in a healthy way.”
The culturally-based menus stress healthy and nutritious whole foods.
“A lot of our ingredients are things that they normally may not eat,” she said referring to the young participants. “But once they see what it does to the recipe and see how it tastes that changes.”
“They’re going to come in contact with items they’ve never known before or seen before,” Riska-Hall added. “He’s (Harris) always trying to add in something a little different, so everybody learns.”
Open to ages 8 and older, the sessions are designed for all skill levels – beginner on up.
“Anybody’s welcome. We’ll teach them,” she said. “That’s the whole idea, and then they get better and better at it with every class they go to.”
Some of the regulars even have an interest in becoming chefs one day.
“This is a great way to start,” Riska-Hall said.
Each class begins with a lesson about the planned menu, along with the basics like using knives safety, how to measure different ingredients and the procedures to avoid issues like cross-contamination.
“They’re basically developing kitchen awareness,” she said.
The participants are then divided into small groups of three or four to work on the menu.
“When it’s all completed, they all sit down and eat together,” Riska-Hall said.
Last year, each menu focused on food from a different region of the world.
She noted that Harris provided fun facts to go along each.
“This year, we’re trying to put a little bit more learning into the process,” Riska-Hall said. “This year, we’ll try to take that a step further.”
Like last season, Harris will have a few extra hands helping out in the classes.
“We always have volunteers who know their way around the kitchen because Jarred is only one person,” she said.
The following sessions and menus are planned this season:
– Oct. 1: Apple flapjacks, homemade granola, potato pancakes, omelets and pumpkin muffins
– Nov. 5: Oven-roasted tomato basil soup, butternut squash bisque, bean and vegetable cassoulet, bread sticks, and turkey and dumplings
– Dec. 3: Gingerbread and sugar cookie ornaments, caramel-covered cream puff towers and chocolate truffles
– Jan. 7: Homemade cheese ravioli, fettuccine, cheese sauce, tomato sauce, and cannoli and cream
– Feb. 4: Homemade sushi rolls, chicken teriyaki and vegetable tempura
– March 1: Caribbean bean soup, curried chicken and roti, pineapple-glazed fish, coconut and vegetable stew, and banana fritters and honey
– April 1: Vegetable quesadillas, chicken tamales, fish tacos, homemade salsa and guacamole, and fried ice cream and churros
– May 6: Surprise menu
“The dessert one always fills up,” Riska-Hall said. “That’s a big one.”
For the final session, she provided no clues as to what it might be.
“Jarred has a nice surprise planned for the last class,” Riska-Hall said.
As of Sept. 21, registrations were coming in.
“We’re probably over what we had last year. We’re hoping to fill it up to 20 this year,” she said of the total number of participants sought for each of the sessions. “All of them have openings still.”
The costs are $50 per class, $175 for four classes or $375 for all eight classes.
Riska-Hall explained that some scholarships are available for families thanks to sponsorships by the Sanibel-Captiva Rotary Club, the Kiwanis Club of Sanibel-Captiva and private citizen donors.
To apply for scholarship funds, email info@sanibelcommunityhouse.net and include why the aid is needed, how many children want to participate and how much financial assistance is sought. Families uncomfortable with providing that information can simply email, then she will follow up with them.
To register, call 239-472-2155 or visit sanibelcommunityhouse.net and click on the “Calendar.”
The registration paperwork includes a permission slip, the rules and schedule.
“They can actually pay right online,” Riska-Hall said.
Credit cards are accepted over the phone; cash and check payments must be dropped off.
The Community House is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
For more information, call or visit online.
The Community House is at 2173 Periwinkle Way.