My 12-year-old daughter, Isabella, just spent a week at something called "Junior Chef Camp". I don't know a lot about the program overall. It was started by a woman who loves to cook. Strangely, there's one program here in Sacramento and one in Bermuda (which I guess is where she lives part of the year). The one my daughter took is the basic camp that is a prerequisite to other, more advanced courses. Monday, the kids were taught basic knife skills, including how to hold knives, how to chop and mince, and how to clean and care for knives. Over the course of the week, they cooked up a number of different dishes. On Wednesday morning, they met at a local farmers' market to discuss the different types of produce available, how to choose it, etc. (At the beginning of the day, the instructor asked for all of the kids who'd been to a farmers' market to raise their hands. My daughter was one of the only ones who had her hand up. This shocked me given the quality of the markets here and the fact that all of these kids must have parents who are at least marginally interested in food.)
The week culminated in a 5-course luncheon prepared by the kids with little or no help from their instructors. The menu included a honey-lime roasted chicken, pasta with roasted veggies, garlic bread, and fruit salad with pound cake.I was unable to attend due to work-related issues but my wife went and was very impressed. That night, Isabella helped us make a fresh corn salad as part of our supper - I think she was pretty jazzed about the experience.
This went really well and I think we'll be looking at the more advanced classes for her.
I planted some of the vines in my yard last year. Mike - remind me in a few years, when I finally make some wine from those grapes - I'll send you a few bottles.