Kids & Family Cooking Classes

Often, family time can be carved out around the dinner table, where the parents and kids can sit down together for a delicious meal and discuss the highlights of their days, funny stories, and just enjoy being around each other without any outside distractions.

But what if we told you that was not the only way to enjoy family time? Rather than simply eating a meal together, what if you were able to all cook a meal together?

Now, we know what you are thinking—how on earth can you convince your stubborn teenager or fussy toddler to be engaged with you in the kitchen? The answer is simple. Sign your whole family up for a kids and family cooking class.

Not only can cooking classes help the whole family learn to love preparing food, but you will learn to work as a team and reap the rewards of getting a delicious meal to eat at the conclusion of all the hard work.

Plus, with such an extensive range of kids & family cooking classes to choose from, it is likely that your family will be able to learn from the world’s best chefs. We’re talking Michelin-star awarded chefs who have literally pioneered the culinary industry to be what it is today.

If you are considering signing your family up for a cooking class, we want to help make sure you get the best experience possible. That is why we have put together a helpful guide that will share everything you need to know about kids & family cooking classes.

What Are Kids & Family Cooking Classes?

Before we get too deep into it, let’s discuss the basics first, starting with defining what kids and family cooking classes are. In general, these cooking classes are designed to cater to a diverse range of ages and skill sets so that the entire family can have an enjoyable time.

While many cooking classes cater to passionate foodies or couples wanting a fun date night activity, kids and family cooking classes are designed in a way that provides challenges for everyone involved to promote teamwork while also ensuring that the parents and kids alike enjoy the class.

Not only are the classes one of the best ways to get kids interested in cooking, but they can inspire a whole new type of family activity in the home kitchen every day going forward.

How Do You Take Kids & Family Cooking Classes?

Taking a kids and family cooking course is easy, especially in our current world where food experiences are in such high demand.

You can sign up for a kids and family cooking class in just a few short and simple steps, with most registrations taking place online.

The formats for these classes will vary, with the option to take them either virtually or attend an in-person class or special event.

In general, when you sign up you will need to provide the number of people in your family attending, any food allergies to be aware of and the dates you want to join the experience.

Once you are signed up, you and your family can start officially craving this tasty experience that is about to come.

Types of Kids & Family Cooking Classes

When it comes to the types of cooking classes for kids and families, the choices are extensive. This is a huge benefit for you, as it means that you will most certainly be able to find the right one that fits your family’s interest, budget, and schedule restraints.

The two different types of cooking classes to choose from are online classes or in-person classes. Both have their different benefits to consider and, ultimately, they both strive towards the same goal of getting the whole family passionate about cooking.

But the key difference is something that you will want to be aware of before committing to a class, so we dish out all the details for both.

Online Kids & Family Cooking Classes

There is a range of online cooking courses designed for your whole family, with a range of different formats available to choose from.

1. On-Demand Cooking Classes:

This type of online cooking class is something that we specialize in and are quite proud of. We offer exclusive collaborations with some of the top Michelin-star chefs and done in a way that we know the whole family will love.

When you sign up for our on-demand cooking classes, you will get the luxury of choosing what day you want to do the class. In return, we will organize for the meal kit to support the class to be sent directly to your house that same day. You will then also receive exclusive access to the video tutorials, where you can start and stop at any time. This flexibility is a blessing, especially when cooking with kids.

2. Livestream Cooking Classes:

Another type of online cooking class for the kids and family is livestream cooking classes, often led by top-tier chefs. These classes are often set up to run by sending out an exclusive Zoom link, where those who have signed up will all be able to log in at the allocated time and take part in the class.

While this format offers a fun way to connect with people in real-time, there are some things to be aware of. Many of these classes require the ingredients to be sourced and prepared for in advance by yourself. And because the class is live, you can’t re-wind if you are late. So make sure to start rounding up the kids early.

3. Social Media Cooking Classes:

These types of classes have really taken off in the last year or so. From passionate foodies who just love to cook to celebrity chefs who want to find new ways to connect with their loyal base, social media cooking classes offer a fun way to cook within an online community. Plus, many of these classes are completely free as well.

However, similar to the livestream format, you will need to prepare everything in advance and be sure you don’t miss out on the start time.

In-Person Kids & Family Cooking Classes

There are also many benefits to taking a cooking class with the kids and family in person as well. After you all have likely spent much of the past year and a half cooped up at home, these in-person cooking classes provide a great excuse to leave the house and go on an outing together for the day.

These environments also provide a chance for your family to cook alongside other families in the same course. So you will likely leave these types of classes have learned how to cook great food plus having made new friends as well.

Similar to how we run our on-demand virtual classes, these in-person cooking classes will likely do all the hard work in advance to prepare the cooking stations and source all the ingredients needed for the recipes being followed that day.

Reasons To Take a Kids & Family Cooking Class

We’re going to cut right to the chase on this one. There are so many reasons to take a kids & family cooking class.

As a parent, you want to ensure that your kids get exposure to meaningful experiences that shape them into functional adults. But also, you want to maximise the time you get to spend together as a family because at some point the kids will leave home to venture out on their own.

When it comes to taking a cooking class, there is a range of benefits that will come with it for the whole family. Here are just a few you can look forward to.

1. A Great at-Home Activity:

While we continue to get more and more freedoms back, many families will still be needing to find ways to entertain the kids at home. A cooking class can make being at home fun for your kids while providing some much-needed relief to the hard-working parents. Plus, there is something special about everyone putting down their own digital devices and instead of sharing just one to follow along to a cooking class in the kitchen.

2. Teach Life Skills to the Kids (and Adults):

You are never too young or old to learn a new life skill. At some point, we all reach an age where we need to know how to at least cook the basics to feed ourselves. But rather than it be seen as a dreaded chore that adults have to do, a cooking class can instead make it seem like a fun hobby. While the kids will likely be learning everything for the first time in a cooking class, these skills are also a great refresher for adults as well.

3. Enhance Your Family’s Teamwork:

When taking a cooking class together as a family, teamwork is an essential ingredient to a successful experience. Your family will learn how to communicate better and rely on one another to complete all the steps of a recipe. At the end of the class, you will all be rewarded with delicious food that you all worked very hard to earn—making it taste even better.

4. Get Inspiration for Meals at Home:

Chances are, you likely have a rotational menu of easy recipes to follow along to for your daily mealtime as a family. And while many of these are likely delicious, it is nice to be able to add some variety to dinners every now and then. With these cooking classes, you will get access to a whole new range of recipes that you will get familiar with and be able to replicate on your own—with the kids’ help, of course.

Terms To Know Before Your First Kids & Family Cooking Class

Before you start the cooking class, it is definitely a good idea to get your kids (and the adults) familiar with some basic terminology that will likely be used in the class. If you are able to explain the meanings in advance, they will likely spend less time asking questions and more time focused on cooking during the actual experience.

To help with this, we’ve gathered up some of the most common cooking terms that everyone should be familiar with beforehand.

1. Bake: This term describes cooking food in an oven, such as cookies, brownies, bread, lasagna, or Yorkshire pudding.

2. Beat: This term describes the action of mixing together multiple ingredients in a fast and circular motion, most commonly with a whisk.

3. Boil: This term describes when the liquid reaches a hot enough temperature that bubble starts to teem at the surface—meaning that it is ready for pasta, eggs, or rice to cook within.

4. Chop: This term describes the action of cutting ingredients like an onion or carrot into small pieces. If your kid is young, you should ensure that you do the actual chopping in the class.

5. Drain: This term is used to describe getting liquid out from a strainer, such as you would do with pasta.

6. Marinate: This term is used to describe the action of soaking food, such as chicken or steak, in a liquid so that it both tenderizes and soaks up extra flavour.

7. Scald: This term is used to describe a liquid that is extremely hot, but does not have rapid bubbles like it does when it boils; rather, the bubble is small and usually at the edge circumference of a frying pan.

8. Batter: This term describes the combination of flour, liquid, and other types of ingredients that are then mixed together—often used to create dough for a cake or bread.

9. Grate: This term describes the process of shredding an ingredient, such as cheese, into tiny pieces by rubbing it against a kitchen tool called a grater.

10. Julienne: This term isn’t just for those making French cuisine. It is a common term that kids should know, where they will need to cut ingredients into long and thin strips that often resemble that of a matchstick.

Top Tips You'll Learn in a Kids & Family Cooking Class

Simply put, you and your family will learn a lot in a cooking class. As we alluded to earlier, one of the biggest benefits of taking a cooking class as a family is that everyone will leave the experience having learned something new.

But more so than that, the best cooking classes also offer insight into the tips and tricks that the world’s best chefs use when cooking as well. And while we want to ensure that some element of surprise is left for the actual cooking class experience itself, we will give you a small preview of what you can expect.

Tip 1: Reading a Recipe First Is the Golden Rule

Both adults and kids alike are notorious for simply skimming through a recipe without properly absorbing the instructions first. When this happens, it can cause mistakes to happen—specifically in the preparation process

To avoid getting halfway through the cooking experience and realizing that you don’t have a key ingredient or you forgot to set the oven to the correct temperature, chefs in the cooking class will emphasize just how important it is to read and then re-read the recipe first.

In fact, a tip that many top chefs will suggest is to re-write the recipe once you have read it over for the first time. This will allow your brain to fully comprehend in your own words the tasks at hand. And for the kids, it offers them a chance to also put their reading and writing skills to the test too.

Tip 2: Always Cook With Confidence

During the cooking class, your family will learn first-hand just how important it is to have confidence in the kitchen. Whether it be slicing, dicing, kneading, whisking, or waiting, having confidence during the entire process will be what makes a dish turn out great and taste even better.

Many chefs during their classes will tell personal stories of how their gaining confidence was what elevated their career and passion for cooking.

And whether or not you and your family plan on being professional chefs, understanding the benefits of having confidence will bode well for everyone during life in general.

Tip 3: The Only Tool You Need Is a Really, Really Good Chef’s Knife

While chef kitchens are often decked out with all the coolest cooking tools, your family will learn in class that there really is only one tool needed—a chef’s knife. But it can’t be one of those cheap knives that you only spent a few pounds on. Instead, it needs to be of the utmost quality to ensure that all the ingredients can be prepared precisely as instructed.

But for families, you will also learn how to keep a kitchen safe when cooking with kids. Chefs during these classes will give tips on how to assist kids in cutting ingredients safely and how to fool-proof the kitchen so no accidents happen with your little ones.

Tip 4: Cooking Is Fun, Not a Chore

Your family will learn first-hand from the greatest chefs of all time that cooking is anything but boring. In fact, it is a fun hobby for all ages that can provide your family with a delightfully tasteful experience, along with delicious and healthy food.

Chefs who run these types of classes are often parents themselves and are experts at making the cooking process fun and appealing for all ages. You will likely get some great tips on how to keep up this perspective when the class is over and you want to continue to get the kids cooking alongside you in the kitchen.

How Much Do Kids & Family Cooking Classes Cost?

Cooking classes for kids and families come in a range of different prices, with it all determined on the quality of the instructing chef, whether or not ingredients are provided and the format in which the class takes place.

We get that as parents life with kids can be expensive. So the great news is that there is a range of cooking classes for your kids to do, as well as you, that won’t cost you an absolute fortune.

Here are some previews of various costs for different cooking classes tailored for kids and families.

1. The Ultimate Baking Course for Kids with Paul Foster: £80 including ingredients

This online course is led by a Michelin-star chef and one of the best bakers in all of London—and arguably the world. The course is full of both sweet and savoury baking lessons, in which you can choose to simply do four or all eight. From learning to make rosemary focaccia to chocolate fondant, you and your kids will have a fabulous time eating and baking together at home. You will also get all the ingredients you’ll need for the course delivered to your home fresh.

2. An in-Person Cooking Class for a Family of Four: £160 including ingredients

When taking an in-person cooking class, you normally end up paying for the cost of all participants, regardless of age. This is because each participant in your family will get their own cooking station during the class, as well as their own individual assortment of ingredients. Don’t forget to factor in the cost of transportation to and from the class as well.

3. A Social Media Livestream Cooking Class: Free, but no ingredients included

If you are looking for a budget-friendly cooking class for your family, a social media Livestream class is about as cheap as they come, with the only thing you will need to pay for is the cost of ingredients. So do your research and shopping ahead of time and tune in for a real-time experience on your phone or tablet.

Final Thoughts

Cooking classes are designed to be a delicious experience for all ages. And with a variety of options for you to choose from—along with endless benefits that come as a result—there has never been a better time to sign up for a kids and family cooking class.

From the comfort and ease of online classes to the stimulation of an in-person one, your family will create memories to last a lifetime.

Sources:

What Cooking Skills Should Children Learn? | The Guardian

Online Cookery Classes for Kids that will Make Them Love Preparing Food | Irish Examiner

Top Online Cooking Classes During Your Homebound Experience | Forbes