What happens at a cooking boot camp for kids?

Amusing images immediately come to mind when you think of a cooking boot camp for kids, like a drill instructor in a toque standing over a trembling recruit and barking: “Drop and give me 50 … creampuffs!”

You might not think of a kitchen as a battlefield, but for 10 youngsters who recently joined a five-day summer cooking class at Center for Culinary Arts, Manila, it was like going through basic training — in tacos, macaroni and cheese and corn dogs.

“Young Upstarts” is a summer program held in May in which kids aged seven to 10 learn basic cooking skills. You may not need to know how to make red velvet cupcakes in order to survive, but it certainly doesn’t hurt. The kids were broken into three groups of three to four, and under the directions of chef Peachy Mathay and her staff, each day was devoted to a theme: Day 1 was “Luncheon Goodies,” such as Macaroni and Herb Cheese Pasta, Tuna Salad Sub, Taco Trio and fun stuff like Nutella Panini (which kids can’t resist).

All of the food was precut for the young chefs (no knife handling was involved) and the actual stove “cooking” was done by the staff, but the 10 recruits got a firsthand look at how food comes together and some basic rules of the kitchen. Kids were taught to clean up as they go along, not to run in the kitchen, to crack eggs in separate bowls to avoid salmonella contamination, and the difference between cooked and uncooked seafood and meat. Of course, being such young chefs, rules weren’t always followed; one kid was tossing a lump of hamburger back and forth between two hands to soften it up, and it ended up on another student’s shoe. But one of the advantages of this class was that kids learned to work together as a team, instead of following their own separate recipes.

Hail to the young chefs: At CCA’s Young Upstarts cooking boot camp for kids, youngsters learn basic cooking skills and teamwork.

Our nine-year-old daughter Isobel was part of the boot camp. She said, “It was fun to make things you like to eat and know it will taste good.”

She noted that, while vegetables and meats were precut, nothing came from mixes. “Everything was from scratch.” She also liked that they let the kids cook on their own, without constantly attending to them or taking over. And while cooking competitions for kids are very trendy at the moment, this one was more about cooperation and watching each other’s back.

On opening day, kids were asked why they wanted to take the class. Some were following in their Mommy or Daddy’s footsteps, such as one eight-year-old girl, who said her father is a chef in a restaurant and she wants to be one, too. Others maybe were just interested in the menu, which included, on Day 2, “Wild Wild West” classics like Grilled Cheeseburger, Country-style Corndogs and Buffalo Wings with Ranch Dressing.

The kids agreed that Day 3 — Dessert Day — was the most popular. Parents agreed, too, as the kids brought home Tupperware containers filled with cupcakes, chocolate chip cookies, Blueberry Blondies and Jam Thumbprint cookies. “It was fun because I was familiar with most desserts,” notes Isobel. “And it was all sugary! Who can say no to that?”

Toque to them: Kids seven to 10 years old graduate from the weeklong Young Upstarts cooking class at CCA Katipunan. Photos by MANNY MARCELO

Our daughter was amazed that they could prepare 20-plus dishes in only five days of cooking, and while she wished the class could have gone on longer (“Maybe another week?”), she learned things she’ll probably take with her forever, like how to make her own California maki. Kids were given sushi mats and nori sheets, a bowl of Japanese rice, and ingredients to make it all good and sticky — white sugar, water and rice wine vinegar — and learned how to roll their own sushi.

Isobel obviously loved the lessons: a week later, she made jam thumbprint cookies for my sister-in-law’s film crew — they were gone in about 10 minutes — then a couple of days later she got out the sushi mat and rolled some for our family. “I always loved California maki in Japanese restaurants” — she’s been using chopsticks since age two, by the way — “and I got to make it!” We, on the other hand, got to eat it.

How cool is that?

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For more information on courses at CCA, Manila, call 994-2530 or 994-2540, e-mail: marketing@cca-manila.com.  or visit the website at www.cca-manila.com.

Causing a stir: A young cook gets a chance to try out the stove.