Check out Northern Virginia Magazine’s March issue—The Kids Issue—for more stories on kids in the kitchen and in the dining room. On newsstands now.
By Nicole Bayne
“When kids come to class, they do not expect to be trusted with full-sized, 6-inch chef’s knives,” says Marilena Leavitt, a cooking instructor at Culinaria Cooking School. “By the end of the day, they are perfectly comfortable holding and using knives properly.”
Leavitt, who has taught children and adults at Culinaria for four years, takes different approaches when working with the younger of the two groups. “Remember, these kids aren’t sent,” says Leavitt, so it’s not like forcing children to school after a long break. “They choose to come with interest and curiosity and excitement.”
For children’s classes, there needs to be more explanation of technique and more encouragement to try new things. Kids tend to be more hesitant to try new foods than adults, Leavitt says, so she emphasizes the importance of adventurous eating in her classes.
“I was surprised that among the ingredients kids were reluctant to try were tomatoes,” she says. “Once the children realized that tomatoes were a big part of several dishes we were making, not only did they try them in meat and fresh tomato sauce or salsa fresca, they couldn’t wait to tell their parents.”
Though coaxing children into new situations takes time, Leavitt says “kids actually tend to be more patient” than adult cooking students.
“They are easy to accept imperfection on the final product. For example, if the homemade pizza we make [in class] is not perfectly round, it’s fine for the kids. They see it as unique because they made it.” / Culinaria Cooking School, 110 Pleasant St. NW, Vienna
MORE | Kids Cooking Classes in NoVA | Q&A with Winchester’s Abby Major, a contestant on “MasterChef Junior”
