Whether rolling out pasta dumplings for Gnocchi, or learning how to make Pizza Margherita in the colors of the Italian flag, kids will enjoy being an Italian chef!
Kids Cooking Programs
Kids Cooking From Tots, Teenagers to Young Adults!
Our Kids cooking programs welcome children, teenagers and young adults into the kitchen along with their parents for a family experience in hands-on preparation. Kids and their parents measure, mix, peel, chop, dice and prepare recipes under the supervision of our excellent Chefs. The groups are arranged according to age, – there are the 3 to 5 year olds, 6 to 9 year olds, 10 to 14 year olds and then 15 to 20 year olds. Each group is taught according to age, level and food interest. There is a program for everyone! Best of all, children with their families enjoy the food prepared in class with lunch or dinner following. Join our family for fun-filled educational Kids Cooking Programs or 1 Day Classes of pizza, pasta, gelato-ice cream, traditional menus, vegetarian and special diet requests, that will enrich your vacation experience!
Cooking Classes
Our hands-on cooking classes offer everyone their own workspace & tools, including a rolling pin, pasta-wheel, appropriate bowls and pans. In additional to the hands-on cooking, children will learn about fun food facts and healthy “green-light foods. Our Chefs practice using seasonal local food, while explaining the food chain, food origins, vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants, and fiber content. Kids also learn about Slow Food in our Slow Cooking programs.
The experience offers each participant a one-of-a-kind hands-on cooking experience, while making new friends from around the world. And if any child wants to learn a little conversational Italian, we can work with you on conversational Italian classes while cooking. Everyone receives a Cooking Vacations recipe booklet and Chef’s apron, and at the end of the week, each participant receives their certificate of graduation! All the recipes from class can easily be prepared at home.
Our week-long programs also include artisan food visits to the farmer’s market, where kids can choose from fresh, seasonal produce for the classes; the country farm, where they will see the process of milking cows for making butter, cheese and gelato, along with visits to the cheese maker, and bread baker. Food trips also may include a lemon or olive grove, a working farm or garden. Tastings and informal discussions included. Emphasis is on the healthy Mediterranean diet.
Pizza Making
Our pizza making class shows kids, step-by-step, how to mix, knead and roll out the dough. A variety of pizzas are made using local seasonal ingredients, along with local antipasto and a dessert. Everyone enjoys the pizza together after the lesson.
Kids will also learn a little history on where and how the first pizza was made in Naples. Chef Raffaele Esposito, a Neapolitan chef and baker, created a special pizza for the Queen Margherita. Using tomato, mozzarella, and basil, in the colors of the Italian flag – red, white & green, he named it Margherita. To date, the Pizza Margherita is Italy’s most popular.
Pasta Making
From spaghetti to maccheroni, pastas are endless in Italy, and this class shows kids how to make shapes and forms into fresh pasta. The class starts out with a little history on how the famous Italian, Marco Polo, introduced pasta to Italy. Our Chefs show how to mix, roll, shape and stuff the dough. Pesto, cherry red tomato and pumpkin sauces are just a sample of delicious sauces that top each one. Stuffings include garden vegetables, ricotta cheese, Mozzarella too, and or meat and fish. Menus vary based on the seasonal ingredients available. Following the class, kids and parents enjoy the pastas prepared in class.
Gelato Making
Kids can eat their way through a plethora of gelato flavors in Italy, while learning how the Romans first made it. Flavors include, orange blossom violet & rose, exotic Indian fig, and chocolate & limone-to name a few. Kids participate in blending the fruit and mixing the ingredients. Our Chefs lead kids step-by-step for creating the perfect gelato. Beautiful mounds of Italian creamy gelato, along side pretty form pans that shape and form will be used too. Tastings follow.
