If you live in the environs of South East London, by which I mean Beckenham, Bromley and Croydon, then I wanted to let you know about the awesome cooking classes that Dimples and I go to every week. Kitchen Stars is a small business set up by Mumpreneur Emma Rowland to encourage cooking skills in all children from ages of 2 – 16.
My girls LOVE cooking. The moment they see me in the kitchen with an apron on, they dash off to find theirs, to find their steps, to wash their hands. They want to help with everything, and I am happy to let them: I am keen to encourage kitchen skills in my children. I am keen for them to know how things are made, what they are made from, and how to make things from scratch. Added to which, time spent in the kitchen is a brilliant way for us to spend time together, building memories. I have clear recollections of doing the same thing with both my Mum and Dad when I was a child. The first time I made Lasagne from scratch it was totally from memory: I had watched Dad do it so many times I had utter confidence that I could recreate it, Roux sauce and all (for the record, I did an awesome job).
After Dimples was born, I needed to find some kind of activity that I could manage with a toddler and a baby, and a friend told me about Kitchen Stars. The class we went to, at Gambado’s in Beckenham, was a hit from the very first day. We loved the whole process: from the hand washing, to the smelling the ingredients; the rolling, the chopping, the mixing and, ultimately, the taking home. All our goodies went straight into the oven and sat waiting for Daddy to come home so that they could be thrust at Daddy with pride, the moment he walked through the door. LBG loved her class. Dimples loved sitting in the high chair nibbling on some ingredients. We loved being able to stay and play at Gambado’s after. We were all very sad when LBG started Kindergarten and was no longer able to go.
It was such a wonderful experience for us all that the moment Dimples turned two, I signed her up for her very own Kitchen Stars experience. The course that we attend is run in 6-weekly blocks (which fit into term time for those of you who have older children at school) at Kidspace in Croydon. And it is the same positive experience. The groups are small, so everything is very controlled. Siblings come too, in slings and pushchairs, so there is a nice family feel to the class. The children sit and mix and make mess and come home with delicious food and a recipe card. We have had great success making them again at home.
Classes are run during term time, with workshops being run through the holidays, and I’ve never found anyone with a bad word to say about their experience. If you are local, get in touch with Emma or join the Kitchen Stars Facebook group and find out about a class that would suit your children.
*disclosure: I just like the class. I wasn’t paid, or even encouraged to write about it.*
What a fantastic opportunity. My Mom’s version of baking was opening a Betty Crocker’s box and adding the water, oil and eggs (sorry Mom, but it IS true!) and I’d really love The Duchess to have a different experience in the kitchen. Would be great to have something like this where we are (Somerset). Bit too far for the commute, I reckon.
You could always start one, Lady Foreigner!!