Confident Cooking for Teens

In this fun, five-day camp, young chefs will practice essential kitchen skills and master the fundamentals of cooking. Teens will enjoy working alongside classmates learning techniques for everything from grilling and searing to making pizza and pasta from scratch. We’ll get hands-on and cover all the basics such as rules for handling knives, how to read and follow recipes, measuring and mixing, and the importance of kitchen safety. Teens will build on skills throughout the week and on day 5, they’ll create an impressive menu of restaurant-style dishes.

Teens ages 13-17 are welcome to join this popular summer cooking camp. Classes run about two hours each and last for five consecutive days. Young chefs will enjoy generous samples of each delicious dish and take home a packet of recipes. Share your love of cooking and boost your teen’s confidence in the kitchen with a culinary experience they’ll never forget.

Please click on the "Menu" tab above for more information about what teens will cook each day.

Day 1: Knife Skills
Mastering the art of cooking starts with knife skills. Our instructor will walk teens through the fundamental cuts—mince, dice, brunoise, bâtonnet and julienne—and explain how proper cutting ensures even cooking and attractive presentation. Budding chefs will get plenty of hands on practice and learn how to transform chopped produce into a variety of sweet and savory dishes.

Day 2: Measuring & Baking
Math class has never been so fun or tasty! In our baking workshop, we’ll cover the importance of precise measuring, along with proper ingredient ratios and cooking temperatures. Teens will learn secrets for working with yeast and discover how simple it can be to make pizza dough from scratch. We’ll put our skills to the test by baking classic pizzas.

Day 3: Sweet & Savory Sauces
In today’s class, we’ll cover the three main components of sauces: intense flavor, complex character and the ability to unify all the elements of a dish. Our instructor will share tips for achieving the desired texture and consistency as students create a tasty dipping sauce and the base for a savory soufflé. Plus, teens will enjoy preparing a chocolaty ice cream and torching a homemade marshmallow crème.

Day 4: Pasta!
Today, we’ll roll up our sleeves and create delicious pasta from scratch. Our instructor will walk teens through all the steps—from mixing and rolling out dough to cutting noodles and cooking them to perfection. Young chefs will master the art of making marinara and pesto from scratch. Plus, we’ll round out the meal with a traditional Caesar salad topped with our own homemade dressing and croutons.

Day 5: Sur La Table Restaurant Skills
In our final class, we’ll move on to more advanced techniques that restaurant chefs use to create show-stopping dishes. Our instructor will share secrets for making everything from perfectly creamy risotto to herbaceous foams. Teens will learn how to properly sear poultry and create a bistro-style pan sauce. Then we’ll finish on a sweet note with a deconstructed summer berry mousse.

Please Note: Classes are only available as a five-day series. No single day enrollments.