When children are asked what they want to be when they grow up, we get answers like, doctor, engineer, lawyer, but for 7 year old Oliver Tillman it's different. At his young age, he has decided to be a chef. He made this life changing decision while getting a spoonful of applesauce with cashew nuts into his mouth. He added he will have his own restaurant at 21. As reported in IDS News today, he is one of the regular students at Kid's Cook, a drop in class at Mother Hubbard's Cupboard. This program is led by nutrition program coordinator Kayte Young. The class meets every Thursday where they prepare simple, garden-fresh food and dishes. This week the class made applesauce with apples from their local orchard.
There are six kids who came to this week's class where they spent about 45 minutes operating a crank-powered apple peeler, cutting the fruit into pieces, gradually putting it through a food strainer and afterward enjoying their bowlful of applesauce mixed with cinnamon, cashews, dried cranberries and almond slivers. She guided the kids through each of the steps like their mothers, watching and chatting with each other. Some of them volunteered to get something from the pantry or garden. She usually tries to focus on preparing simple food, like steamed broccoli or sautéed kale with vinegar and most of these ingredients come straight from the garden.
Jennifer Hottell, the mother of Charlie, 7, and Walt, 5 who are both part of the class said her boys love cooking at home. When she cooks or gardens at home, her boys usually help. She believes they'll make healthier choices in the future if they spend time around fresh food now, and she said she wants them to know how to make dinner by themselves someday. She noticed that they are more likely to eat vegetables if they are from the garden.
Involving the kids in preparing the food, even when those are vegetables makes them change their mind about it. They would often go to the pantry to get some samples and share with the patrons, Young explained. She added that whatever they are doing in the kitchen so long as they are involved, then they are happy and excited eating it. She started Kids Cook in June 2015. It was an after school program that coincided with the Gardening session which is also every Wednesday.
