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Cooking Clubs
Before recruiting your group of youth participants, consider how
they will work and learn. The nature and structure of a learning
environment is defined by several elements. These elements are important
for achieving the goals of Cooking Up Fun!
Small group size
- Work with small groups of youth. A general guideline is 4 to
10 youth with two adults.
- A 1:4 adult/youth ratio is a general guideline for supervising
skill mastery of sharp knives, hot ovens, and other moderate-risk
tools and equipment.
- A small group setting increases interactions between youth
and adults and among peers.
- If you collaborate with an afterschool program, negotiate to
work with small groups within the larger program. Offer multiple
series to reach more youth.
Time and space
- Plan 6 cooking sessions for each club.
- To extend the learning, plan additional 6-session series. Celebrate
progress at the completion of each series. Creating multiple series
of sessions helps to define sequential learning and assess behavior
change.
- Allow a minimum of 90 minutes for each session. This provides
time for youth to set-up and clean-up workstations, engage in
conversations, and not feel rushed through the experience.
- Create multiple workstations. Individual workstations allow
each child to prepare a recipe from start to finish. If space
or supplies are limited, then 2-person workstations are a good
alternative.
- Practicing skills takes time, especially if handling food and
kitchen tools is a new experience. Repetition of skills helps
achieve mastery.
- Choose an area with enough tables or counter space to accommodate
4 to 8 workstations.
- If a spacious kitchen is not available, choose an area that
is separated from other program activities to limit interruptions
and distractions
Food supplies and kitchen tools
- Organize supplies for multiple workstations. The Dishpan Kitchen makes it easier for each participant to help with set-up and clean-up
of workstations.
- Provide some ingredients for recipe variations so choices are
available and product comparisons are possible.
- Decide what ingredients can be portioned out to each workstation
(apple, potato, etc) and what ingredients must be shared (milk,
flour, seasonings, etc).Dividing ingredients into additional containers
can make sharing easier but all containers should be clearly labeled
to avoid confusion.
- Use the Shopping List form to plan food shopping for each session.
If storage space is available, you could combine lists to purchase
non-perishables for multiple sessions in one shopping trip.
Adult as facilitator
- Involve youth in planning sessions. The Recipe Choice form
is designed to support food preparation knowledge and skills related
to specific nutrition behavior goals.
- Provide choice of ingredients for recipes. The format of recipes
is designed to support positive youth development.
- Allow participants the time and freedom they need to practice
skills.
- Decide when demonstrating a Chef Skill is important. Consider
whether youth can be involved in demonstrating for peers by taking
time to find out what skills they may have already. Ask about
their experiences with food.
- Provide encouragement. Avoid hovering over workstations and
offering too much advice. Allow them the freedom to learn from
mistakes.
- Teach and reinforce kitchen safety.
- Ask open-ended questions that will promote conversations about
food among participants.
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Cooking Up Fun!