Junior Chefs II Cooking Camp Encourages Children to Take Active Kitchen Role

COURT HOUSE – Children ages 8 to 12 had fun while learning some advanced cooking skills at Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Cape May County Family & Community Health Sciences’ (FCHS) Junior Chefs II Cooking Camp held from July 30 through Aug. 3, at Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Cape May County.
 Children are growing up with fast food and junk food at their fingertips, which is part of the reason why child obesity is on the rise! However, children are more likely to experiment with and taste food they have helped to prepare.
“Through discussing healthy food choices and providing children opportunities to prepare healthy foods, we can help children to develop lifetime healthy habits,” stated Marilou Rochford, Rutgers Cooperative Extension Family & Community Health Sciences educator.
 “According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the best way to teach kids about eating right is to get them into the kitchen to prepare healthy meals together.  The Junior Chefs cooking camps encourage children’s interest in healthy foods by teaching them how to cook safely with a variety of kitchen activities,” added Rochford.
Cooking is a valuable life skill that teaches children about nutrition and food safety, as well as building math, science, literacy and fine motor skills. The Junior Chefs II Cooking Camp builds on the beginner’s class and teaches advanced cooking skills. The Junior Chefs camps are a series of hands-on cooking classes that are engaging from start to finish. Our goal is to build awareness of healthy kid-friendly, good tasting and easy to prepare recipes and meals and to have fun too.  
An added benefit of the classes is that we get to watch the children’s self-confidence grow as they learn new skills.
Participants in the Junior Chefs II Cooking Camp included Sydney Ambrose, Ruby Davies, Bailee Harris, Jonathon Kovacevic, Maya Kovacevic, Joey Miniconzi, Cecelia Mirsky, Austin Moore, Drew Pendergast, and David Schultz.
The campers learned how to make pizza with homemade yeast dough, a salad in a jar, and veggie noodles plus one dish dinners.
On Sept. 12 the FCHS program will offer a workshop for adults entitled, “Living a Healthy Weight.” For information about programs offered by Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Cape May County Family & Community Health Sciences, call 465-5115 ext. 3609.