Foodie Friday: Culture Kids Cooking Class

Making and baking with a toddler sous chef can be a recipe for fun and bonding.

But for many mums the pressure of time and the stress of cleaning up the chaos afterwards can be off-putting.

Solution? Use someone else’s kitchen space!

We were invited to Culture Kids’ Cooking Class in Chelsea last week where Jed got to live out his ‘I Can Cook’ fantasies (it’s one of his fave shows on CBeebies).

It was a good size group of about 6 kids and their mums so every child got individual attention from our ‘head chef’. The little ones (class range is from ages 2 to 6 although most were toddlers) sat on one side of the table on booster seats while mums parked opposite.

This is a great idea as it helps curb your urge to micro-manage your child’s every stir.

Jed was in his element whipping up a batter and slicing up fruit for his Christmas cake.

Throughout cooking, the teacher uses various ingredients to encourage the kids to explore colours, numbers, shapes and senses. Culture Kids’ ethos is to help children discover new tastes and cultures by cooking food from all over the globe.

I helped Jed pour his cake mix into the Christmas tree and Snowman tins ready for baking.

While the cakes were in the oven, the children were entertained with stories, songs and dance. As always, Jed couldn’t wait to get his groove on.

The class rounded off with a sweet craft activity to make a paper plate Christmas wreath. Jed also loved painting and glittering a fir cone to decorate our tree at home.

Before we left (covered in sparkles), the Culture Kids team gave the kids some of their cake to taste and a gift bag containing their handiwork, beautifully wrapped, to take home.

I was really impressed with this cooking with kids session – Jed was super proud of his efforts and so was I. That fruit cake was seriously moreish!

Culture Kids Cookery Class runs on Thursday mornings at 10am, 12pm and 2pm and 4pm at 1 Chelsea Manor St, SW1 (Sloane Square tube). New term starts on Jan 11 and costs £275 for 11 weeks.

Culture Kids also runs music classes in Marylebone, Chelsea, Hampstead and Kensington (starting January) and art classes at Pizza Express in Hampstead on a termly basis.

Visit www.culture-kids.com