There is something new and exciting going on for kids ages 6 to 15 in Northwest Arkansas! Executive Chef Brigham Cook, of Cook’s Culinary Academy, has partnered with the Jones Center to bring back something crucial that’s missing from today’s childhood education: how to grow and cook your own food at home! Let your kids in the kitchen and see what they can do!
Chef Cook has been cooking professionally since before most of you were born. He has owned several restaurants, trained chefs in several States over several years and, on top of that, he has his own growing family of mouths to feed at home. That’s a full time job by itself, and a difficult one for anybody trying to raise strong, healthy kids. “My children inspired me,” said Chef Cook. “The Cook’s Culinary Academy motto is to educate, empower, and enrich the lives of our community through healthy, fresh, homegrown cooking experiences; and what better way is there to do that than to strengthen the roots of the community — empowering the younger generations — from the ground up.” Coming from a culinary background and having taught his own kids a thing or two in the kitchen, it was a natural move to adapt his official chef training to the younger crowd.
Fast food and junk food are too easy to come by, and they generally aren’t healthy for a growing family. Chef Cook wants to empower the next generation of Ozarkians to be happy and healthy by training them in the garden and the kitchen. In his classes, he teaches a garden variety of different food cultures and their surprising histories. He discusses how to plant seeds and when to pick the freshest herbs. Brimming with delicious recipes to try at home, Chef Cook walks you through how to make your own pasta and dough by hand, and how to easily bake the perfect bread for any meal. The seasoned pro even grills you on how to properly handle a knife and when to light your food on fire (say it with me now, flambé), along with many more trade secrets your parents don’t even know! And what is dinner without dessert? Don’t worry, you’ll be able to take home the culinary skills to make fresh whipped cream, scratch caramel sauce and some fancy strawberry daffodils — or roses — whatever, you’re the culinary artist!
The hands-on experience is called Cook’s Junior Chef Academy, and it takes place once-a-week for six weeks at The Jones Center in Springdale, AR. At $120 per student, this is a steal of a deal, and there’s no time like the present to take advantage of it.
Go to thejonescenter.net/cooking-class now to register and learn more!
You may also call (479) 756-8090 ext. 2167 for cooking class information.
By James Carlton
Special to Official Kids Mag