Camp of the Week: Kids Cooking Camp
Each week through the spring, we're spotlighting one camp from our Ultimate Summer Camps List. Find previous stories and search our Ultimate Summer Camps List at kids.azcentral.com.
Martie Sullivan started her Sweet Basil Gourmetware & Cooking School 21 years ago, and for 18 of those years, she has been hosting summer camp for children who like the kitchen. This year, she's expecting more than 100 participants, ages 8 to 17, at Kids Cooking Camp in Scottsdale.
"We have so many kids who come back year after year after year," Sullivan says. Knowing your way around the kitchen is a valuable life skill as well as a creative pursuit, she adds. "When you can learn it at a young age, you're just miles ahead."
The day camp is 21/2 hours long. That's long enough to fix seven recipes and test them at a shared buffet, she says. Kids work in teams of two and tackle some sophisticated dishes. Camp sessions are limited to 14 children.
"The kids really do learn all facets of cooking," she says. "They get a well-rounded lesson on all different types of food."
On the last day, they celebrate with a little friendly competition: their version of "Cupcake Wars," based ever-so-loosely on the Food Network show.
Sullivan credits the popularity of cooking shows for drawing more and more kids to the kitchen — and her camp. She says there's typically an even mix of boys and girls these days. While the starting age for Kids Cooking Camp is 8, she has accepted students as young as 7, but "6 is too young. They can't read well enough or follow directions," Sullivan explains. "When they're 8, they can do both of those things."
She did change one thing over the years: the starting time for teens. "We were having a heck of a time getting the teenagers here at 9:30 a.m."
Once they started offering the camp at 2-4:30 p.m., attendance improved, she says. "That's worked out ever since."
Morrison covers the Kids and Families beat. Reach her at kara.morrison@arizonarepublic.com or follow her on Twitter @azckids.
Camp of the Week: Kids Cooking Camp
Age range: 8-17.
Type: Day camp.
Activities: Aspiring young chefs are taught how to prepare recipes daily, each with a new theme, in this hands-on camp. Students work in teams of two and enjoy all dishes prepared each day.
Where: Sweet Basil Gourmetware & Cooking School, 10749 N. Scottsdale Road, Suite 101, Scottsdale.
When: June 8-July 31.
Cost: $250 per week.
Details: 480-596-5628, sweetbasilgourmet.com.
Ultimate summer camps list
Kids Cooking Camp is just one of more than 1,275 camps featured in our new, searchable summer camps directory at summercamps.azcentral.com. You'll find everything from traditional back-to-nature summer camps to day programs that specialize in sports, theater, art, music and more.