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Children Rolling In The Dough

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By ELIZABETH LEE BROWN

The Tampa Tribune

Published: April 19, 2008

CARROLLWOOD - A group of girls huddled around the stainless-steel work table, curling strips of dough around skewered bits of pepperoni, cheese and sausage.

At the end table, 4-year-old Benjamin Hebert was struggling with the pizza dough, trying to untangle the sticky pastry from the rolling pin.

The little cooks were making pizza on a stick during a class at Young Chefs Academy, a culinary school catering to children 4 and older.

The franchise, which has schools in Carrollwood and Brandon, offers everything from after-school and weekend cooking classes to birthday parties and monthly membership programs.

With a monthly membership, children can take a cooking class once a week or plan a special event.

Owner Bill Barnaba said he opened the cooking school in December 2006 to offer parents an alternative to the dozens of businesses that host children's birthday parties.
Barnaba calls the concept educational and fun. "This is the only place you're going to a birthday party where the kids will have fun and they're going to learn something, too," he said.

Instructor Mariela Genco, a former pastry chef at Bern's and Mise en Place restaurants, teaches at the cooking school once a week. Genco also teaches college-age culinary students at the Art Institute of Tampa.

Genco said the recipes at Young Chefs have to be age-appropriate.

Sometimes she has to simplify a recipe by cutting out complicated steps and substituting short-cuts. She also has to keep in mind the 90-minute class time, which includes preparation, cooking and clean-up.

"I read them before class and adjust it to make it easier or less time consuming - depending on the age - and go from there," Genco said.

For pizza kabobs, for example, made-from-scratch pizza dough was subbed with ready-made dough from a can. Genco had to save the Chocolate Cake Roll recipe for later.

The class introduces children to foods outside of staples such as peanut butter-and-jelly sandwiches and chicken fingers, which can influence what little ones eat.

Students recently whipped up zucchini boats filled with blue and mozzarella cheese, and tofu smoothies. Both recipes were a hit, Genco said.

"When they have exposure to something new and something they're making, they try something new," she said.

Occasionally, a month's classes will focus on a theme, such as healthy cooking, vegetables, cookies or even kid-friendly recipes from the Food Network.

The hands-on class began with students taking turns reading the recipe's ingredients and directions.

Genco split the class into two groups. The girls diced the cheese and sausage links and then threaded the pieces onto the skewers.

Benjamin wielded a rolling pin for the first time. With Genco's help, he stretched the dough thin and cut it into 1-inch-wide strips.

"Flour helps it move, and when it doesn't move - that's when we know we need more flour, guys," she said.

Aside from creating a dish and then getting to eat it, students learn about kitchen safety, cooking tips, menu planning and the importance of cleaning up. "They learn how to use a knife properly. They learn to keep things clean. It's kind of like a dance lesson or an art class, and they enjoy it," Genco said.

Students use kid-friendly tools such as plastic pizza cutters and blunt-tipped knives with blades that don't break the skin.

Destiny Hayward, 11, recently hosted six of her friends at Young Chefs. Her friends helped her celebrate her birthday by making a cookie cake.

Destiny, who has been taking classes for about a year, said she was interested in learning to cook, and when she got the chance to try it, she was hooked. "It's hands-on, and my mom at home won't let me do any of this stuff," she said.

She said she enjoys making spaghetti and other pasta because it involves boiling the noodles on the stove and mixing the cheeses.
Barnaba said as students take more classes, the recipes are stored in a binder and made into a cookbook they can use later on.

"The goal is to teach them how to do it and let them try it, and we encourage them to make these meals at home," he said. "The premise of it is - this is how you measure, and this is how you calculate weights."
YOUNG CHEFS ACADEMY
ADDRESS: 11636-B N. Dale Mabry Highway

PHONE: (813) 333-2229

WEB SITE: www.youngchefs academy.com

Reporter Elizabeth Lee Brown can be reached at (813) 865-1502 or ebrown@tampatrib.com.

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