Kids learn valuable lessons in cooking camp

**ADVANCED FOR THE WEEKEND OFJULY 24-25** In a Tuesday, July 13, 2010 Lynette Callahan demonstrates to her students how to cut chicken in order to make crunchy chicken tenders during her summer cooking camp in Houma, La. (AP Photo/The Houma Courier, Emily Schwarze)

HOUMA, La. (AP) — The back of Lynette Callahan’s home sounds like any other summer camp: giggles, persistent questions and shouts of excitement.

But this camp sidesteps the gym, pool and playground for the kitchen, teaching children and teens valuable cooking lessons in an entertaining — and tasty — way. Major activities include chopping, stirring and plating. And the only heat comes from the oven.

“They like the hands-on,” said Callahan, 43, owner and head chef of Young Chefs in Training Cooking Academy, which operates out of her house in Houma.

The academy’s summer camp guides participants, ages 6 to 15, in creating entrees, sides and desserts inspired by places around the world.

The young chefs spend week-long sessions learning about ingredients, culinary tools and ways to prepare various recipes. The tasks may seem like grown-up work, but campers find fun and even outlets for personal expression in making their own pizzas, eggrolls and stuffed pastas.

Tuesday afternoon, 8-year-old Cole Martin of Houma, his mouth and chin spotted with chocolate, pumped his arms in the air while voicing his enthusiasm for making a banana-split cheesecake, which he described as looking like a “monster.”

“I never want to grow up!” Martin shouted. “Cooking camp rocks!”

Later, a group of girls huddled around Callahan as she led them in making a secret sauce for the chicken tenders they cooked. The girls tasted the sauce, suggesting more chives, more mayonnaise, more Season-All.

“I started my business last summer because of my love of working with children and my passion for cooking and teaching,” Callahan said.

The Raceland native, a computer-lab teacher at Grand Caillou Middle School, begins her 13th year of teaching in the fall. Callahan, raised among a family of cooks, caterers and bakers, started cooking as a hobby at about 12, and has long combined her interests in the kitchen and the classroom. At Acadian Elementary School, where she taught for six years, Callahan led her students in

cooking meals from foreign countries to accompany lessons. Her home also tends to be a gathering point for neighborhood children, who often wind up in the kitchen with Callahan.

After co-workers at Acadian encouraged Callahan to continue cooking with children in the summer, and her daughter, Abby, attended another cooking camp in Houma, Callahan decided to start her own camp.

“I’ve gotten some really good feedback,” she said.

Campers cook foods in conjunction with daily themes, such as taco soup and enchiladas for Mexican day, quiche and fondue for French day, and veggie sticks and a light dessert for healthy day.

Kade Martin, 8, of Raceland, unrelated to Cole, said he liked making stuffed manicotti on Italian day.

“There were a lot of steps, and it was mostly just all having fun,” he said.

Callahan said she tries to expose campers to different seasonings and flavors, having them taste ingredients like basil and parsley. They learn about kitchen gadgets, such as a zester, and discover the difference between measuring cups for liquids and those for solids.

They most enjoy using their hands, she said.

“They want to chop, they want to mix, they want to stir,” she said. “They love to whisk. They love to crack eggs.”

Callahan incorporates individualized dishes, such as small pizzas, because campers enjoy building individual creations, she said.

Campers fill different roles each day: dish washer, ingredients, table-wiper and sous chef. Abby Callahan, 9, and two neighbors, ages 12 and 13, also help campers throughout the process.

Daralyn Cavaness, 10, of Houma, who often helps her mother cook, said she enjoys working the different camp jobs. Monday, she helped gather ingredients; Tuesday, she wiped tables.

“I like being the sous chef because you get to help Mrs. Lynette,” Miranda Pitre, 9, of Houma, said Tuesday, as she loaded her banana-split cheesecake with cherries and chocolate. “W

hatever she needs help with, we help her with.”

On Fridays, children show off their culinary skills to parents and other guests, with a meal.

The camp costs $125 per week per student. Along with lessons, each child receives a cookbook filled with camp recipes and facts about food, CDs with camp photos, chef hats and aprons.

Callahan said she likes seeing the excitement on campers’ faces when they try a dish for the first time and hearing that they have tried camp recipes at home.

Chase Falgout, 12, of Bourg, who often bakes at home, has attended every session of the camp. He enjoys the experimentation involved in cooking.

“You can venture out and make different things,” he said.

But the best part about cooking camp?

“The eating,” Cole Martin said.