Many parents lament that their children don’t spend enough time in the kitchen learning the basics of cooking and manners. This is not the case for the young students enrolled in the Kid’s Cooking Academy being held this summer in Klehm Hall.

The Kid’s Cooking Academy program, which is headed by Family and Consumer Sciences instructor Kathy Rhodes and sponsored by the School of Continuing Education, emphasizes cooking skills and dining etiquette as well as kitchen safety.

“We wanted to teach kids before they got to high school or college so we got together a class that would teach children about cooking, etiquette, and nutrition” Rhodes said. “Many students come to college today and don’t know anything about food preparation, we are seeking to help them in this regard” she added.

The program also promotes the children to have a healthy body image. “We like for the kids to know that it’s okay to have certain body types” said Rhodes.

The purpose of the course is not to just teach the most simple of dishes.

“This is not a jello lab” said Rhodes. “The kids are more advanced than you think” she added.

The students started the program on Tuesday; preparing strawberry banana tofu smoothies, trail mix, and peanut butter fluff mix. On Wednesday, they were on to preparing the more advanced lasagna. Each student gets a cookbook, apron, and culinary tools.

Students break up into groups and each prepares an assigned dish. Students are able to divide up their product and consume their delicious creations.

Parents and children equally expressed delight in the academy’s existence.

Parent Laurie Richardson of Ashmore, whose daughter is in the program, said “My daughter has always wanted to be a chef, she likes cooking and watches the Food Network, so we decided to get her into it.”

The consensus among several of the students was “It’s great here, it’s so much fun to cook.”

The program is three weeks long and three days a week. The classes meet Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 10 am to 12 pm and another class meeting 6 to 8pm in Klehm hall room 1411. Weekly field trips are scheduled to different restaurants around town as well as grocery store scavenger hunts. The 34 students in the academy range in age from nine to thirteen and come from communities across the region. Several children of EIU faculty members are also enrolled in the program including President Lou Hencken’s granddaughter.

The program has proven to be quite popular as there is a waiting list of 20 children wanting to participate in addition to the possibility of another program in August that would more likely resemble a day camp.

Rhodes added that she would like for the Kid’s Cooking Academy to become a regular program at Eastern; “We hope it will. We’ll wait for the feedback and hopefully we’ll also have the opportunity for more classes, spin-off classes, and classes for different age groups.” Rhodes also expressed interest in a class devoted to etiquette, which she said was “lacking in a large amount of college students.”

The program culminates in the students preparing a tea reception for guests where they will receive a culinary kit and a certificate of completion for their participation in the Kid’s Cooking Academy.