Young Chefs Academy offers fun, nutrition and life skills
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| Jerry Campbell photo - Ann Barnum, of the Young Chefs Academy, instructs a group of 8-year-olds on how to make pizza from scratch. The Young Chefs Academy teaches the life skill of cooking in a fun and educational way. |
Located at 1929 West Highway 50, the academy has been open since May, 2007.
"We work on teaching kids basic skills, nutrition and better ways to eat than microwave dishes, fast food and junk food," said Mel Barnum, the owner of the Young Chefs Academy. "There's an awful lot of kids that think food either comes out of a microwave or McDonald's."Parents live such a fast lifestyle these days that they don't have time for cooking. I grew up with my grandmother and my father teaching me how to cook. My wife's grandmother and grandfather taught her how to cook. Her dad was also a great cook. Today's lifestyles doesn't lend the time for many parents to do that anymore. And grandma or grandpa are on the East or West Coast or somewhere else far away. There just isn't that cultural exposure to what good food is and what nutrition is.
"I tell our kids that I can take the ingredient that they hate the most and help them find a way to like it. It's all in how you prepare it. Last summer we had a class that was all built around spinach. All the mothers said, 'There's no way the kids are going to eat those recipes.' But we got to the end of the class and the kids all said, 'That was great food.' When kids spend an hour to an hour and 15 minutes building something, 90 percent of them are at least going to try a bite. Sometimes they're surprise that something they thought was going to be bad, turns out to be really good. It's a way for us to introduce kids to new stuff and help them eat healthier than they have been. It's a real passion for us to try and help kids."
The Young Chefs Academy is a franchise that started in Waco, Texas. The O'Fallon academy is one of about 140 nationwide. It is the only Young Chefs Academy in the state of Illinois.
"The founders of the Young Chefs Academy were two women," said Barnum. "One was a baker and the other was a teacher. "They started doing birthday parties; and it grew and grew."
Barnum, who owns and operates the Young Chefs Academy along with his wife Ann, had a background in computers before opening his own business. Ann had a background in office management.
"Opening this business has been a lot of long hours and a lot of hard work, but for Ann and I, the reward is all in the smiles and all the happy faces we see going out," said Barnum. "I can't tell you how many kids came up to me after the first class and gave me a hug. It's great fun."
Most of the recipes used at the Young Chefs Academy are provided by the franchise; however, the Barnums do feature a few of their own creations.
The Young Chefs Academy does special occasions like birthday parties, but it also offers weekly, age-specific classes.
"There are different membership options," said Barnum. "You can go from month-to-month option or for three months or for a year, It's all open enrollment. There's no semester to semester type of concept."
Class sizes are capped at 15. Each month the classes feature a particular theme. For instance, the theme for March is French cooking.
"Each week this month we feature a different aspect of French cuisine," said Barnum. "Each session lasts an hour and a half and the kids have a ball."
The Young Chefs Academy has programs for children ages 3 to 17.
The facilities at the Young Chefs Academy can accommodate special events for up to 20 kids in each of its two kitchens - although for some events, a larger group can book both kitchens.
"One of our birthday party packages features pizza," said Mel Barnum. "They build it from scratch. It's all hands on. The kids are involved in mixing the ingredients and actually creating the doough. They put the sauce on it, along with pepperoni and cheese. We bake it for them while they're opening presents, and when they're done it's ready to eat. They have such a ball creating their own pizza.
"We also do a pasta party, a pocket-pie party, calzones and a Mexican fiesta party where they do enchilada and seven-layer dip. That's for the older kids. We start that at 9 and up. The parties are all geared toward different age levels, starting from 4 on up."
Barnum bills the Young Chefs Academy birthday parties as no-stress events.
"Moms really love it," he said. "They don't have do anything other than give us a list of the kids who are coming. We will custom print and mail the invitations for them. We provide gift bags, decorations, drinks and paper goods. The kids come in, they create and cook whatever they've chosen as a recipe, they open gifts, eat and then go. If you want us to supply the cake, we can do that. One of our chefs is a pastry chef.
"The parents don't have to worry about the clean-up before or after the party."
Besides fun, events at the academy are about learning important lessons and life skills.
"We teach them kitchen safety, food safety, nutrition, preparation technique, etiquette and manners," said Barnum. "All of that is included in the curriculum at various points and they don't even know it. Cooking includes math. It includes science. For instance, when we're working with yeast we teach them how it works. We deal with doubling recipes or cutting them in half. So other things are included in what we do, but the kids are so busy cooking that they don't understand that we're actually teaching them other things."
Barnum said boys and girls equally enjoy what the academy has to offer.
"We have some of the most passionate 7- or 8-year-old boys that you have ever seen," he said. "I've got at least three boys that are determined that they're going to be a chef when they grow up. I would say that our boys are every bit as enthusiastic about cooking as our girls are."
For more information on the Young Chefs Academy call 632-2665 or go to the academy's Web site at www.youngchefsacademy.com/ofallon.
