Youth Development 

"If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder...he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement and mystery of the world we live in."

-- Rachel Carson, The Sense of Wonder

Youth are the future. It is up to those who have gone before to keep alive their innate curiosity, to join them in experiencing the world in awe and wonder as we both learn more about how our world works. Adults can provide an experienced perspective, unconditional love, structure, and appreciation for effort while recognizing the child's individuality and alternate interpretations of the world's workings. By reflecting questions back to the child rather than anxiously trying to provide personal opinion as generalized truth, youth develop a healthy sense of self and a belief in their own efficacy based on experience. 

 Cooking Now grew out of youth cooking classes at the Bayview Community Center in the historic Greenbush neighborhood in Madison, Wisconsin. Youth remain an essential part of the We're Cooking Now philosophy of personal and community development. Youth classes, as do all We’re Cooking Now classes, teach cooking as practiced by professionals. Because of the complexity and attention to detail, this approach presents numerous opportunities to teach life skills such as organization, problem solving, planning, and teamwork, which form the basis of creating a satisfying life. Our classes provide opportunities:

• To learn cooperation, communication, and problem solving naturally while engaged in fixing delicious food.



• For each participant to be individually responsible for the quality of the tasks she or he is assigned while working together to prepare a good tasting meal within the time allotted. This process of achieving mutually desirable goals through effort forms lasting friendships and boosts self-esteem.
• To familiarize participants with their environment by demonstrating sanitation and storage procedures, equipment maintenance, and purchasing. Knowledge of one's environment leads to a less stressful and more productive life.
• To learn many complex skills in one setting, which rapidly enhances feelings of competence and self-efficacy.
• To learn math, history, geography, sciences, reading, and how cultures differ from one another and how they are alike.
• For learning the meta-cognitive skills of self-monitoring and planning, which occur whenever participants balance menus, estimate budgets, plan shopping lists, project storage or sanitation needs, allocate equipment usage, and evaluate the results.
• For acquiring the life skills of organization, setting priorities, critical thinking, consistency, planning, and time management.

“Your cooking program provided the opportunity for… students to… learn how to work in a group, cultural pride, and…. food safety.”

—Laurie Meulemans, Juventud Coordinator, Centro Hispano

“That class was lots of fun!!! I could tell [the boy I brought with me] was having a fun time. He really opened up in the middle of it. Thanks for that. Your classes really do bring people together. All the kids were having fun, connecting, and learning new things, such as Veganism. Very cool!!!”

-Marcus Cota

Contact We’re Cooking Now to find a program best suited to your child or group’s needs.

We offer the following programs designed for youth:

• Youth and Intergenerational Cooking Classes are offered at several public venues throughout the year in the Madison area. Youth ages 8 and under must be accompanied by an adult. Alternately, you may wish to hold a private class in your home or community setting. Menus can be selected from any of the offerings listed below or one can be customized to suit your needs.
• My Wonderful Life uses cooking techniques, humor, story telling, and sleight of hand in an interactive and fast-paced program to engage youth in order to relate the importance of effort, health, and relationships in making a wonderful life. Presented in a way kids can understand and delivered with action steps, My Wonderful Life will have your kids excited about their future even before they get home. A perfect vehicle to convey positive life messages and family values for kids from four to twelve, the program is suitable for small groups to very large ones.
• A Space to Grow enhances geographical understanding, in part through cooking regional and historical American foods. Designed as a multi-week curriculum delivered in an after-school setting, the program relies on the intrinsic motivation of food to attract students to learn outside the classroom. The program aims to show that studying cooking and food provides an effective way to teach geography and that an in-depth understanding of geography improves overall academic performance.
• Youth Cooking Clubs offer an ongoing opportunity in an after-school and weekend setting for youth to learn culinary skills while improving a wide variety of academic skills. Clubs meet several times per month and most often hold quarterly dinners for parents and other guests.

Classes designed especially for kids include:

• Complete meals based on African American, American, Cajun, Chinese I & II, French, Indian, Italian I & II, Jamaican, Mexican I & II, Pizza, or Tex-Mex recipes.
• Healthy Eating - Meals.
• Healthy Eating - Snacks.
• Cookies I (Jamaican gingersnaps, peanut butter and jelly, chocolate brownies).
• Cookies II (heavenly fudge, apple-raisin oatmeal spice, butterscotch brownies).
• Cookies III (chocolate chip, imported brown-sugar cookies, raisin and date bars).
• Halloween Treats (caramel apples, pumpkin cookies with chocolate chips, wormy apples).
• Candy (caramels, chocolate marshmallows, nut brittle).
• Ice cream from scratch and ice cream toppings (hot fudge, butterscotch, caramel, marshmallow cream).