Tweaks to Fourth of July feast plans are being made in households around the Golden Triangle today. In some of those kitchens, some newly-minted MUW culinary camp “graduates” are probably helping with preparations. Seventy-two youngsters in second- through 12th-grades just completed training at The W’s Culinary Arts Institute Culinary Camp for Kids. Each year, four weekly sessions in June fill quickly.
Under the leadership of Chef Vicki Leach, young cooks explore the world of foods in the professional setting of the Institute. Through demonstration, lectures and hands-on work in the kitchen, they learn about food and kitchen safety, proper sanitation and the correct use of appliances and tools of the craft. They delve into healthy meal planning, organizational skills, teamwork and etiquette. Focus is placed on developing the palate. Leach believes it’s important for kids to be exposed to a wide variety of foods.
During camps, she promotes whole foods — food that has been processed or refined as little as possible, free from additives or other artificial substances. She champions letting kids taste many foods to create “flavor memories” in the brain. The more taste memories they have, the more foods they learn to love. In a culture of fast-food burgers and fries, it’s easy to fall into narrow or unhealthy food ruts — and those habits can last a lifetime.
“Obviously, we want to eat healthy, but I really believe the way to do that is to eat foods in their most whole form,” the chef said.
“Kids’ opinions about food are always amazing to me,” Leach continued. “They come into the kitchen and they’ve developed opinions about food really, really early.”
Parents may not realize how significant a role they play in that.
“Kids are picking up the same opinions as their parents, especially with food diets or food fads,” she noted. Sometimes that can do more harm than good. But Leach thinks more parents are becoming aware of getting youngsters off to a better start.
At camp, kids “are always the main attraction,” and Leach always enjoys what they bring to the table, so to speak.
“The first day, you can usually pick out the ones that really have a passion for food; you can tell,” she said.
She’s aware that children and teens, conditioned by technology, grow up in a “speeded-up” environment, so she and her assistants keep their attention engaged.
“We try to keep them really busy in the kitchen, since their whole lives are sort of geared toward that,” Leach said. But sometimes slowing down is just as important.
“We also still try to sit them down. They get to eat what they made. We have them wait until everybody’s seated. We try to help them understand the concept of mindful eating.”
So often, she pointed out, most of us do not mindfully eat — sit down, relax, pay attention to what we are eating. Meals instead are too often a matter of being rushed, talking, checking texts, watching TV, gulping food. She encourages doing it differently.
“You can sit down to peanut butter and jelly or a bowl of chicken noodle soup and mindfully eat,” she said. It will change the experience — whatever your age.
Jan Swoope is the Lifestyles Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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