Welcome to the 2023 Spring & Summer Camps/Workshops & MCAI Teen Professional Culinary Week
Welcome to 2023 Spring Break & Summer Camps/Workshops, and MCAI Teen, a professional culinary workshop presented by our sister school, Metropolitan Culinary Arts Institute. This summer we are offering our usual half day cooking camps, and also a full-day camp, combining both morning and afternoon camps at a significant discount. The best deal is all day for the entire week. These camps are open to ages 8-11 and 12-17.
We also have our monthly munchkin camps for ages 5-7. These classes are only Tuesday – Thursday for 2 hours.
And new this year, we are offering a full week of professional instruction for teens based on our professional culinary arts program, Metropolitan Culinary Arts Institute.
Click here to learn more about 2023’s Summer Camps
Summer Camp
In every Cookology Summer Camp, young chefs learn essential skills to prepare and execute delicious meals of varying themes. Throughout the multi-day camps, our professional chefs will train your child in proper kitchen safety, knife and heat skills for appropriate ages, and a multitude of techniques that will stay with them forever.
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If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call us at 703.433.1909 or email us at [email protected]. Your children are our priority.
We have created a safe, nurturing environment for kids to learn how to cook.
We offer birthdays and other private parties both in-person and virtually. We have partnered with Sawyer Tools to bring your the best and easiest way to sign up for both a party and classes.
In our kids’ hands-on cooking classes at Ballston Quarter and Dulles Town Center, children as young as three learn to measure, mix, and roll, while tweens and teens learn to reference recipes, ingredient identification, and proper measuring techniques. In every class they’ll work with our professional chef to learn true culinary techniques: knife skills, sautéing, grilling, boiling, braising, baking, and more, all while exploring new world cuisines, healthy menus, and seasonal dishes, vegetable cookery, pasta making and even gluten-free baking as they make sophisticated, delicious dishes!
Types of Classes:
Spring Break/Winter Camp/Summer Camp are for all age groups. For our 5-7 year olds we offer a 2 hour workshop three days per week, once per month over the summer. For ages 8 and up, we offer daily cooking workshops from 9am – 12:30pm and from 1:30pm to 5pm. Thirty minutes is set aside at the end of the class for the students to eat. We are no longer offering our post camp in the afternoon for those who took the morning camp. If you would like your child to take an entire day of camp, please sign them up for the morning and afternoon camps.
Mommy/Daddy/Grandparent/Caregiver & Me – In these fun, hour-long cooking classes kids learn and play with tastes and textures as they get their hands dirty mixing, measuring, and rolling to create their own homemade treats with mom, dad, or caregiver. These classes are a great way to spend quality time with your child and introduce them to cooking and eating in an exciting and interactive way!! We only charge a fee for the child not the parent.
Family Classes: Our family classes are fun and interactive. As a group, from parent and child, to parents, grandparents and children you can learn to make something really fun including memories. The menus might be a bit more simple for most adults, but there is always something to learn, and we don’t want anyone ever to be bored in our classes, so you can guarantee everyone will walk away learning something new. Please notice the age groups listed on each family class.
Ages 5-7: At this age, it’s all using motor skills to improve motor control by stirring and mixing. We work to keep ingredients inside the bowl, measuring ingredients while we explore ingredients, their origin, and how things are made by using taste, smell and touch.
A Word About 7 Year Olds: We know at the age of 7, they seem old enough to go into the 8-18 year old class, especially if they spend a lot of time cooking at home, and we encourage those baking prodigies to join us in the 8-18 year old camp for just baking and pastry. However, we do not accept 7 year olds in any class where we use a knife. We have consulted with pediatricians who believe motor skills required to handle knives do not start until they are 8 years old. If they insist, and if you insist, we will still not allow them to use the chef’s knives that the older children are using. We are absolute sticklers for the rules that keeps your kids safe.
Siblings of Differing Age in Same Class: If you would like two or more siblings to work together but who are not in the same age category, we will absolutely allow that, but give the younger child a different cutting tool, or we will prep for them. The key is to let us know when signing up.
Ages 8-11: At this age, they are adorable and goofy, and love to learn to cook. We use our adult menus but slow down the pace considerably when teaching. We also limit the amount of things they learn to make. They might be picky eaters but many picky eaters are eating everything by the end of class.
Knife Skills: Our favorite part is when we teach knife skills–which we do in all classes/camps for kids ages 8+, except baking and pastry. They feel empowered that they are entrusted with the responsibility of using a knife. It’s at this age, we see so many kids fall in love with cooking–hence all those kids cooking shows.
Ages 12-18 – At this age, we teach recipes that we pull from the adult menus. Kids this age are more serious, and can understand and do what is required of them, so often we stack a class full of recipes and techniques to try to cover as much as possible. It’s no different than it is in school where this is a time of immense peer pressure, but because they have their own ingredients and can work at their own pace, they are usually quite happy to be a part of the class.
16+ Year Olds Can Take Adult Classes: Kids at the age of 16 and older are permitted and encouraged to take adult classes with or without an adult, although if they have no prior cooking experience, we ask that they cook alongside an adult. It’s also a great way to spend some time with your growing teens.
Allergies & Substitutes: We’ve never met an ingredient we couldn’t substitute. Please let us know if your children have allergies or are vegetarians, do not eat pork, or have a gluten allergy. What ever the issue we can work around it.
Cookology Birthday Parties
At a Cookology party kids will make delicious appetizers, entrees, and desserts with help from our chefs. Cooking parties are hands-on and fully customizable based on your child’s age and interests.
• Ages 3-4: Mommy/Daddy & Me; Two menu choices (appetizer + entree or entree + dessert)
• Ages 5-7: Two Menu Choices (appetizer + entree or entree + dessert)
• Ages 8-12: Three Menu Choices (appetizer, entree, and dessert)
• Ages 12-18: Three Menu Choices (appetizer, entree + side, dessert)
Call us at (703) 433.1909 or contact us book your child’s party at Ballston Quarter or Dulles Town Center!