SUMMER CAMPS & WORKSHOPS IN 2020 

WE’RE GOING VIRTUAL

Update, June 1, 2020: For more information and to a purchase a virtual camp, please visit our new website, www.cookology.live.  Cookology.Live has a members only section that will provide a place for ingredient lists, recipes, videos, webex addresses, and more information on prizes.

 Message from May 18, 2020:

We are determined to make lemonade out of the lemons we have all been dealt this year by offering unlimited camps/workshops online all summer long!

What happens to the Camps this summer?

We will offer LIVE virtual camps starting on June 8 – August 14 for five days per week, with varied time slots. Chef Olivia Dennis and other chefs will be teaching live via Webex each day, and campers will be provided with LIVE INSTRUCTION and recorded cooking assignments via recorded videos created by our instructors. Please visit our new website with all the details: www.cookology.live. 

We will incentivize students to compete for badges and awards when they complete their live and recorded classes, and photograph their final dishes. Top prizes include a brand new KitchenAid Mixer, Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker, Knife Set and more. AND we want to make sure

 that any student who is looking to try out for a Kids’ Cooking Show on TV has a shot at it!

Keep an eye out for more details about the prizes and the show in our upcoming newsletter!

PREPAID?

If you have already purchased a summer camp from January – March 2020, your camper will have UNLIMITED ACCESS to the LIVE camps from June 8 – August 14, as well as the recorded videos. PLEASE NOTE: If you choose to join us for Unlimited Access, you will NOT receive a refund or credit for the camp you signed up for this summer, but we will give you 30% off of next summer’s camp enrollment.

FAQs

Refunds

At this time I do apologize that I am unable to make any refunds. 
Instead I offer the following three options:
1. Refund. We have given out as many refunds as we possibly can, and are keeping a record of those who want refunds. 
2. Convert your enrollment in this year’s camps/workshops to the Virtual camp program (see the description above) and receive a 30% off coupon for next years’ enrollment.
3. Convert into Cookology transferrable gift cards or credit and receive a 30% discount on any virtual or face-to-face class after we open.

Will it be as fun as our usual classes?

Nothing is going to replace the joy of being in cooking school. Kids love it at Cookology, and we are sad as well that we won’t see smiling happy faces this summer. BUT we are going to try our best to make it as compelling as possible by incentivizing students to join our contest, by encouraging the parents to help their kids get involved. We have some fun things planned!

Will it be exactly the same class I signed my child up for?

With the lack of ingredients available, we will be changing several recipes–but the content and class techniques will remain the same. For example, if it’s baking and pastry, then we will focus on those techniques.

Will you be teaching to specific age groups? 

The Munchkins (Ages 5-7) camp will be taught and offered separately, and will require the help of a parent or guardian. These classes will be live and have recorded videos as well that you can do all summer long on your own time.
The kids camps and teen workshops for those 8 years old to 18 years old, will be the same content live, while the recorded video assignments might differ between the age groups, however students will have access to all recorded videos.

Who will help with cooking? 

A parent, guardian or grandparent should be on hand to help the children navigate the stove top or oven if they do not have any experience with cooking.

How will the kids get ingredients if I don’t have access to them?

For our parents who pre-paid from January to March, we CAN NO LONGER support our idea to deliver key ingredients to your door, as we have been hit by a wave of refunds. We predict that food costs will be anywhere from $65-$90 per week for camp depending on the brand of ingredients and the store you purchase from. 
For new sign-ups, we provide you with a list of ingredients before each class.

When do I receive the recipes?

Unlike our usual classes where we give the recipe after the class, this summer we will provide the recipes several weeks before the classes so that you have the chance to source ingredients.

How will we know if our dish is well made or undercooked? Can you Scratch and Sniff the computer screen?

Sadly we cannot scratch and sniff, but we will be engaged with our campers on Webex, and we can determine from a live video or photograph how well they are doing or did, but ultimately we will need to rely on the family to let us know if the dish came out the way it should.  We will focus on techniques of cooking this summer while we engage with the recipe to make sure no matter what you cook, those techniques help you make it perfectly.

How will Allergies and Food Sensitivities be handled?

Each class will discuss alternatives to meat by using a specific vegetable. There will be specific Gluten-Free and Vegan classes. 

What do we do with the food after we cook it? 

You feed it to your family! I hope you’ll make enough to make an entire lunch or dinner that everyone can try!

How do I register my child for the summer’s unlimited or weekly classes?

Parents who have not already signed up their kids can register for our virtual classes on our cookologyonline.com/classes page the first week in June. They will not have the benefit of unlimited summer classes, and will have to pay for classes on a weekly basis. There will be no refunds given to those who do not attend, however each class will be recorded and students can go back to the class they purchased at any time.

How many kids will be in each online class? We are limiting each online class to 20-32 kids per class, however the median amount of kids per each registered class right now is 7 students, and we only have one sold out camp. Our typical in-person class has been 16-32 per class with multiple chefs teaching,–this will be similar, and we predict that every week will be maxed out. There will be several instructors on hand to teach and answer questions. There will multiple time slots that we will assign your children to each week. Our goal is to keep the online classes small and manageable.

How will I save the environment by taking online classes?

You won’t waste gas to drive here. You won’t use to-go containers when you leave; we won’t have to wash your aprons or throw away a plastic apron! We won’t use a lot of energy to keep cool or frozen a ton of food we would use in classes.

How will my kids make new friends and keep track of the dishes they enter into the contest? 

Post your dish on your Instagram account, tag @CookologyCulinarySchool. in the post, they need to also include the hastag #Summer2020Contest, as well as the class name and describe what they made in the post.  Please make sure we are tagged or we won’t be able to see the dish.

Let us know if you have other questions!

Teaching the next generation how to cook is one of my most favorite things at Cookology, and I hope with our virtual programs we make that happen even if we can’t do it face to face. This is also a great opportunity to cook with your child(ren) for just a couple hours per day, and or let them finish on their own schedule and yours.
Please look out for the newsletter of information on the Cookology Camp Virtual in the next few days, and please join our mailing list, see below, if you haven’t already.

 

Please let me know what you decide: 1) Refund in 2021, 2) unlimited summer classes plus 30% off next year, or 3) credit for future cooking classes, via email!

 

Best,

 

Maria Kopsidas
Owner