Alexandria is my shy girl, but also very passionate.
When she was young, I would grab a chair and have her help or just watch me cook everything. Just like what my grandparents and parents would do for me. Alex really gravitated towards cooking pastas and anything that could be considered "an Italian dish". Fast forward to now, Alex is in middle school and was instructed to start thinking about a career she would like to pursue once she hits high school and beyond. She chose to be a Chef.
I have always done my best to make sure Alex explores all her likes and even dislikes. She wanted to try dance, I would put her in dance classes. She hates being outside for a long length of time, I put her in soccer! I personally think it's important for children to explore the world, and not be constantly inside on their devices.
Alex and I have always loved cooking and baking together, so it really wasn't a huge surprise to me when she chose to be a Chef. Of course, her mind may change a million more times, but for now, I will focus on what she loves. I brought Alex into the computer room and showed her all of the options that Chef Cameron has for summer camps. Each one only being a business week and with the option on a morning class or night. Chef Cameron had so many options to choose from that we had to keep scrolling up and down on the page to figure out which best suited her. Alex narrowed it down to two.
Week one, for us, was called Master Chef Junior.
Alex was up feeling very nervous. She loves to cook, but was afraid of the children she would be cooking with. I fed her some words of encouragement, introduced her to Chef Cameron, kissed her goodbye, and walked back to my car. We chose the morning session so it was from 8am-12pm.
I picked her up in the afternoon, she got in the car, and just sat there. I said "sooooooo, how was it?"
Nothing.
We drove in silence.
I backed my car into the driveway, we got out, walked inside, and she exploded! She said she learned so much from Chef Cameron and is super excited to go back tomorrow! I asked her what she made and she showed me what was underneath her plate she was carrying the whole time. QUICHE. Chef Cameron showed the children how to make Quiche! I don't even know how to do that.
The rest of the week was easy. Alex didn't even need me to walk her in anymore. She came home each day with something delicious. Yogurt parfaits, lemon meringue pie, French toast, and so much more! But her absolute favorite thing to make was the pasta. Now I expected to hear that the children made some pasta sauce and then just boiled some box noodles. I WAS WAY WRONG! Chef Cameron showed them how to make the dough, put the dough through the roller, cut it to where it needs to be, and then how to make the pasta sauce from scratch as well! Alex couldn't hide the glow she was radiating that day even if she wanted to. Now I imagine it being difficult to teach about 20 children how to make a proper Italian dish, but Alex said he did it so well. Explained each step, made sure everyone understood the task, walked around and spent time with each group, and even helped when it was needed. I am so impressed.
The next week was another AM session and was called Lets Travel. Chef Cameron took the children around the world to cook up some savory culinary delights. They. visited Japan, Latin America, Greece, Paris and Italy. Each day creating a new masterpiece and teaching the children new skills that they will keep with them throughout their lives. Alex of course loved the Italian day, but making the eclairs from Paris was a hard one to beat she said.
Whether your child wants to be a chef, or just learn some new culinary skills, Chef Cameron with Chef's in Progress is really worth every penny. All of the summer camps are sold-out, but he has many more classes on the website to choose from!
