“Is today a cooking day!?” 

This question, or a variation of it, is the most common question I’m asked as students enter the greenhouse at Brush Creek Elementary School, or the classroom at Eagle Valley Elementary School. These excited students participate in Walking Mountains’ Sowing Seeds program, a gardening-focused “special” that students rotate to annually. Throughout the years, students have learned about the best part of home (school) grown food– eating! We take as many opportunities for fresh food tastings as we can, and have one or two dedicated cooking days for each rotation of students. There’s nothing more special than harvesting a tomato off a plant and turning it into pico de gallo less than an hour later, which, understandably, makes cooking days very memorable. 

Two second graders using safety knives to chop cucumbers for a cucumber mint salad.

I’m often surprised that kids are more willing to try new foods while out in the garden than they are at home. Providing a low-risk environment is something we strive to foster, utilizing the phrase “don’t yuck my yum” regularly. This environment helps remind students that while they might like or love every food we try, we all have different taste buds, and that's okay! Being in a space with their peers and learning through behavior modeling can result in kids eating things that they would never eat at home. This safe risk-taking creates quick turnarounds too. Many will decide that they won’t like the recipe as soon as it’s announced, but after cooking together, and watching their friends take a first or second bite might just change their minds. Allowing students to change their minds, or eat only certain parts of the recipe helps create a community of brave tasters. 

Fourth graders creating “zoodles” with a veggie spiralizer.

While kids may think that they are simply learning a recipe, and getting to eat food, I’ve been privileged to see how much students gain from cooking fresh food. Together, we learn how to hold a “safety” knife, how to prepare fruits and vegetables from their raw form, experience textures, shapes, growth patterns, and that ugly produce isn’t bad for you. They practice reading and replicating recipes, sometimes with unintentional consequences (a ½ teaspoon of salt is NOT the same thing as a Tablespoon of salt). When students return to Sowing Seeds the following year, the skills that they have learned carry over into our cooking days and our garden days, and hopefully, long after their elementary school years. 

If you’re looking to start cooking with students or kids, here are some ideas to keep in mind. Tools are important, especially when working with younger kids. You might opt for using safety knives that cut food but not skin when introducing a knife, or if you’re working with a large group. Using garden produce will further increase enjoyment of the recipe too, though it’s not required. However, even if you have all the right tools, produce, and mindset, you might be missing out on one key element– role modeling.

A kindergartener smells sungold tomatoes before harvesting them for a tasting.

In a classroom setting, kids are often role models for each other, but if you’re cooking with smaller groups or with your family, sometimes you need to be the role model by showing the skills required to complete the recipe and taking a bite. Even if you’re not sure you like the food (yet). Your mindset as an adult is almost more important than the recipe or tools that you’re planning on using.  A good mindset prior to cooking together can look like acknowledging that messes and mistakes will be made (even encouraged!) and understanding that not everyone is going to like the recipe. So can cultivating a space where everyone has a role, and everyone works together from start to finish, including clean-up!  

While cooking with kids may seem daunting, and it can be at times, the benefits far outweigh the costs. Kids who have the opportunity to cook, especially with homegrown ingredients will create memories and learn skills that will last much longer than the clean-up will take after cooking with them.