Teaching Kids to Appreciate What They Eat
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 Arline A. Fleming - The Providence Journal
Taking turns, students at the Kidz 'n the Kitchen cooking class sprinkle a sugar-cinnamon mixture atop a French donut.
Chef Jo -- Johanna Lockhart of Westerly, Conn.-- created the school, a storefront-turned-kitchen, solely for the purpose of teaching kids about food preparation.
"Fast food is a fact of life," she says. "Kids need to learn about foods, and we need to teach them to make smart choices."
The room has something of a television studio flavor to it, with a large flat-screen TV mounted on the wall, stainless steel appliances accented by cool red utensils, and a speckled floor that looks like sprinkles on top of a butter cream sheetcake.
This kitchen, bright and new, is more Rachael Ray than Julia Child, but it is Child who is quoted on a wall-hanging posted in this kitchen:
"Life itself is a proper binge" it reads, an axiom that seems incorporated into this new food venture.
"Food is everywhere," says Lockhart, so why not pay it some respect? Buy it fresh, cook it right. Really taste it, she contends. Take a fast from fast food.
So on a steamy summer morning Lockhart, wearing a white smock and chef's toque, greeted the five students, ages 7 to 12, enrolled in her Taste of Rhode Island session, offering them snacks, aprons, and a place to scrub their hands before touching anything food-related.
Lockhart, 54, spent many years as an international marketing executive, but one night on an airplane, after criss-crossing the globe one more time, new ideas began to simmer in her head.
She wrote them down on a cocktail napkin.
"I decided to combine my four great passions: Kids, food, education and entertainment."
Lockhart wrote a pilot for a television series where kids learned how to cook. She designed a logo and graphics (which she still uses), and set out to seek funding.
But another job offer arose, and she set aside the idea until three years ago, then brought it all back, testing it out at outdoor festivals, schools, libraries, and other events.
Last fall her dream came together when Kidz 'n the Kitchen opened with classes and field trips.
Basically, says Lockhart, she wants to teach children the basics, and she has a class for that, too.
"I like the way she teaches," said Lori Joyal as she dropped off her daughter, Jacqueline, 9, for a class. "They are learning how to cook the right way. It's just such a wonderful concept."
Twelve-year-old Beth Sarber, said she signed up for the classes because she wanted to learn how to "make something other than French toast."
Sinead Maron, 7, lists cupcakes and pancakes as her personal bests, but wants to learn more.
"Kids today are influenced by the Food (Television) Network," says Lockhart, and so while they may be interested in the process, they still need to cultivate the skills necessary to make more than peanut butter-and-jelly sandwiches.
Lockhart, a Massachusetts native, says she's "self-trained and a fan of food culture."
Having traveled the world, she has accumulated personal experiences with foods of many places. As a child, she spent time living in Europe, and as a college student pursued Latin American studies and
Romance languages at the University of Arizona.
College was followed by retail work, which led to her many years in marketing.
Her classes during the past few months have included Chinese-, Italian-, Mexican-, Japanese- and Spanish-themed sessions. Gingerbread houses were the topic one day, as well as a cookie basket centerpiece.
Another session had the kids learning how to make breakfast for their mothers, while yet another was her spin on take-out.
"When kids are involved in creating and preparing their meals and snacks, they pay better attention to what, when and how they eat and are more adventurous in trying new foods and making smart nutritional choices," she wrote in a brochure. "We've developed this unique class where kids create a full meal menu to take home. Menu items use fresh, seasonal ingredients and include a tasty appetizer, entrée, side dish, salad in a bag and special dessert."
Lockhart also brings in guest chefs to conduct sessions for children, and for adults.
"It's a take-out world," says Lockhart. "There's a whole generation of young people who are growing up with parents who don't know how to cook. I teach them the basics...what's a spatula, what do you do with it." |
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