Elburn resident Christine Richards elected to enroll her two sons, Carson, 6, and Parker, 8, in a cooking class last summer and because they enjoyed it so much the boys asked their mother for a do-over this year.
“The boys came last summer and both of them liked it so much they wanted to come back,” Richards said Tuesday morning at Rosewood Farm in Sugar Grove. “The boys made brownies and some breads and lots of cookies and cupcakes one day. They love baking at home and I’ve seen if the boys invest in the process even with dinners they typically eat things better.”
Rosewood Farm did its best to inspire a new generation of pastry chefs this week during a two-day kids’ Baking Camp on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Each day offered 3½ hours of hands-on work making three to four recipes that included learning about breads, muffins and cakes as well as chocolates and sweets.
Tuesday’s class included making cheesy breadsticks made from pizza dough, banana chocolate chip muffins and raspberry hand pies.
Julie Warpinski, owner of Rosewood Farm, said summer classes for kids began three years ago and that the farm “offers everything from cooking class to farm camps” and that we “created this series to try and give kids hands-on experiences.”
“Whether it’s cooking and learning how to make something or learning about the importance of local farms in the communities, those are the things we are looking for,” Warpinski said. “We try to vary things and keep things very hands-on for children. They get to measure everything, and use hand mixers and help melt things on the stove and see the whole process from start to finish. We have a really good following, and we definitely fill up the classes pretty quickly. We have a ton of great support from the community.”
Warpinski said the farm “doesn’t bring in a pastry chef” and that she teaches during the baking class herself.
“I was a chef for 10 years in Chicago before I started this business, and I’m professionally trained, that’s why I wanted to bring cooking out to the community and teach people what I’ve learned throughout my career,” she said. “We get parents that are really excited as they don’t have to deal with the mess in their house, so the kids aren’t limited, and most of the kids who come really come with the idea that they want to cook already and expand their knowledge and teach their families what they learned at camp.”
More than a dozen children attended the class this week taught by Warpinski and two other instructors.
One of them, Megan Kelleher of Oswego, said she works during the year as a second-grade teacher and that helping out with the kids’ camp was the perfect fit for her.
“I love kids. I love seeing them grow and explore new things,” Kelleher said. “I’ve been cooking since I was little. I learned from my mom.”
The biggest challenge kids were liable to face over the two days, Kelleher said, “would be reading the recipes and measuring correctly.”
Tuesday’s session began with Warpinski talking about bread and yeast and how sugar “helps feed it and water wakes it up.”
Keith Gaggini of Sugar Grove came with his daughter Gabby, 8, who he said “likes to cook and we thought why not bring her here?”
“We’ve been to camps here before and I like that they are well organized and the staff is very attentive,” Gaggini said. “Kids are taught well and they keep things on their level.”
“My mom makes bread with me sometimes and brownies,” Gabby said. “I know we’re making pizza dough and I’ve actually never done that before. I do like pizza though with just cheese. I think cooking is fun and hope when this is over I hope I can make pizza dough.”
Parker Richards said he was the better chef between he and his brother and that he “likes to make cheesy bread” which his mother Christine noted “was his favorite thing from last year.”
“I’m excited to make this again,” Parker said. “I like to do this but, for me, I think the best thing is just like eating the delicious food we make.”
David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
