Cooking Camp

A waft of cinnamon emanated through the kitchen along with bursts of children’s giggles. Tortillas were brushed with butter and sprinkled with cinnamon-sugar, prepped for a few minutes in the oven.

Seven children participated in the Cape Coral Yacht Club’s cooking camp, which ran from Dec. 26-30.

Every day of the camp brought a new recipe. The children learned to make flourless peanut butter cookies, savory and sweet pita chips and omelets in a bag. The week culminated with the children baking their own bread.

“It’s just teaching kids more or less some healthy snacks they can make for themselves,” said Christine Rogers, camp operator.

Rogers said the camp also teaches kitchen safety and kitchen sanitation, as well as having the kids learn about healthy choices.

“I’m learning a lot about healthy food,” said Anthony Onorevole, 8.

Rogers said the campers enjoyed themselves.

“The more hands-on, the more they seem to enjoy it,” she said.

The cooking camp was for children age 7 to 13.

“We don’t want them too young being around knives and hot stoves but too old and they aren’t interested,” Rogers said.

Tiana Osowski, 10, and Alexia Cedrone, 9, worked together on their pita chips, sprinkling the tortilla triangles with a spattering of garlic salt. The girls said they like to make things in the kitchen, especially brownies and cookies. They both said their favorite part of the camp was the omelets in a bag.



“You just put whatever you want in there and you shake it up,” Alexia said.

“Then you put it in boiling water,” Tiana chimed in.

The omelets were a favorite among the group and each one put in a different set of toppings. Rogers laid out ham, cheese, peppers, onions and tomatoes for the children to create their own special breakfast.

“Mine had cheese, ham and a little bit of onions,” said Tori McGary, 10.

Alexia giggled, saying hers had everything.

Rogers said the campers learned a lot about teamwork and worked together well in the kitchen. She said she purposefully made some ingredients scarce for the children to learn how to share and work in a group.

“The only day we didn’t work together was with the omelets,” she said.

The campers also created their own menus for fictional eateries. The room was filled with proprietors of bakeries, ice cream shops and Italian restaurants. Tiana’s menu consisted of food that was completely free, whereas Anthony’s menu was a little pricier.

“Mine wasn’t the cheapest,” he said. “It was mostly $1,100 and $2,000.”

Rogers said the boys were a little bit silly with their eateries while the girls really latched onto the idea.

The children finished off the cooking camp experience with the chance to make their own bread. The dough was prepped on a Thursday and rose overnight. That Friday, the kids kneaded the dough and baked their own loaves.


“They really like the mini-loaves of bread,” Rogers said. “The bread always smells so good when it’s cooking.”