Skip to Content

8 Best Cooking Summer Camps For Kids 2024

Kids cooking

If there’s one thing that rings true for all kids, it’s that they love to learn new things. Whether they’re learning a new skill in the kitchen or figuring out how to put tunes together, kids have a natural curiosity for the world and all the opportunities it holds.

Whether it’s online or in-person, through cooking camps kids can learn culinary skills from professional chefs on everything from how to use kitchen tools, knife techniques, plating techniques, make delicious food and adequately clean. There are so many wonderful options out there when it comes to nurturing your child’s curiosity, but few can compare to this list of the top cooking summer camps that can teach your kids how to cook. 

Best Cooking Summer Camps

1. Kids Cook Real Food

If you’re looking for an engaging online cooking course for your little ones, Kids Cook Real Food is the perfect option. The classes are pre-recorded, so your kids can tap into them whenever is convenient for their schedule. The objective of Kids Cook Real Food is to combine the joy of creating wonderful family memories in the kitchen with healthy (but delicious) recipes that everyone will love.

One of the best parts about this online learning platform is the variety of options that you’ll find in their course models. Whether you’re looking for a beginner class to teach your children the basics of measuring and cutting or an advanced curriculum that dives into veggie prep and other complete recipes, Kids Cook Real Food has it all!

They put a strong emphasis on techniques rather than just the food, so their students can use their culinary skills for all kinds of diets. All ages are welcome, as there are step-by-step classes for all skill levels.

2. Raddish Kids

Raddish Kids puts a modern spin on a traditional culinary camp with a monthly subscription service! Each summer month, your little one can receive three unique, illustrated recipe guides along with a cooking kit that includes a kitchen tool, accessories, skill lessons, a grocery list, and more! 

Choose three diverse kit options: cooking, baking, and exploring global cuisine. The experts at Raddish Kids know that the kitchen is one of the best (and tastiest) places to learn essential life skills and cultivate confidence. This is an excellent option for young cooks eager to get into the kitchen and start exploring delicious recipes.

It serves kids ages 4-14 and skill levels. They also feature meal substitutions in case your child has any dietary restrictions.

3. Tiny Chefs

Tiny Chefs offers week-long online and in-person cooking summer camps. If you’re a resident of Virginia, Maryland, or Washington DC, you can send your kids ages 3-10 to one of their camps to learn everything they need to know about cooking. Campers receive hands-on training by simply cooking and gain insights into important culinary skills and techniques. 

Lead by highly qualified staff, they teach students how to accurately follow recipes, measure ingredients, and the importance of teamwork. Campers are also encouraged to try their own things to further their knowledge. They offer many different camp themes for their in-person camps like Cupcake Wars, Cooking Around The World, American Picnic, and much more.

The online summer cooking camps include things like recipes, quizzes, and interactive videos to make learning fun. 

4. Real Food 4 Kids

At Real Food 4 Kids, they know how much of a challenge it can be to get youth excited about eating healthy. That’s why they’ve made it their mission to design an online cooking course geared toward introducing them to delicious, fresh foods that they can prepare entirely on their own! Real Food 4 Kids offers in-person and online courses. 

They offer cooking and baking classes on dough preparation, weekday dinners, and everything in between! But one of their most popular options is their award-winning Online Cooking School, which allows kids to bake from anywhere and learn at their own pace. Through hands-on activities and prgorams taught by experts, anyone can increase their cooking skills with ease. 

Apart from summer camps, they also offer winter break camps midway through the school year. They also offer girl scout specific classes, so they’re accustomed to working with campers. 

5. Camp CHOP

Camp CHOP is a culinary summer camp for boys and girls ages 10-17. It offers a dynamic and fun hands-on experience of culinary arts. The passionate young chefs create delicious dishes in their baking and cooking classes. Camp CHOP provides a 1-2 week program where new chefs learn about kitchen safety, baking, and cooking basics in an enjoyable environment.

Thanks to their state-of-the-art kitchens, campers have a similar facility to that of a professional chef’s kitchen. Kitchens are fully equipped with a microwave, range, pots, pans, blenders, and everything a chef would need. Be sure to check out their sample menu for all the delicious breakfast, lunch, and dinner options for campers.

With 40 years of experience and 1.5 million former participants, the Camp CHOP team includes expert chefs, camp professionals, veteran teachers, and professional instructors to offer a uniquely immersive experience. More than just cooking, there are fun camp indoor and outdoor activities that including water fights, racing adventures, paintball, dance parties, and much more. The camp ensures young and older kids have a memorable summertime.

6. Way Cool Cooking Camp

The Way Cool Cooking School in Minnesota offers a summer cooking camp culinary experience for kids age 7-15 from June to August. The fun-packed cooking and baking sessions start at 9 in the morning and end at noon or 1 pm-4 pm. Kids can either come for a half-day or a full-day, but high school students might find the full day options worth it. 

Each week has a different theme, and kids can come multiple times throughout the summer for a memorable experience. Not only do kids have a hands-on cooking experience with pro chefs, but they also learn life-long cooking skills and various new recipes and tips for following successful cooking techniques. This culinary school has been cooking up fun and offering cooking camps for kids in Minnesota since 2004.

7. Uncorked Kitchen Camp

Uncorked Kitchen offers week-long sessions where students at their summer culinary camp learn cooking skills, basic kitchen safety, tools, and organization at their day camps. Lead by professional chef instructors, each camp day runs from 9:30-2:30 for a full day and 9:30 to 12:30 pm or 1:30-4:30 pm for half-day. The current maximum number of campers is 10 for each session. They offer camps for kids starting at seven years of age up to 17.

Their sessions for young chefs help them improve their knife skills and also offer hands-on experience with searing, baking, sautéing, and braising. In the full-day camp program, campers create a new lunch dish each day based on the pre-planned theme. The full meals can serve a family of 3-4 members. The cooking camps have campers creating a full menu to bring home to share with the family and give them experience to do their own home cooking through their culinary arts training.

8. Kids Are Great Cooks

This free virtual program is dedicated to empowering people to learn kitchen basics and explore new flavors through cooking. Here, you can find a plethora of virtual lessons which aim to engage kids and walk them through delicious recipes step by step. 

Each video also links to a printable recipe page that students can add to their growing collection. Each recipe in their website has a video tutorial guided by a child, so that other children feel comfortable while being taught by someone their same age.  

It’s an excellent option when it comes to helping others polish their kitchen skills, enhance their confidence, and learn more about food and nutrition in general. Parents are encouraged to join in on the fun and spend some family time cooking dinner or lunch.