Teaching Your Kids to Cook

First, well, it speaks for itself: Teaching Your Kids to Cook.

Next: Supercool that this person only has 5 lenses, and has already learned the art of making a great lens. I don't know about you, but I feel a special kind of giddy when I see a newer lensmaster creating something this good.

Third: Cooler still is the interplay between lens and blog and newsletter readership. (Not mine, Reluctant Gourmet's!) Talk about creating a recommendation economy that works.

As Reluctant Gourmet introduces in the lens bio:

"Hi Food Friends. Over 12 years ago I decided "You have to eat, so why not learn to cook and eat well" so I started teaching myself how to cook. Frustrated by cookbooks and magazines that presumed I was a gourmet-cooking expert just because I wanted to eat like one, I created the Reluctant Gourmet website as a "cooking guide for the novice from a novice". Now I help other home cooks become more skilled and confident in their own kitchens."

And, lo and behold, now there's a lens to help Reluctant Gourmet drill down and focus on interesting subsets of the website. Like how to teach your kids to cook.

From the lens intro:

"Every week I receive emails from parents interested in finding cooking and baking classes for their kids. Some are interested in a one time cooking lesson, some want to hold a birthday party, some are looking for a summer cooking camp.

Then there is a group with teenagers who are interested in attending big name culinary arts schools when they graduate from high school and want to see if there are schools offering short programs for young adults to prepare them for getting into these schools.

My first response to all these parents is start by teaching your children to cook at home in your own kitchens. Not only can you teach them many of the basic techniques involved in preparing a meal, you spend some quality time with your child and create memories of a lifetime.

This Squidoo lens looks at the benefits of teaching you kids to cook including understanding foods, self confidence, time management, understanding basic science, creativity and a whole lot more. There are also resources for cookbooks for kids, cookwares and cooking outfits as well a list of schools from around the country offer cooking classes for you children."