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The Best Cooking Schools For Kids in Nassau County

A La Carte — Lynbrook

Classes are held inside Chef Polly Talbott's home. Polly will help develop the menu according to your preferences. Contact her through her website to book a private cooking class for your child or inquire about group classes. She also offers classes for children with special needs. 

Apron Masters Kitchen – Woodmere

Kids 14 and under can learn valuable life skills through cooking. Fine motor skills are developed by chopping and squeezing. Math skills are enhanced by measuring and following recipes from start to finish, which helps children focus. Apron Masters Kitchen offers camp, classes, private lessons, and parties. While children under 14 can register for kids' classes, those over 14 are welcome to take an adult class.

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Make delicious cupcake cones at Celebrations in the Kitchen.

Celebrations in the Kitchen — Hicksville

Brilliant bakers ages 6 and older will get a tasty kick out of classes such as Classic Cupcake Baking and Decorating, where kids can experiment with icings, candies, and confections. Host a party where kids can make pizza, doughnuts, or cookie candy cottages. The business also offers to-go decorating kits for cookies, cakes, and cupcakes, with themes such as dinosaurs, unicorns, the beach, and more. 

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Food is both delicious and beautiful at the Cooking Lab.

The Cooking Lab — Port Washington

The Cooking Lab offers after-school classes, single classes, and camps. Pick from baking or cooking classes, which run on different days of the week. You can book per class. After-school classes run in 8-week sessions. Students learn cooking basics, such as knife skills, working from recipes, kitchen cleanup, and more. 

The Flour Shoppe Cafe  — Rockville Centre

While best known for its artisanal breads and farm-fresh salads, the Flour Shoppe Cafe also offers cooking and baking sessions for adults and kids. Chefs in training create a meal and homemade bread or pastry that they can bring home along with the recipe. Kids’ groups have mastered treats such as pizza and chocolate baguettes. Call the cafe to sign up for a class, or schedule a private session. There is also a Bay Shore location.

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Learn chopping skills at the Well-Seasoned Chef.

The Well-Seasoned Chef  — Garden City

Located on New Hyde Park Road in Garden City, The Well-Seasoned Chef offers elegant parties and top-notch classes for culinary kids. Check the Facebook page for up-to-date information on classes and booking info. Recent class menu items include fruit parfaits, parmesan fries, beef sliders, and cupcake decorating.

Learn how to bake stuffed shells at What’s Cooking.

What’s Cooking — Oyster Bay

Situated on Oyster Bay’s charming Main Street, What’s Cooking allows kids to sign up for a series of weekly classes. Kids learn basic skills, including how to use a hand mixer and mandolin, as well as etiquette and nutritional lessons. During a 75-minute session, each junior chef creates a main dish, side dish, and dessert, bringing home a copy of the recipe and food to share with the family. Older kids sometimes go “off recipe” and season and taste while they simmer. Kids also love its themed birthday parties, which include cupcakes with professional icing bags and personalized goodie bags to take home.

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Mix up the perfect sauce at Babylon Mercantile.

The Best Cooking Schools For Kids in Suffolk County

Babylon Mercantile — Babylon

Babylon Mercantile is perfectly situated on Main Street in Babylon, surrounded by shops and restaurants. Classes are available for kids 10 and older. Depending on the class, kids learn to make a different dish; options range from dumplings to burgers to parfaits. Each class runs about 2-3 hours and prices vary. 

The Baking Coach — Huntington

The Baking Coach offers week-long summer sessions for kids, supplying them with recipes for appetizers, bread making, frozen desserts, candy making, and more. It also teaches parents fundamentals such as crescent roll appetizers, basic cake decorating, and basic fondant decorating. A Bellport location is set to open in the near future.

Writer Gina Massaro contributed to this 2023 update.

Photos courtesy of the shops/cooking schools