KINGSTON — Kingston resident Stacey Goodrich understands how parents can get tired of trying to come up with unique ideas and themes for kids’ parties — there is only so much you can do after bowling, ice skating, eating at favorite restaurants and doing art projects.
So Goodrich is helping break the humdrum of typical kid birthday parties with Little Cooks, a program that gives kids ages 4-14 a chance to be creative while also learning valuable kitchen skills that have been lost in today’s world of fast food and microwave meals.
“We hope to teach them to be budding chefs at activity-filled events and after-school programs,” Goodrich explained, noting the core emphasis of the program will be birthday parties, however, she would also like to host cooking classes.
For the parties, parents only need to provide a microwave, refrigerator and oven. Goodrich then supplies the rest — the recipes, food, cooking equipment, utensils, invitations, thank you cards, aprons, chef’s hats and activities.
The party starts off with the kids measuring out the ingredients themselves and putting together the main entree. While it cooks, they can complete the activities, such as word searches or tips on how to remember the difference between the various measuring tools. They also color their chef’s hat and aprons and make the dessert.
If the kids are older, Goodrich has safety knives and equipment so the kids can measure out the materials. For younger kids, she has everything pre-measured and the kids just mix it up.
“Every kid gets hands-on experience,” she said.
After enjoying the fruits of their labor, the kids get to take home their hat, apron and a laminated recipe card of what they made that day.
Goodrich said the favorites tend to be “My First Lasagna,” “My First Apple Pie” and “Magic Wands,” which are lollipops.
She said the kids love the cooking, especially boys ages 8 to 13.
“They want to come and do most of the cooking,” she said with a chuckle.
Goodrich would like to implement more themes into her parties, such as making “Graveyard Cupcakes” with an all boys group, and “Petal Sticks” and tea for little girls.
For parents who don’t want to deal with the cooking mess in their kitchen, Goodrich said she can prep the food before the party and send it home with the kids to cook at home and provide other activities instead.
Goodrich discovered the Little Cooks program two months ago when she was searching online for childrens’ recipes for her stepchildren. While it is based out of Albany, N.Y., Goodrich found a program representative in Seattle and has been partnering with her during parties in King County.
However, Goodrich hopes to start organizing parties in the Kitsap and Olympic Peninsulas because she believes families would have a good time with such events.
“I wanted to give parents another option,” she said.
To kick start her Kitsap chapter, Goodrich will be having a cooking class for 15 kids at 11 a.m. April 17 at her home and will be making “Tic Tac Toe Pizza” and “Sweetheart Sticks” (lollipops). For reservations, call Goodrich at (360) 297-3880.
