By Serene Kwok

It’s been more than 35 years but the memory of cooking with my mum in our tiny kitchen and the aroma of the soya sauce chicken dish is still clear in my mind.  Cooking with mum after school was so much fun that I made it a point for my child to enjoy the same.

Despite my busy work schedule, I still find time to cook with her at least once a week. It is a great bonding opportunity and a fabulous platform for creating wonderful childhood memories.

Having gained the confidence to cook at nine (because my mum does not worry too much about the mess I create in the kitchen), I have progressed from cooking a simple omelette to mouth watering chilli crab and many more dishes over the years.  Besides gaining culinary skills, cooking also teaches:

1. Planning and Patience; from washing and cutting up the ingredients that are needed to plating the dish, every step of the cooking process teaches children some organisational skills too!
2. Concepts related to science and math. Children learn how to measure half a cup of flour, a teaspoon of sauce and a quarter of a chicken!
3. Nutrition and making healthy choices. Children learn about the different benefits of food groups. They also learn to make choices about the kind of food they will be feeding themselves and the family.
4. Safety: It reinforces important lessons about staying safe and keeping others safe in the kitchen such as the careful handling of sharp knives while cutting or not to run around boiling soups on hot stoves.
5. Cooking is a great way for families to bond, from marketing to food preparation to laying out the cutlery for dinner and even washing the dishes enhance the bonding and teamwork at home!

Palate Sensations offers on going parents and kids cooking and baking classes, as well as kids only classes.  Sign up your child today for hands on learning and ignite their passion to whip up age appropriate recipes while learning essential cooking and baking techniques.  These classes will foster greater communication and coordination while building independence. Our classes include Japanese bento box workshops, western comfort food such as chocolate cup cakes, healthy eating such as granola bars and easy lip smacking Asian classics such as wanton & char siew noodles and chicken macaroni soup.

Kids of all ages are welcome although kids younger than 7 years will require a parent/adult on hand during the class.

Check out our kids cooking class schedules here.