San Francisco Cooking Camps are 5-consecutive day sessions that offer your kids access to high-quality ingredients, top-notch tools, attentive instruction, and tons of fun. This camp is ideal for kids with a demonstrated passion for food and cooking who want to spend each day rolling up their sleeves to learn some amazing new recipes
What You'll Learn
By the end of the class, you will:
- Know how to prep and work clean & organized while baking
- Understand the basics of cream puffs and eclairs
- Know how to roll and shape a tart or pie crust
- Learn the fundamentals of decorating a celebration cake with buttercream
About This Class
Calling all kid cooks, amateur food whizzes, and interested beginners! Step away from the cooking shows and create your own kitchen magic. San Francisco Cooking School’s Kids Experiences have all the right ingredients for a perfect summer week.
Our Pastry Experience is aimed at mature kids, ages 10-14, who are passionate in the kitchen and hungry to learn more about all aspects of pastry. The experience is designed to make sure your kids learn the basics through a completely hands-on experience. Each day focuses on a different type of pastry, with step by step recipes, many variations, and lots of tips for the pros.
Eclairs, Pies, Cookies, and simply decorated Cakes will all be part of the program. The week culminates in a showcase of baked goods for friends and family with plenty of treats to bring home. Where better to learn the basics of making amazing pastries than in the professional kitchen of San Francisco Cooking School?
Note that lunch will be served to the class each day.
Menu
Each five-hour day will focus on a different type of pastry (choux, tart/pie doughs and fillings, cookies, and cakes, including frosting and decorating). You will prepare variations of each and leave with a notebook full of recipes and resources you’ll use again and again.
Details
- Full meal served in class
- Work in teams
- Five-session series
FAQ
Virtual: The average duration of our virtual cooking classes is 1 1/2 hours. Attendees will be cooking simultaneously with the instructor using items from the ingredients list provided at the point of registration. The instructor will share Pro tips and techniques while answering questions from the audience via Chat. The class will conclude with a Q&A session for any remaining questions and attendees can enjoy the food they’ve cooked, or save it to eat later based on instructor’s direction.
Note that spots purchased for a virtual class can be enjoyed by you or anyone else in your kitchen. However, the link you will receive to log into the class is unique so if you want your friends in other locations to join you, they too will need to purchase a spot.
In-Person: The average duration of our in-person cooking classes is 4 hours, and they are broken down into three segments: Introductory lecture or demo, hands-on cooking, and eating. The class will begin with a short discussion or demo from your instructor. After, you can expect to work either on a team or individually to prepare the class menu. In most classes, not every student will make every dish. Learning happens throughout the class, and your instructor will often call out key techniques as they happen in each recipe. Most classes conclude by sitting down as a group to eat what you’ve prepared, followed by a discussion of each recipe. You will leave with a copy of the recipe packet and a working knowledge of every dish that was made so you can recreate them at home.
Virtual: Attendees should log onto the webinar provided about 5 minutes before the start time. Virtual classes start promptly on time.
Please note: You must complete an additional registration link to enter the class on the scheduled date. The link will be sent to you via email one day before class.
In-Person: Doors open 15 minutes before the class start time.
Virtual: You will be given a list of ingredients and necessary equipment at the point of registration. We’ve made a conscious effort to include common ingredients and equipment that are accessible to everyone while offering suggestions for substitutions where they may apply.
In-Person: You do not need to bring anything with you to class unless otherwise noted in the class description. The kitchens at SFCS are fully equipped and aprons, recipes, equipment, food, and wine are all provided for you.
Virtual: You will be able to enjoy the fruits of your labor at the end of class but feel free to snack while you follow along or pour yourself a glass of wine.
In-Person: In most classes, you will be sitting down to eat a complete meal that you have prepared along with your classmates. Since this typically occurs towards the end of the class period, an appetizer or small plate is usually prepared early on in class. However, you’re welcome to additionally have a snack before you arrive or bring one with you.
Please note, for our Baking & Pastry classes, a light meal will be provided for you.
Virtual: We suggest wearing casual clothing you can easily move around in, and highly recommend wearing comfortable closed-toe shoes. Long hair should be pulled back.
In-Person: Same as above.
Cancellation Policy
Christine Simard
Christine came to San Francisco with the dream of pursing a career in pastry after her previous life in tech. Since graduating from the Professional Pastry program at SF Cooking School, she has worked at Nopa and Black Jet Baking Co., does professional recipe development and bakery consulting, and loves teaching cooking to kids and teens.
Jill McIntosh
A graduate of the Pastry & Baking Program at SF Cooking School, Jill works on the lamination team at MH Bread & Butter and was formerly at Jane the Bakery. She has also spent time working in pastry at Cotogna and Quince.