Kids Cooking Camps
Cooking Camps * Basic Food Preparation * Wellness Activities * Kids Yoga
The Benefits of Our Cooking Camps
At Sprouting Chefs we provide children with opportunities to learn real life skills in garden and kitchen settings. Our vision is to inspire youth to view their world and the food they eat in a wholesome organic and healthy way. We believe that showing children how to prepare a healthy delicious meal from scratch, will lead them to be connected to their environment and as well as empower them with confidence to create their own recipes. We expect that this confidence will reap incredible benefits. We achieve this vision by sowing seeds of knowledge:
- Where does food come from?
- How is food prepared?
- How healthy food promotes health and wellness
- What it means to be mindful in the kitchen, the garden and everyday.
- Our camps build confidence and self esteem within each camper
- Increased life skills and creativity
- Enjoyment and pleasure of food
- Self Awareness through overall wellness
Funds raised via our Summer Camps support our in school programs and After School Cooking Classes
Our Purpose
- To cultivate and facilitate programs for youth that empower them with self confidence in the skills they acquire in kitchen and garden settings
- To make a difference in the lives of youth and children by providing ways to live a healthier life
- To provide healthy ways of cooking, eating and Being well
- To highlight seasonal local ingredients whenever possible
We value the garden and all its stages of possibility. We value the kitchen, the heart of any home, the place where family & community gather to celebrate, nurture and inspire. We value the hearts and minds of the children we teach and do our best to share tools that help to cultivate self care and self love.
Our programs fosters mentorship by encouraging “sprouts” to cultivate future “seedlings” by joining older teen volunteers with younger elementary students, university students with high school students and community members who wish to give back and get back to nature. We will also recruit past Sprouting Chefs Cooking participants as possible mentors in the future programs.
Summer Wellness Program
Our Summer Day Camp program is a fun way to “Sprout the Chef” within each participant with day camp sessions running from 9 am to 3 pm Mondays to Fridays throughout the summer months of July and August. Sprouting Chefs is a community based company offering services of cooking and gardening programs for children and opportunities for youth. Recipes are seasonal and inspired by local growers, multicultural cuisine, and of course, school gardens.
After a 5 day week session, Sprouts will graduate with the awareness of:
- Training in basic food preparation including knife skills, food safety, and reading a recipe
- Knowledge and skills in sharing and creating meal ideas for their families at home via shopping at a local grocery store on a budget
- Mindfulness practices to manage our emotions, build confidence and trust through our morning yoga sessions which set the tone and intention for each day
- How to work as a team to create a memorable meal
Included in the cost of registration:
- Sprouting Chefs Apron
- A mini cookbook of the meals the Sprouts prepared during the week long sessions available via a PDF document to save paper
- An experienced chef leader who will nurture and guide the Seedlings & Sprouts
- All food and equipment needed to prepare a locally seasonal inspired recipe
- An edible plant to take home and continue to eat what they grow
Our cooking camp sessions also include Physical Activities, wide field games, Arts and Crafts, Team Building as well as Morning Yoga and mindfulness practices. Working with an enthusiastic team of student volunteers with backgrounds in health and nutrition, day camps and summer camps, cooking and youth programs means we can provide a sense of family & community camp experience. And of course, Lunch & Snacks are always included!
Funds raised via our Summer Camps help offset our in school programs and support our After School Cooking Classes.
Throughout all our sessions we will encourage the use of composts, reducing food waste and developing an understanding of food security.
Recipes will all be centered around what kids can do at home with and for their families from Basic Pasta Meals, Learning how to use Herbs, Lunch Ideas to healthy snacks and desserts.
Please note: Our first class always focuses on Safety and Orientation around the kitchen. As such, there is less cooking on the first day so students are prepared to fully engage by the second day.
We do little or no baking with our classes as we do our best to keep sugar, flours and sweets to a minimum.
Mindfulness crafting in the afternoons is an awesome way to connect to our creativity and has been a proven tool for mental wellness. Some of our crafting activities include: intention bracelets, dream catchers, fidget toys, jewelry making and journaling
Wellness Wednesdays via Spa Day! New for the 2026 season is an opportunity for the campers to learn even more about aromatherapy and taking care of our outer bodies via healthy skin care routines with Cheryl Theilade of Scentimental Creations! Campers will leave with a homemade roll on oil, lip balm, bath salts as well as feeling relaxed after hand massages and chilling out in the afternoon!
Upcoming Kids Cooking Camps
2026 Wellness and Cooking Camp - Locations and Dates
Burnaby Location Details – St. Timothy’s Church, 4550 Kitchner St., Burnaby, BC
– $600/5 Day Session (includes the cost of an apron, full lunch, an afternoon snack and other supplies)
- Date: July 20 to 24 – Mix of first time and previous campers
- July 27 to July 31, Advanced Week – Best for Previous Campers (Limited Space Available)
- August 10 to 14, Mixed Group of Beginners and Advanced
- August 17 to 21, *NEW Teen Leadership Week (13 to 17 yrs)
- Time: 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM
- Ages: 9 to 13 years (EXCEPT for Aug 17, 13 to 17 yrs)
- REGISTER ONLINE HERE
An introduction to cooking using the summer harvest of vegetables and fruit, this 5 day camp program takes children on a journey of all the goodness BC has to offer. As for the campers to learn and use at home too. All camps will include morning yoga sessions, cooking activities and wellness afternoon crafts. Camps include a field trip to Whole Foods to learn how to shop on a budget and cook with a seasonal local ingredient.
The Sprouts will enjoy cooking some of the following items:
- Summer Salads and Simple Vinaigrettes
- Pasta Making from Scratch
- Sushi and other Asian Favourites
- Energizing Green Smoothies
- Appetizers and Hors D’ouerves
A Typical Day:
9:00 AM to 9:45 AM – Morning Yoga Session with Youth Yoga Teacher
10:00 AM to Noon – Prep and Create Lunch Together
12:00 PM to 12:45 PM – Lunch/Break/Clean Up
1:00 PM – 2:00 PM – Mindful Art Craft (Mandala Rocks, Essential Oil Bath Salts, Dried Flower Crafts, Journal Making, Dream Catchers, or Spa Day)
2:00 PM – 3:00 PM – Walking to Nearby Waterpark, Outdoor Activity, Healthy Snack Making or Seed Planting Activity
Wellness Wednesdays – Spa Day with homemade facemasks, bath salts and chill out time.
Thursdays – Field Trip to Whole Foods Market
Fridays – Field Trip to Brentwood Park
Teen Leadership Week (13 to 17 yrs) – NEW for 2026!
After 5 years of our camps, we wanted to offer an opportunity to develop our long time campers into future leaders and staff in our camps while also having a ton of fun with food and cooking!
We asked our long time campers what they loved best and are doing our best to incorporate their suggestions, create a week of both leadership development and a chance to advance the cooking skills.
Young teens (13 to 14) are encouraged to join us who are wanting before becoming future volunteers or staff in our camp programs.
Day 1 – Team Building via Creating a meal from a table full of a variety of seasonal local ingredients. Campers will get to choose their own meal based on a variety of produce, seasonings, a protein, a starch and their creativity.
In the afternoon, we will have a focus on What does Success and Happiness really mean via journaling prompts.
Day 2 – Italian Day
A variety of the favorite Italian dishes will be offered including: pasta making, gnocchi, pizza or lasagna.
Afternoon Activity: TBA
Day 3 – Wellness Wednesday
Self Care and Intention Setting on Anxiety Management via a morning yoga practice. Tools to manage our anxiety including foods to eat, how to care for our outer bodies and what holistic health really means will be themes.
Cooking Lesson will include Buddha Bowls using a variety of grains including our famous French style fried rice.
Afternoon Spa Day with healthy skin care routines with Cheryl Theilade of Scentimental Creations! Campers will leave with a homemade roll on oil, lip balm, bath salts as well as feeling relaxed after hand massages and chilling out in the afternoon!
Day 4 – Field Trip to a Local Restaurant for Lunch and a Kitchen Tour!
After our morning yoga session we will travel to La Bodega to experience Spanish tapas and learn what it has taken for the Rivas Family to sustain a popular restaurant for over 40 years in Vancouver, 10 years at their Main St. location.
Day 5 – Be Our Guest!
Parents and Guardians are invited to join us for a luncheon hosted and created by our campers!
We are suggesting a minimum donation of $25 which will go towards our Sprouting Chefs programs. RSVP by Aug 15, 2026
Campers will create a catered meal for their family to showcase their skills in the kitchen and their ability to create a celebration event.
Testimonials
