Stearns holds the cooking classes monthly,
and they are organized by age. Each class is
made up of students between the ages of 3 and
10 years old.
“Cooking is the first major trait kids should
have as part of taking care of themselves,” says
Stearns. “They can learn how to make good
decisions when it comes to eating healthy. It
teaches them creativity and taste.”
Her own daughter started helping in the
kitchen when she was 2 years old, helping to
make cheese omelets. By the age of 5, she says
that children should be cooking alongside their
parents; by the age of 9, kids can start cooking
simple meals on their own—with parental
supervision, of course.
This past year, Stearns also began offering
International Cooking Camps, in which she
teaches children how to cook a dish from a
specific region of the world, as well as the
history, geography, culture, art, dance and
language of that region. The camps take place
over three or four days, depending on age, and
each day the attendees cover a different country.
As of press time, 45 students had “graduated”
from her cooking camps.
This year, the young chefs learned how to
make dishes from France, Spain, Italy and
Russia. At the end of each class, the students
try their dishes while they read a book from an
author of the country, and each student receives
three language books to take home at the
completion of the class.
Izabella’s Gourmet Chow cooking classes
and camps are held at the Treesdale Community
Center Cider House in Gibsonia. This fall,
for 3- to 6-year-olds, classes will take
place on Sept. 14 at 6 p.m.; Sept. 18 at
9:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.; Oct. 9 at 6 p.m.; and
Oct. 16 at 9:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. For
7- to 10-year-olds, classes will take place on
Sept. 21 at 6 p.m. and Oct. 19 at 6 p.m. Stearns
plans on offering classes for adults soon. For
more information, search Izabella’s Gourmet
Chow on Facebook or email Stearns at
IzabellasGourmetChow@
gmail.com. ■
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