Cooking Kids

A fun way to gather more recipes and try different foods is to start a recipe club. There are variations on this type of club, with some being done through e-mail or snail mail. But the best way to start a recipe club is in person. Here’s a step-by-step guide to starting a recipe club.

Get together 4 to 6 friends who like cooking and eating.

Explain that once a month you’ll get together for a recipe tasting and swap. Pick the first host and have her come up with a theme. Some theme choices are: kid friendly meals, holiday dishes, salads, chocolate, fruit, brunch etc…

Pick a date and time for the recipe club to meet. You can choose the time based on the food theme or pick a standard time you’ll always meet.

Think up a name for your club. You can pick, Recipe Divas, Gourmet Gals, Cooking Cowgirls or anything that fits the personalities of your club members.

On the day of the club, cook up your recipe and print out 4 to 6 copies of it. Bring it to the host’s house to meet your friends.

Once everyone has arrived, start eating and sharing ideas about the foods. Pick next month’s host and theme. Do it all over again!

For the Host:

When a person decides to host there are a few things he/she must do.

Provide utensils, plates and drinks.

Figure out a serving arrangement for the food. Will you have  a special table set up for the food? Where will the printed out recipes go? Do you want written name cards next to each food dish? Do you have extra serving utensils and tin foil for leftovers?

 Entertainment:

Some recipe clubs like to do more than just cook and eat. Some enjoy playing a little game or two for added fun. Here are a couple ideas, if playing games is your sort of thing.

1. Don’t label the food dishes. Instead give each guest a piece of paper with the names of the dishes written down. Each guest must try to guess who made which dish. The winner gets a small prize.

2. Random prize drawing. This works best if the first host is the first person to buy a gift. Basically the host buys a small surprise, keep it under 10.00 for the first one, and wraps it or puts it in a bag. During the recipe club everyone puts their name in a bowl. The host picks a name and that person wins the surprise. Then you pass around the bowl and everyone donates however much money they can. The winner collects the money and buys the next surprise, not going over the dollar amount gathered at the recipe club. You can name this game, if you like. Our recipe club calls ours “Sweet Surprise.”

Well, I hope this gives you some ideas on how to start a cooking club for you and your friends. Our kids’ cooking club starts up in just a few weeks, so watch here for some recipe ideas.