ROGERS -- Rob Nelson, the chef of Tusk & Trotter in Bentonville, started to pick up cooking basics at age 14 as he stood in his grandmother's kitchen.
They were a short distance from a garden, where food preparation meant shucking peas and learning how to break down a chicken. Nelson's father also was in the cooking business, as a baker, and he got special instruction from his parents.
Young Chefs Academy
Young Chefs Academy is an international business with several locations in the states, from California to New York, and in several countries, including Botswana, New Delhi, Indonesia and Zimbabwe. It provides resources, some materials and content for the Rogers location.
Pricing for culinary instruction varies by the level of the student’s participation. Young chefs can take individual classes, go to a month’s worth of courses or sign up for a membership, which includes special rates for parties and camps at the academy.
Membership comes with a $35 registration fee and includes a members-only chef jacket uniform.
• Kinder Cooks: $89 per month
• Junior Chefs: $99 per month
• Senior Chefs: $99 per month
Source: Staff report
Cooking class schedule
Kinder Cooks Membership
Tuesdays 4-5 p.m.
Saturdays 9-10 a.m.
Junior Chefs Membership
Tuesdays 5:30-7 p.m.
Wednesdays 4:30-6 p.m.
Thursdays 4-5:30 p.m. and 6-7:30 p.m.
Source: Staff report
Children in Northwest Arkansas will soon have a venue of their own for culinary mastery when the Young Chefs Academy opens this weekend in Rogers. The school offers weekly classes on kitchen safety, food preparation, table setting, dough kneading and other kitchen basics. It's open to children 4 and older. Each month of classes will have a theme.
"I think it's absolutely great getting children interested in hospitality while they're young," Nelson said. "It's a great thing for Northwest Arkansas, and especially for Brightwater."
Brightwater, Northwest Arkansas Community College's culinary program, will be an anchor to The 8th Street Market at 801 SE Eighth St. in Bentonville's Market District. The building was formerly a Tyson Foods plant.
Schools such as Bentonville's West High School and Springdale High School with culinary programs in place stand to benefit too, Nelson said. Once into advanced grades, students would have a better idea whether culinary interests are a big part of their lives and a chance to pursue more specific areas, such as savory foods, sauces, pastries or baking.
Mary and Alfonso Vidal, owners of Young Chefs Academy in Rogers, opened the academy to "make a difference in our community by teaching children the joy and value of cooking in a safe and fun environment," Alfonso Vidal said in a news release.
The couple was inspired by sharing the love of cooking with their two daughters.
"It encourages them to try new flavors and experiences," Mary Vidal said. "We hope that the Chef's Academy would give great value and lifelong cooking experience to kids."
The Young Chefs Academy in Village on the Creeks is filled with bright colors and has two kitchens to allow simultaneous classes. The program has three levels based on age and experience, including hourlong sessions for Kinder Cooks (ages 4 to 6) and 90-minute sessions for Junior Chefs (ages 6 and older) and Senior Chefs, which is for children 12 and older as well as younger children who have advanced through Junior Chefs skills.
So far, Rogers Chefs Academy doesn't have a Senior Chefs section open, but the Vidals expect to have one in roughly a year.
Four cooking instructors were trained for the Rogers location, and during classes children remain behind their workstations, a bank of stainless steel tables used for food preparation, measuring and dough kneading. Children are allowed to take turns approaching the cooking station -- a four-burner electric stove, two ovens and a refrigerator -- to observe the making of the meal, but they are restricted to standing 3 feet from the stove when it's in use, Vidal said.
Though classes don't officially start until January, the parents of several young foodies have already signed up for the program.
"When I cook, Anna always volunteers to help or asks to do it herself," said Theresa Williams, who purchased a membership for her 11-year old-daughter. Williams' daughter Anna takes art classes at Studio 7, which is in the same plaza as the chef's academy and a quick, convenient drive from their Rogers home.
"She loves art and cooking, those are her two main interests right now," Williams said of her daughter.
As a big fan of Chopped Junior, a Food Network show challenging children to make meals out of oddly matched ingredients, Anna already knows how to read recipes and likes to experiment with combining various ingredients. Williams thought Young Chefs would be a natural way to foster that interest and promote positive attitudes around good food.
"She gets inspiration [from the show]," Williams said. "She's a picky eater, but if she's involved in the preparation, she's more likely to try it."
Williams' hope is Anna's takeaway includes a deeper knowledge of the science of cooking and baking, such as why certain products such as baking soda and yeast create chemical reactions, as well as safe practices for handling raw meats and other foods that have the possibility for cross contamination.
Nelson said food safety and the life cycle of food are both good starters for teaching children, who internalize the knowledge.
"Learning where the food comes from, starting from the seed itself and what it takes to grow the vegetables and raise the animals [is important]," Nelson said. "Their brains are sponges and pick up quickly the basic techniques of handling a knife and [not] playing with fire."
NW News on 12/03/2016