Teen Cooking Craze

Whether it's Chopped, Top Chef or Cupcake Wars, teenagers are drawn to these shows. Arlington Community Ed's chef instructor, Kimi Ceridon, wants to steer these teens towards doing not viewing.

Kimi Ceridon is both an engineer and a chef. With a Master of Science in mechanical engineering from MIT, Master of Arts in gastronomy and chef’s certificate from Boston University, she focuses on creating great food experiences and interactions. She is a personal chef who teaches food education and cooking workshops throughout Massachusetts.

In addition to teaching four adult cooking classes through ACE, Ceridon is now teaching a new 4-week Teen Chef's School: Essential Culinary Skills course for teenagers, grades 6-8. The classes will be held in the instructional kitchen at Arlington High School. This course will be offered Oct. 2-30 from 3:00-4:00 pm and again from Nov. 6-27. The cost is $109.

While this class teaches the basic cooking skills that chefs master during culinary school, it also focuses on the important life skill of cooking and creating great meals. Each week, this class will explore cooking techniques for building confidence in the kitchen. Week 1: Knife skills and soup. Week 2: Hot pans and stir fry bowls. Week 3: Homemade pasta and sauce. Week 4: Mini pies and hand pies.

For younger kids and parents, Ceridon will instruct Adults & Kids Family Night Cooking Classes.
This series of fun classes is designed to both engage kids and teach parent and kids new cooking techniques that they can replicate at home. Session 1: Bento Box Fun: Monday, October 2, 5:30 - 7:30pm; Session 2: Dumplings: Monday, October 16, 5:30 - 7:30pm ; Session 3: Homemade Pasta and Sauce: Monday, October 23, 5:30 - 7:30pm; Session 4: Halloween Treats: Monday, October 30, 5:30 - 7:30pm. Each session is $45/pair, or you can enroll in all four for $159/pair.

To learn more and to register, visit ArlingtonCommunityEd.org or call 781-316-3568.