Cooking 15-Minute Meals

This week-long cooking camp dives into real culinary technique—not just simple kid recipes—using safe, knife-free methods that still teach how professional kitchens think. Students build confidence through hands-on practice, working with pasta, proteins, sauces, custards, and flavor science while learning how heat, seasoning, and ingredients actually work.

Each day centers on one core dish that showcases a foundational cooking principle:

1. Papardelle with Carbonara Sauce – Students mix, knead, and roll dough by hand, then cut their own noodles and finish them in a silky emulsified sauce. (Contains gluten, egg and dairy)

2. Coconut Cloud Pudding – Students create slurries and use mixing techniques to create a quick set, healthy and high value dessert. (Contains coconut, dairy)

3. Pan-Fried Atlantic Salmon with Asparagus – Technique-forward searing, crisp skin management, and finishing vegetables for perfect tenderness.

4. Seared Chicken Thigh with Marinade – Browning, pan management, and building flavor through reduction and simple aromatics.

5. Fresh Meatballs from Scratch – Students combine seasonings, binders, and proteins, form consistent portions, and simmer their meatballs in a balanced tomato base. (Contains gluten)


Alongside the main recipes, students rotate through skill labs that sharpen their technical understanding:

• Compound Butter Lab – Herb, spice, and citrus variations that show how fat carries flavor.

• Herb & Spice Tasting Study – Identifying flavor families and how they behave in heat.

• All About Garlic – Blooming, roasting, sautéing, and understanding its stages of intensity.

• Dough Basics – Hydration, texture, gluten development, and how different doughs behave.

• Browned Butter – Controlled color development and aroma chemistry.

• Sugar Science – Melting points, caramelization, and how sugar transforms with heat.


By the end of camp, students will be able to prepare a full meal from scratch, manage a hot pan safely, balance flavors with confidence, and identify where taste, texture, and heat intersect.