“At Edible Education, our mission is to empower kids with the culinary skills they need to create simple, healthy, real-food recipes,” says Butler, founder of the Richmond, VA-based Edible Education — a company that offers hands-on cooking lessons to our nation’s kids.
Butler explains that studies from the Centers for Disease Control show that if children are exposed to 50 hours of food education by the time they are 12, the way they think about food will be affected for the rest of their lives.
“So we work with them young — starting in elementary school — and teach them everything from knife skills to how to make sweet potato hash, watermelon water, and savory meatballs,” she says.
Having taught more than 20,000 children how to cook well since opening Edible Education in 2011, Butler shares that parents love Edible Education’s annual summer camp and year-round school-based enrichment programs because kids are not only eating well — they are bringing home great recipes that their parents can prepare with their kids.
“Teachers and administrators also love Edible Education because learning to cook helps students develop math skills, reading, team-building, following instructions, sequencing … all of the things they need to learn to master 21st century workplace skills,” she says.
Kitchen a la Cart™ — a comprehensive cooking system that wheels right into the classroom and helps transform teachers into culinary instructors.
The cart comes complete with a childproof, magnetic induction burner that turns off when the pan is lifted off the burner. “It also has a sink with hot and cold running water, an oven, a blender, a food processor, and drawers filled with all the tools needed to create delicious, nutritious recipes throughout the school year,” adds Chef Whitney, Edible Education’s head teacher, who was one of Butler’s students when she was in high school.
Teachers in the classrooms have already mastered classroom management skills — they know what needs to be done to get kids to learn.
Now, with Kitchen a la cart, and the accompanying year-long curriculum, teachers can train students in culinary arts that reflect the SOL competencies required for each grade level.