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While everyone’s agonizing over mysterious
millennials and burgeoning baby boomers
we shouldn’t forget the “Kitchen Kids”!
That’s the focus of Raddish, a 10-year-old
membership cooking club for kids ranging
in age from four to 14, founded by Samantha
Barnes, a former grade school social studies
teacher.
The club is a kind of edible education
program offering summer camps, after
school classes, parties and other events
focusing on teaching kids about shopping,
food preparation and feeding their interest
in a wider variety of foods with simple
recipes that also manage to blend in a healthy
serving of math and science.
AG: How do you get from social
studies for elementary schoolers
to food?
Barnes:
“I discovered that my students
loved talking about food and were excited
about it, but few had the opportunity to get
involved at home. Even though they watched
the Food Network, none of it was geared to
kids. So I took my education background
and started doing some after school cooking
classes, which morphed into summer camp
programs and cooking birthday parties.”
How many kids are involved
in Raddish?
“We probably teach about 700 students in
the Los Angeles area at six different camp
locations. We rent various kitchens from the
city Parks and Recreation Department or
church kitchens everywhere from Beverly
Hills to Santa Monica.”
In retail we’re always talking about
demographics. Would you say kids
have been overlooked?
“That’s an interesting point. Food is
something everyone can relate to. It’s the
great unifier. Kids like to cook and they have
a real passion for it. Parents and teachers
tend to forget how talented and smart kids
can be. So giving them the opportunity to
cook is really powerful.”
What do the kids do?
“Well, one of our camps, and the most
popular, is called ‘Restaurant Camp.’ The
kids actually create their own restaurants.
They come up with the idea, the logo and
the menu. Then they source ingredients,
make grocery lists and go to farmers markets
and supermarkets. They also interview for
different jobs at the restaurant in the front
and back of the house. Then, parents are
invited to the opening.
“Some of our camps sell out as early
as February. But we’re expanding the
concept. This summer we’re doing Edible
Experiments where the kids will be exploring
Food Truck Favorites, which will focus on
international cuisine. We’re also doing Fresh
From the Farm, a course that focuses on our
state's local produce. We’re also looking for
ways to bring these and other camps to other
cities.”
Where are the camps?
“Beverly Hills, Pasadena, Santa Monica,
Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach, and South
Los Angeles. Our camps reach capacity with
15-20 kids, depending on the camp and
kitchen. We also teach 150 students each
semester at a local preschool.”
What else is Raddish doing?
“About three-and-a-half years ago Raddish
launched a Kickstarter program to further
our mission of bringing families together in
the kitchen and at the table on a larger scale.
We weren’t able to do that with all our camps
and classes in Los Angeles. It was a challenge
because parents were busy and basically
dropped their kids off at camp. The kids
were having a great experience, but it wasn’t
creating family time around food which is so
integral to our lives these days.”
How is Raddish guiding them?
“For one thing, we give them step-by-step
illustrated recipes that even a four-year-old
can read because they are visual. Adults like
the visual instructions, too. So the kids are
making food for parents who are amazed
that their children are not only making
the food, but also eating it. We found that
kids are much more likely to eat what they
have made.”
1 5 MINUTES WITH…
KITCHEN KID FOUNDER AND CULINARY COACH
BY LEN LEWIS
S aman t ha Barn e s
Continued on page 30 ▶
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