Meet us where the cooks are kids!
At the Schoolhouse Kitchen + Studio in River Forest, kids are in charge of the kitchen!
These cooking classes are broken into age groups, catering to aspiring chefs from pre-school to pre-teen. And it’s not just kitchen skills that the students learn. The aim here is to get kids comfortable with food and to foster knowledge about agriculture and sustainable cooking practices.
After school is a great time to visit the Schoolhouse Kitchen + Studio. Young chefs can test their chops in the kitchen from 4pm to 5:30pm during the after-school programs.
Mondays are for kids ages 5 to 7, Tuesdays for ages 7 to 12, while Wednesdays and Thursdays are for aspiring chefs ages 7 to 11. Fridays are reserved for students ages 11 to 15.
Kids can also test the waters with a single class rather than a cooking program. Those take place most Saturday mornings.
Adults can also get in the kitchen! Single adult classes are generally offered on Saturday evenings.
Check the Schoolhouse Kitchen + Studio website for updated schedules and to learn more about additional programs such as summer cooking camps.
Costs for classes vary depending on the offering.
Owning the Schoolhouse Kitchen + Studio is the dream job of founder Cheryl Knecht-Muñoz. She gets to work with kids, inspire new chefs, and teach the next generation about agriculture and organic ingredients.
Agriculture is certainly a topic that Miss Cheryl knows well. She helped to found the Sugar Beet Food Co-op in Oak Park in an effort to connect local farmers with area residents. That led to the Schoolhouse as well as a commercial kitchen for community chefs, and an onsite greenhouse.
The Schoolhouse Kitchen + Studio is located at 349 Ashland Avenue in River Forest. It’s less than a half-mile from the River Forest Stop on the Union Pacific West Metra and just over a half-mile from the Harlem/Lake Stop on the “L” Green Line.
