Knowledge Base > Eric Wynkoop - Ask Me Anything (Office Hours)

Ask Me Anything (Office Hours)

Eric Wynkoop - Ask Me Anything (Office Hours)

This event was on Tuesday, June 10, 2025 at 11:00 am Pacific, 2:00 pm Eastern

Join Chef Eric Wynkoop in his virtual office as he welcomes all of your questions. This event was created for you and we encourage you to Ask Anything – from cooking techniques to co… Read More.

Recorded

Question:

Does Rouxbe offer a culinary class specifically designed for children or teens?

— Tamra Adams

Answer:

All of our classes are designed for anyone in the kitchen, as far as I'm concerned. Um, we, uh, have teenagers, um, right now, uh, in, in enrolled in Forks over knives, um, as well as pro plant. And, um, uh, you know, on occasion, we, we have students, um, that are, uh, middle schoolers and high schoolers that I see, uh, that are enrolled in our courses. And so, um, you know, cooking is cooking, I think, whether you're, uh, a kiddo, uh, or, uh, an adult. And we need to learn the same things like food safety and sanitation, how to handle a, a knife, um, safely, uh, how to, uh, saute, how to roast, you know, all these sort of, uh, foundational points apply to anybody, uh, regardless of age, you know, who's in the kitchen. And, uh, so I think that, um, I'll say certainly for teens, uh, the courses that we offer, whether it's the long courses or the short courses, are gonna be perfectly suitable. Now, when it comes to, uh, kiddos, um, it just depends on how, how old they are. You know, we've got, um, a, a boy who's, he's 19 now, but he started cooking when he was, um, I dunno, two years old or so, and so certainly, uh, the, the tasks that he was doing at that age, at age two, uh, much simpler. And, um, it was a, a, a couple years later before he was introduced to a knife, and a couple years after that, before he was, um, you know, being taught to manage fire. But, um, all those things too can be done at a relatively young age, you know, with supervision, of course. Um, so that the, the student, that young student, um, can learn, uh, these best practices and then, uh, they just grow up with it. And, uh, there's, uh, a very easy sort of, um, way of navigating the food world as, as an adult. I think it's one of the best gifts, um, that you can give your child or, or other, you know, young people, uh, you know, in your lives. Um, you know, the, the insight, uh, to, to food and the skill of cooking. Um, but, um, you know, our, our kiddo here is a graduate of the Forks Over Knives course, um, as well as our introduction to, um, baking and pastry course. So, um, and, uh, you know, he did, you know, each of those in, in a summer, during summer vacation on in different years, because there, they're about three months, uh, in duration. And, um, it makes for a great summer and, uh, very fun, very, uh, interactive for everybody at home, uh, regarding shopping. And if you grow any food, then, you know, there's the, even if it's herbs, um, start growing some food, some ingredients, um, to, to, to bring that into the realm of possibilities and, and food handling, um, for these young cooks. And, um, yeah, have, uh, have fun with it. Um, uh, we do offer some shorter courses, you know, than FOK. Uh, FOK is also plant-based. If you want something that's not plant-based, then, uh, we've got some of those, uh, choices as well. But I, I encourage you, Tamara, to uh, consider, um, the courses that we have, uh, for everybody, including the, uh, the children and teens, uh, in your world.
Eric Wynkoop

Eric Wynkoop

Director of Culinary Instruction

rouxbe.com