Family, Fun, Food and Blogging at the Culinary Kids Food Festival
Today I had the opportunity to take part in the Culinary Kids Food Festival at The New York Botanical Garden. The event has been taking place from 10am-5pm since February 17 and will be culminating Sunday, February 23.
Just for the record, I was Not cooking (we can all be thankful for that!). I was there, along with some amazing bloggers, to introduce kids to the food blogging experience. As kids entered the festival they were provided with a Kitchen Journal encouraging them to explore each station. We started with the Seed Packet where my boy prepared a packet of basil seeds. The Spice Adventures were next, there we caught a whiff of different spices to tickle the senses. Then there were the Bakery, the Tip Top Pickle Shop, the Cheesemonger’s Shop and an engaging cooking demonstration. At each station children, as well as adults, experienced different aspects of what entails the art of cooking. From guessing spices to examining the chemistry of acids in pickle making, each station was a treat for the senses. One of my favorite stations was the cheesemonger’s shop where my son took a break from talking to kids about blogging to learn how to make cheese, he even grabbed me a recipe for home made ricotta cheese.
Through this this amazing experience kids were encouraged to use their bloggers worksheet and write about what they saw, touched and smelled and and how all those sensory experiences made them feel. We encouraged the young bloggers to submit their writing via email to the New York Botanical Garden for a winner to be featured on the Garden’s blog, some may even be featured on participating blogs. The very young bloggers were encouraged to draw pictures of their experience to submit to participating blogs. Two very eager bloggers completed their blogs right at our table and with the parent’s permission their work will be published shortly within Bronx-PR so stay tuned for I will be featuring my two youngest contributors yet.
Overall this was a worth while experience for the whole family. Kids enjoyed smelling and tasting different foods and we even got some kids excited about writing – what parent of a school age child will complain about that!?! For more of these exciting activities and to stay tuned to the upcoming April event visit www.NYBG.org.
The NYBG also offers a Children’s Gardening Program at the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden during spring, summer and fall. The programs offered are the Garden Sprouts ages 3-5 and the Garden Crafters ages 6-12. Partial scholarships are available and are awarded on a first-com, first-served basis. Registration is happening NOW! For more information visit the Children’s Gardening Program or call 718-817-8126.