Top image courtesy of Sur la Table

With TikTok and YouTube having launched a whole new generation of online kitchen "celebs", some in the food media can often be found hailing chefs as "the new rockstars." That might be a stretch - but there's little doubt now that knowing how to whip up a stellar cacio e pepe or pesto-roasted salmon in front of a camera can win you a massive and seriously dedicated following.

Even kids are getting are spending more time in the kitchen now! In fact, a 2019 Time Magazine story insisted that inviting the little ones into to help with cooking chores can help them learn "vital 21st century skills, such as critical thinking, creativity and collaboration." The author of the article was Molly Birnbaum, Editor-in-Chief of America's Test Kitchen Kids, which devises recipes that are suitable to the still-developing skills of children (in other words, probably best not to challenge them with Indo-French fusion cuisine while they're still in fourth grade.)

Venerable housewares purveyor Sur la Table also recognized this unique opportunity to build brand loyalists at an early age, debuting their Kids & Teens Summer Series in 2024 to significant acclaim. It returns in 2026, launching with the May 26-29 Great Kids Bake Week (subtitled Technique & Taste Mastery) at various locations around the country.

Subsequent themes will be Cook, Bake & Create (The Pastry Showcase), and World of Flavor, a culinary "world tour" of sorts, which takes kids 12-plus from Asia to Italy then Mexico, Britain (sticky toffee pudding - yum!) and finally the Mediterranean, whose fresh, healthy cuisine has landed it on so many "trend" lists in recent years. The series concludes September 4, just as kids prep for the start of another exciting new school year. But by that time, they'll be fully trained kitchen assistants, ready to help their always-too-stressed-and-busy moms and dads with some of the nightly kitchen duties.

(Note: For those families without ready access to a Sur la Table, we highly recommend beloved British chef Jamie Oliver's '10 Easy Recipes & Ideas to Cook With the Kids' on YouTube - which you can reference for fun, creative family cooking sessions at home. Just remember, you'll have to convert the measurements over from metric.)

Below image courtesy of Sur la Table