In this story:
Build your child’s confidence, improve their palette and make them more willing to try new food with cooking classes in Melbourne. Guided by a passionate and friendly teacher, your little one can learn how to cook anything from authentic Greek cuisine to sushi making. These Melbourne activities are the perfect way for kids (and parents) to discover their inner chef and get creative with easy, nutritious and delicious recipes!
There are plenty of small jobs for kids to do to help prepare a meal. Some of the simplest ways to cook with kids are picking herbs, washing veggies or helping with the measuring cups. Plus, you don't have to be a top chef to get your kids involved in making healthy meals----it's all about having fun together in the kitchen! If you're looking to boost your own kitchen skills and confidence, we have the best cooking classes in Melbourne that can help you feel more at ease when cooking with your kids. So don't be shy, give it a go and enjoy creating delicious dishes with your little ones!
An afternoon spent rolling pizza dough or decorating cupcakes might be just the thing to encourage your child to actually be excited about helping out with dinner at home!
Simple jobs for kids to learn how to cook in the kitchen
1. Washing veggies or salad leaves
No knives involved and perfect for little ones. Just put a step stool in front of the sink, grab a big bowl for them and away they go.
Interested in finding ways to introduce more vegetables into your mealtimes? Try out this parents and kids cooking class with OTAO Kitchen in Abbotsford and learn how to cook healthy Asian meals that are as simple as they are delicious!
2. Picking herbs
Kids can use scissors to cut herbs from your own veggie garden, after a little demonstration from you showing how and where to cut. They are also great at picking individual herb leaves off the stalks, such as basil - their dexterous little fingers are perfect for the job!
3. Shelling peas or broad beans
Kids love this one! Those little green morsels tucked inside the cushiony shell are the perfect thing to inspire your little ones about the wonder of nature. And essentially, how nature grows our food. They can see where the peas and broad beans grew and how they were protected in their little green cocoon. It’s also a great exercise to improve fine motor skills.
4. Helping to measure ingredients
A cup full of flour, half a cup of sugar, a teaspoon of vanilla… All of these measuring activities help children learn about amounts and volume but the kids also love the responsibility of making sure it’s just right and level at the top. It makes them feel important to contribute and proud of themselves too.
5. Rolling, kneading, shaping
Children are very tactile and love getting their hands on any type of dough, be it a ball of pizza or bread dough or a flat sheet of pasta dough or a roll of cookie dough. Let them make an oddly shaped pizza, an abnormally large cookie or a lizard-shaped bread roll! There are even some pizza making classes in Melbourne if you want to try that first.
6. Cutting without knives
Cookie cutters are brilliant for getting kids involved in the kitchen. They can choose their favourite shape, press it down on the dough and practice wiggling it just gently enough that when they lift up the cutter, the cookie shape lifts too and then they can place it on the baking tray.
7. Cutting or grating veggies or cheese
If your child is ok with a knife, cutting slices of cucumber for the salad or halving the cherry tomatoes is a perfect job for them. As long as they’re mindful of fingers, grating cheese, carrots and zucchini for fritters is another great task.
Looking for fun birthday party ideas for kids? Get your little one familiar with preparing their own ingredients at an taco making cooking party! Perfect for children aged six to 12, in this hands-on class, your child and their friends will learn how to make scrumptious Mexican food from scratch.
8. Whisking
Younger kids love to hold a big whisk. They are captivated as they watch whole golden egg yolks floating in a sea of whites slowly disperse into a harmonious yellow mixture thanks to the work of their very own hands.
9. Peeling root veg and fruit
Potatoes, carrots and sweet potatoes are easily peelable. (Perhaps stay away from the beetroot unless you want their fingers stained pink.) If you need apples or oranges for a salad or dessert, kids can have a go at this too.
10. Making pasta dough and using the pasta machine
This one requires adult involvement for little ones but older kids can manage it quite well themselves. Rolling out the pasta dough from scratch, shaping it into a usable rectangle and then feeding it into the pasta machine makes for a very fun experience for kids!
Take the kitchen table outside in the sun on an autumnal or winter afternoon and let the kids make all the mess they want with the flour! You can also head to one of our pasta making classes in Melbourne first to perfect your skills!
If your little one loves pasta, they might also enjoy this gnocchi making class for kids. These soft, pillowy Italian dumplings are so fun and easy to make and are a great way to get your child off their screen and in the kitchen.
More fun ideas to get your child involved with cooking
Sometimes, when you’ve just rushed in the door from work and you’ve only got half an hour to get dinner on the table before scooting out the door to soccer practice, having your child literally in the kitchen with you isn’t going to be possible. So, here are some other ways to get your child involved in the preparation or even in the planning of the family menu. They will still feel connected and involved in the food elements of family life.
Even if your children are nearby doing homework or playing while you cook, they can learn about food by accidentally observing what you are doing. Another tact to involve your kids in part of the process of cooking is getting their help to plan a meal.
Something as simple as, “What should we have for dinner tonight, kids?” gets your children excited about the imminent meal, considering what foods they like and then thinking about what ingredients they need. Maybe they could write the shopping list. Or read a recipe in a cookbook and go through the pantry and fridge to see what you have and what you need to buy for that recipe.
A good idea is to try to take your kids to the fruit and veggie market and get them to help pick the ingredients for dinner. Despite the fact that it’s probably easier, quicker and more relaxing on your own, it does encourage their participation in what the family is eating and can pique their natural curiosity about food.
If they’ve had the chance to attend a Melbourne cooking class for kids, they might recognise ingredients that they have used before, offering up another invitation for you to talk with them about food and cooking.
Some of the best cooking classes in Melbourne for kids and parents include Spanish cooking, pasta making or for the sweet tooths, learning how to make chocolate or pipe and bake macarons! Whatever Melbourne workshops you choose, the engaging chefs are sure to make your kids feel excited about meal times and help out in the kitchen.
And at the very least, the kids can set the table! They’ll need to know what’s for dinner, whether you’re going to need knives and forks or just spoons, and whether to put plates on the table (or will Mum or Dad serve up in the kitchen and carry full plates to the table?).
It’s a simple job that still renders a recognition of the importance of food, the ritualistic nature of a sit-down family meal each night and gets them looking forward to dinner! If you’ve got a chalkboard, they could even pretend that your dining room is a restaurant and write out the menu.
These simple tricks and tips can help your kids feel confident in the kitchen and learn how to cook once they get older. So take your children to cooking classes in Melbourne and make delicious food and wonderful memories together!
Discover Melbourne's top cooking schools to try out in 2025 here.
