| Chef Cindy Hartog |
Kids Cooking Party With "Cindy's Sous Chefs"
Stephanie Webster | Tuesday, April 6, 2010 at 5:57PM
It's not easy finding a unique kids birthday party activity in Fairfield County. Sure,
there is My Three Sons and Pump It Up but what if your kid doesn't want to
jump around or collect coins? What if you just want something with more food
science and less bouncy castle? With the emergence of the Food Network's 24/7
culinary programming, kids have been acquiring valuable cooking tips during their
sick days and developing an interest in all things related to food. In fact, so many
of our readers are looking for "cooking themed birthday parties" we decided we
had best do some research. What better way to acquire data than to host a
cooking party for my five year old daughter chez moi. Read on for Cooking
Parties for Kids, Part 1.
In deciding who to call for this special day, I did my homework and found a local
chef specializing in children's cooking classes and birthday parties; Cindy Hartog
of Cindy's Sous Chefs. Cindy has an eclectic background that makes her uniquely
qualified for this line of work. Sure she has a culinary degree, but she also has
formal training in acting, and taught pre-school in Westport for 14 years. Who
better to entertain and educate a posse of unruly kids?
Cindy, and her two delightful daughters bring all the necessary gear and
ingredients, and they clean up before they leave. It is every bit as easy as hosting
your party at My Three Sons.
Cindy's web site touted not only a hand on kitchen experience for the guests, but
some "dramatic play" as well. Cindy has a variety of party themes including a
Mexican Fiesta, Japanese Blow-out, and Chocolate Buffet. Some are more or
less appropriate depending on the age of your child, but most of these feature a
mock TV cooking show where the guests get transformed into a live audience,
and the birthday boy or girl gets interviewed talk show style by Cindy. The kids
love it! Whatever theme you select, the star of the day becomes Cindy's sous chef
and is made to feel very special.
For this rather youthful group we went for the Victorian English Tea Party with a
"trip to England." This journey included hand-on cooking of chocolate dipped
strawberries, scones, teapot cookies and a full tea service in real English china. I
spent some time wondering how exactly we were making this cross Atlantic trip
while avoiding the destruction of all her china with this rowdy group, but Cindy
had it all figured out.
She and her two daughters (who often help out with large groups) arrived about a
half hour before the party and very quickly set up. When the twelve 5 years old
guests arrived, Cindy gave a brief overview on the day's activities, and
immediately got them to work dipping gigantic strawberries into molten chocolate.
Cindy is remarkable with children and made the guests feel comfortable and fully
engaged, much like a family cooking together. Everybody took turns mixing the
ingredients for the scones, and then had some real work…whipping the cream.
While the scones baked, Cindy put magic (candy) necklaces on the girls and
donned a costume fit for any proper 19th Century English tea party. In her
Victorian garb she led them through an imaginative voyage across the ocean, a
dramatic castle rescue, and then sat them down for tea, scones, and chocolatey
berries.
For the duration of the party, Cindy kept in perfect character (this is where her
acting training comes in handy). Everyone spoke in an English accent, drank tea
out of tine china cups with pinkies in the air, spoke politely, and had a generally
splendid time. The kids savored the rewards of their team work, and finished off
the party by decorating gigantic teapot shaped cookies to take home with them.
Every activity was smoothly executed, and before you knew it, the kids had
magically travelled back to Westport.
Smiles were abundant as the party dispersed, and I think the adults enjoyed
watching just as much as the kids enjoyed participating.
Stephanie Webster | Tuesday, April 6, 2010 at 5:57PM
It's not easy finding a unique kids birthday party activity in Fairfield County. Sure,
there is My Three Sons and Pump It Up but what if your kid doesn't want to
jump around or collect coins? What if you just want something with more food
science and less bouncy castle? With the emergence of the Food Network's 24/7
culinary programming, kids have been acquiring valuable cooking tips during their
sick days and developing an interest in all things related to food. In fact, so many
of our readers are looking for "cooking themed birthday parties" we decided we
had best do some research. What better way to acquire data than to host a
cooking party for my five year old daughter chez moi. Read on for Cooking
Parties for Kids, Part 1.
In deciding who to call for this special day, I did my homework and found a local
chef specializing in children's cooking classes and birthday parties; Cindy Hartog
of Cindy's Sous Chefs. Cindy has an eclectic background that makes her uniquely
qualified for this line of work. Sure she has a culinary degree, but she also has
formal training in acting, and taught pre-school in Westport for 14 years. Who
better to entertain and educate a posse of unruly kids?
Cindy, and her two delightful daughters bring all the necessary gear and
ingredients, and they clean up before they leave. It is every bit as easy as hosting
your party at My Three Sons.
Cindy's web site touted not only a hand on kitchen experience for the guests, but
some "dramatic play" as well. Cindy has a variety of party themes including a
Mexican Fiesta, Japanese Blow-out, and Chocolate Buffet. Some are more or
less appropriate depending on the age of your child, but most of these feature a
mock TV cooking show where the guests get transformed into a live audience,
and the birthday boy or girl gets interviewed talk show style by Cindy. The kids
love it! Whatever theme you select, the star of the day becomes Cindy's sous chef
and is made to feel very special.
For this rather youthful group we went for the Victorian English Tea Party with a
"trip to England." This journey included hand-on cooking of chocolate dipped
strawberries, scones, teapot cookies and a full tea service in real English china. I
spent some time wondering how exactly we were making this cross Atlantic trip
while avoiding the destruction of all her china with this rowdy group, but Cindy
had it all figured out.
She and her two daughters (who often help out with large groups) arrived about a
half hour before the party and very quickly set up. When the twelve 5 years old
guests arrived, Cindy gave a brief overview on the day's activities, and
immediately got them to work dipping gigantic strawberries into molten chocolate.
Cindy is remarkable with children and made the guests feel comfortable and fully
engaged, much like a family cooking together. Everybody took turns mixing the
ingredients for the scones, and then had some real work…whipping the cream.
While the scones baked, Cindy put magic (candy) necklaces on the girls and
donned a costume fit for any proper 19th Century English tea party. In her
Victorian garb she led them through an imaginative voyage across the ocean, a
dramatic castle rescue, and then sat them down for tea, scones, and chocolatey
berries.
For the duration of the party, Cindy kept in perfect character (this is where her
acting training comes in handy). Everyone spoke in an English accent, drank tea
out of tine china cups with pinkies in the air, spoke politely, and had a generally
splendid time. The kids savored the rewards of their team work, and finished off
the party by decorating gigantic teapot shaped cookies to take home with them.
Every activity was smoothly executed, and before you knew it, the kids had
magically travelled back to Westport.
Smiles were abundant as the party dispersed, and I think the adults enjoyed
watching just as much as the kids enjoyed participating.
| Cindy Hartog, the owner and manager of CINDY'S SOUS CHEFS, is a teacher, actress and chef. She has been lucky enough to find a way to marry her 3 passions into a single profession. She holds a Masters Degree in Educational Theatre from New York University and a Culinary Arts Diploma from The Institute of Culinary Education in New York City, |
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