Culinary Arts - DEAN Adventure Camps (Grades K-8)

culinary Arts (Grades K-5)

  1 week sessions       9:00am - 3:00pm       $600-$695

Did you know NASA is not just for astronauts—they even recruit chefs to create space-ready dishes? Understanding the fundamentals of cooking and baking prepares everyone for a well-fueled life, whether on this planet or beyond! In the Culinary Arts Studio, campers explore the process, meaning, and possibility behind their favorite foods. Campers get to experiment and engage their senses as they learn new skills and  foster a deeper understanding and appreciation for food's importance in our lives.

Skills learned: 

Following a recipe, proper methods to combine ingredients, and decoration. Mixing, pouring, stirring, measuring, proper cutting, and baking techniques. Knowledge of using ingredients and how they interact with one another, design processes such as conceptualizing, experimenting, evaluating, and following steps in a process.

General Daily Schedule:

  • Morning introduction

  • Activity period—approximately 1 hour

  • Snack and stretch break—approximately 15 minutes, outside weather permitting

  • Activity period—approximately 1 hour

  • Lunch and Recess break—approximately 1 hour, outside weather permitting

  • Activity period—approximately 2 hours (included in this time can be a stretch break as needed)

  • Clean up, pack up, dismissal    


Dates, Hours, and Fees

2025 Dates Program Grades
June 9 - 13 The Great Camp Bake Off K-1 / 2-3
June 16 - 20 *4-day week Mad Food Scientists K-1 / 2-3 / 4-5
June 23 - 27 Sweets on the Big Screen K-1 / 2-3 / 4-5
June 30 - 3 *4-day week The Great Camp Bake Off K-1 / 2-3
July 7 - 11 Mad Food Scientists K-1 / 2-3 / 4-5
July 14 - 18 Sweets on the Big Screen K-1 / 2-3 / 4-5
July 21 - 25 The Great Camp Bake Off K-1 / 2-3 / 4-5
July 28 - August 1 Mad Food Scientists K-1 / 2-3 / 4-5
August 4 - 8 Sweets on the Big Screen K-1 / 2-3 / 4-5
Hours
9:00am – 3:00pm
Fees
$695 5-day week / $600 4-day week

Themes + Weekly Overview

The Great Camp Bake Off

On your mark, get set, BAKE! Under the guidance of our pastry pros, your junior chefs will don their aprons and chef hats, ready to tackle the signature, technical, and showstopper challenges. Each day, campers will explore a smorgasbord of baking disciplines, from perfecting proofing techniques to developing a flair for flavors. But it's not all about the whisk and bowl. We also sprinkle in heaps of fun. From team challenges to the end of session "Camp Bake-Off"—a friendly and supportive competition where our bakers showcase their newfound skills. 

This camp is the perfect recipe for campers who love to bake to those who've never cracked an egg. Here, we're all Star Bakers! So come and join us for the sweetest week ever—it's going to be absolutely scrumptious!

Sweets on the Big Screen

Big screen, bigger flavor! Finally, campers can taste an “everlasting” gobstopper without having to learn a lesson from the Oompa Loompas. In this weeklong program, campers recall exciting sweets from their favorite movies and recreate inspired treats with age-appropriate instruction.

As campers develop confectionery skills, they'll explore the significance of candy and baked goods, and the role they play in their favorite films. Get your taste buds ready for fantasy treats with fantastic flavor!

Mad Food Scientists

Did you know chemistry can be delicious? Okay, maybe that's not what you expected to read, but chemistry plays a large part in creating some of the favorite foods we eat. In Food Lab, campers learn that recipes are often chemical reactions in disguise, and they can taste them too! From baking soda and vinegar to measurement fundamentals, campers begin to digest (no pun intended!) how experimenting with different ingredients can lead to lots of fascinating sweet and savory outcomes.

One little mistake in the kitchen can lead to a dessert disaster or inventing a delicious snack. The fun is seeing which way the results will go. After a week of experimenting and taste-testing, campers walk away with a taste of chemistry and new recipes to try at home!