Culinary classes are not new to summer camp, but they are new to AstroCamp, the science-based camp with three locations in southern California where CulinArt manages dining services. To provide an “educational experience for youth passionate about the culinary arts,” camp ownership introduced Camp CHOP—Culinary Hands On Program—earlier this year in two week-long sessions.
Demand for the initial culinary component at the main campus in Idyllwild, Calif., was so high this summer that camp administrators quickly added a third session (that filled just as quickly). During camp registration, “the Camp CHOP slots filled faster than any other course,” says David Aylmer, district manager.
Heather Killian, whose regular assignment for CulinArt is chef manager at Camp Ronald McDonald, nearby in the San Jacinto Mountains, led the Camp CHOP sessions. Classes took place in a new food lab where Killian taught the basics of cooking, baking, and safely operating in the kitchen. Sessions included Culinary 101, Totally Terrific Tacos, Noodle Caboodle, Baking Royale, Mozzarella Madness, and others.
Even Gianni Pucci, chef manager at AstroCamp, who was trained in Tuscany, got in on the act, leading a class in making fresh Neopolitan pizza dough from scratch and letting campers make their own pizzas.
