How often can kids have their cake and eat it too, Mom and Dad approved?

This past March, Tracey Manna opened the doors to the Rising Chefs Culinary Centre and Toronto has never quite been the same. A unique space where kids and their parents can create healthy meals together, Manna has taken the centre and its concept a step further with the launch of the Rising Chefs Club.

“It’s been wonderful, it’s been great!” says Manna, going over the past few months. “Things are picking up steadily and we’ve had a lot of interest.”

The idea for Rising Chefs had been with Manna for quite some time, and finally realized after the birth of her own two children. She discovered that finicky little eaters were a problem most often solved in a very simple way: let them help. “When I let them participate and we did things together, they were much more likely to eat it. They would try a larger variety of things. They were proud of what they made and wanted to try it. Kids love to cook.”

The concept of the Rising Chefs Club is not only to promote healthy eating while bringing out the Rachel Ray or Jamie Oliver in a child, but to teach them about nutrition at the same time. Kids can sign up to be members at the Rising Chefs website, and at the cost of $20.99 per month for a 12-month membership or $29.99 for a one-month trial, monthly kits are mailed directly to their front doors.

The kits include a personally addressed letter, a Rising Chefs hat and apron, the Canada Food Guide and a recipe with all the non-perishable items required to make it. Each kit also includes an educational activity based on a nutritional theme (word search, puzzle, colour by numbers, etc.), and a special bonus gift of a new cooking tool with every single package. It’s very important for every little chef to expand their culinary hardware, after all.

Every recipe highlights an “ingredient of the month” that is part of Canada’s Food Guide. The first month was “All About Carrots,” with a featured recipe for making carrot muffins. All ingredients to make the muffins were included in the kit, with the exception of vegetable oil. The latest kits feature strawberries, with an accompanying strawberry granola recipe. Again, everything but the oil is included, and the granola is nut-free so the kids can take their treats to school; ground pumpkin seeds, sunflower and sesame seeds are used in lieu of nuts.

“The feedback has been wonderful,” says Manna of her brainchild. “Parents mostly are really thrilled with the contents of the packages, that they’re really fun, delicious recipes and they’re healthy at the same time. They’re learning as much as their children are.”

The end results are also a hit. Manna reports that her furthest client, a grandfather in southern Italy, emailed her to excitedly report that after trying absolutely everything to get his grandchildren to eat, they’d happily polished off their Rising Chef creations. “We build a lot of great memories.”

It truly goes to show that even practicality, when mixed up with some good, old fashioned fun, never goes out of style.