10:52 a.m., June 26, 2007--Enthusiasm and teamwork are the hallmarks of the young wannabee cooks at UD's Kids Culinary Camp in the Vita Nova kitchen. Many of them have tried their spoons, mixers and spatulas cooking at home and are ready to move on to learning sauce-making and baking skills from a professional. Some have enjoyed the experience so much that they have repeated the camp--one student, Greg, has been enrolled for three summers.

Debbie Ellingsworth, instructor in the Department of Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management (HRIM) and pastry chef, is the master chef in charge of the camp and is assisted by her sous chef, Emanuel Beneby, who will be a senior next year in HRIM. Ellingsworth teaches the kids the basics of hygiene, nutrition and safety before they start the actual cooking. The first day she also asks them what they would like to cook; the campers are very “food savvy” she said, and their choices range from tortellini to key lime pie and crème brulée.

During the first session last week, the 12 students were divided into teams to fix macaroni and cheese, which was bubbling away in the oven, and shrimp kabobs with kielbasa, peppers and mushrooms. Then all of them participated in a massive cookie bake, rolling out dough, cutting it into assorted shapes and generously decorating with a variety of sprinkles. The last day of camp parents were invited to lunch to sample the dishes their children prepared. Veggie and meat lasagna, salad and cupcakes were on the menu.

Jack, 12, said he at first learned to cook eggs and pasta at home and now likes to cook for friends. Besides cooking, he likes sports.

Mave, 10, said she likes working in a big, real kitchen. Her favorite culinary creations are fruit salad, bread and cupcakes.

Thomas, 13, said he had been cooking since he was 3 and likes to cook his family's Italian dishes--“all kinds of good stuff,” he said. He enjoys team cooking in the camp.

Caroline, 11, said her mother taught her to cook and now she has progressed to trying out recipes on her own.

Meredith and Alexis, 10-year-old twins in the camp, first tried to cook by baking brownies. The camp is really fun, they agreed.

There are three sessions of Culinary Camp for Kids--two for children 10-13, and one for teenagers 14-17.

Six of the campers in the last session are part of federally funded GEAR-UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) in Delaware high schools. The College of Human Services, Education and Public Policy's Delaware Center for Teacher Education has worked with schools throughout the state to improve GEAR-UP student's chances of getting into college. As an incentive to achieve, for students who have maintained at least a 2.5 grade point average, GEAR-UP will pay the $175 camp tuition, according to Melva Ware, director of the center.

A graduate of UD in psychology, Ellingsworth worked in the mental health field for many years, and psychology still comes in handy, she said. When she was in her 30s, she decided on a career change and graduated from Baltimore International Culinary College and joined the UD staff in 1997. She teaches an HRIM introductory cooking course for freshmen and a fine dining cooking course for seniors. “We fix everything from scratch, and the seniors are in class for 21 hours a week,” she said.

Article by Sue Moncure
Photos by Kathy F. Atkinson