800 South Main Street
Canandaigua, NY 14424

585.394.7070

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Chili First, Football Next! Spend Sunday morning mastering the perfect gameday chili and cornbread in our hands-on kitchen, then head home just in time for kickoff.

Join us for Gameday Chili class!

Junior Chef Initiative

Inspiring the Next Generation

At the heart of New York Kitchen’s educational mission is our Junior Chef program, focused on engaging local youth in a safe, hands-on learning environment that supports students’ curiosity and teaches important life skills such as teamwork, attention to detail, and creativity through cooking and the culinary arts.

The Junior Chef initiative is one of New York Kitchen’s longest standing community programs and the demand for this unique experience and curriculum continues to grow each year. The goal of our Junior Chef program is to provide dynamic, hands-on experiences that connect students to food and their communities, while addressing the inequity of access to high quality out-of-school time (OST) programming for youth in underserved zip codes in Upstate NY and the Finger Lakes region. With year-round Junior Chef program opportunities, we prioritize serving students ages 12-18 located in Monroe, Ontario, Yates, and Wayne Counties.

Support Our Youth

New York Kitchen offers hands-on cooking camps and workshops to students through partnerships with area after-school programs providing a pathway for youth to reach their full potential, school field trips, and the general public. This is possible thanks to our generous donors and dedicated supporters.

Inspire a Love of Cooking

We design our classes and after-school programs to inspire a love of cooking and expose aspiring chefs using a variety of culinary techniques and local agriculture. The goals are to spark their culinary interests and foster an appreciation of cooking at home through confidence and creativity in the kitchen.

In addition to cooking, New York Kitchen’s Junior Chef community camps include agricultural education and on-site farm experiences, an introduction to the restaurant and hospitality industries, continuing education opportunities, and so much more.

Our Junior Chef program teaches key life skills, including the importance of communication, teamwork, time management, and problem-solving, while building up self-esteem and self-confidence.

Junior Chef community partners have included the Boys & Girls Club of Rochester, Boys & Girls Club of Geneva, Education Success Foundation, Wegmans Work Scholarship Program, Champion Academy, Catholic Charities: College Bound, Expeditions of Empowerment, Center For Youth, and more.

What People Are Saying

What I liked best about camp was being able to learn from my cooking mistakes, and taste test other people’s dishes. And I learned how to dice (THE RIGHT WAY) without cutting myself. New York Kitchen is amazing! I absolutely love it here!
Cooking new things that’s out of my comfort zone was the best thing about camp, I just loved it!
Cory, from Rochester NY, wanted to thank his instructors for creating a fun and good experience in the kitchen. His favorite thing from class was learning to bake cookies. After attending this program, he feels more confident with his cooking skills so when he does live on his own, he can be self-reliant and cook his own meals. Through this class he was able to grasp a better understanding of farm to table ingredients and where different ingredients come from and where they are sourced from and how they incorporate into some of his previously favorite dishes.
Deja, from Rochester NY, wanted to thank the Chefs for “helping me cook and being really nice and guiding me with tips and being kind”. She was always having fun in class! On average she has three home cooked meals a week, now that she has taken these classes she feels she has gained confidence in cooking at home.
Ashton, from Rochester NY, just wanted to “say thank you to all the chef instructors, I had a great time.” They really enjoyed the opportunity to try new things, “I thought the experience was very good and eye opening seeing new things.” On average they were eating a homecooked meal two to three times a week, now with their new skills in knife handling and techniques they feel confident in helping mom out in the kitchen making Caribbean style dishes. Their major take away was, “I learned to have time and patience in the kitchen, knowing if you mess up you can fix a mistake, you don’t have to be too worried.”

Supporting the Leaders 
of Tomorrow

New York Kitchen is committed to providing equal-access opportunities for all students to learn and experience culinary arts in a supportive and creative environment. Therefore we subsidize the participation fee of all youth programming.

Approximately 50% of Junior Chef participants are from community-based nonprofit organizations that empower young people to realize and reach their full potential. Your generous support helps make this experiential programming a reality for many students.

For more information on sponsorship opportunities please contact:

Alyssa Belasco, Executive Director, alyssa.belasco@nykitchen.com
Telephone: (585) 394-7070, ext. 105

Our generous in-kind sponsors include:

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