Horizon West-based cooking classes teach kids nutrition, healthy habits

The Kids Cooking Connection, based in Horizon West, teaches children how to make healthy choices and prepare their own meals.

By Danielle Hendrix
| 2:00 p.m. July 27, 2016

Southwest Orange
News

HORIZON WEST According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than one third of American children and adolescents are overweight or obese.

It’s a statistic Winter Garden resident Tracy Mohr is aiming to reverse. A seasoned chef with a passion for cooking and educating others about healthy habits, Mohr started up her business, The Kids Cooking Connection, in October 2015.

Mohr, a self-proclaimed foodie, decided to channel her passions for teaching children and cooking into The Kids Cooking Connection after finding out about the Healthy Hands Cooking Curriculum.

“I always liked working with kids, and I’ve been cooking since I was probably 8 years old,” she said. “I was completely self-taught until I became a certified instructor. I just have a passion for cooking and noticed there was a real problem with obesity in this country with this next generation. A lot of it can be turned around by getting people back in the kitchen.”

KCC has partnered with ScribbleSpace — a shared office and community space in Summerport Village — to house the classes, which take place primarily on Fridays and Saturdays. At KCC, children of all ages gather for classes that not only teach them to make their own meals but also how to buy locally, shop for good foods and ingredients and, consequently, avoid the “drive-through dinner table.”

In each class, all ingredients are whole and organic foods. Because kids love having treats, Mohr also makes it a point to teach them that they still can have those foods but also can prepare them at home, which enables them to know what goes into them.

Classes vary from week to week, but the “mini chef” class — which caters to children ages 2 to 5 — normally takes place on Saturday mornings, and classes for ages 6 to 10 typically take place that same afternoon.

Mohr initially began KCC with a few of her daughter’s friends, and by word of mouth, the project began to grow. With the help of some Facebook marketing, the program is now large enough that she is looking for a second location. Currently, Mohr and her business partner, Carol Rodriguez, are examining some potential spots in Winter Garden and hope to have a second location to open by spring 2017.

In the meantime, KCC offers private classes and team-building events. Mohr has hosted various groups, from Girl Scout troops to mom groups, and she and Rodriguez have a new curriculum in the works. Once the new location is open, she hopes to add summer camps to the lineup of programs. And although her classes cater to children, she’s had adults ask for cooking classes, as well.

“There seems to be a generation of people that have kind of missed out of that skill (cooking),” Mohr said. “It’s been beyond my wildest dreams, the amount of interest we’ve had in these classes. We just want to get kids and their families back in the kitchen. If you start the kids young you teach them life skills they’ll have for the rest of their lives.”

To view upcoming classes, pricing, special offers and to register for a class, visit kidscookingconnection.com.

Kids’ Kitchen Favorites

Mohr said Italian-style foods are some of the most popular among the children, but they also make everything from Greek to Indian and more. Here are some of the dishes the kids to enjoy making and eating: