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Dad Field Manual · Field card 143 · Dad-and-Kid Dates

Cook-off date: your kid is head chef

One kid, one new recipe, and you as the kitchen assistant. They pick from three, they call the shots, and you both eat what they made.

Time
About 2 hours
Cost
About $15
Ages
10 to 14
Where
Kitchen and the grocery store

What you need

  • Three printed recipes you've checked, each new to both of you
  • Ingredients for the one they pick
  • Instant-read food thermometer (for any meat, chicken or eggs)
  • Index card and a pen

Kitchen rules: read first

  • Wash hands for 20 seconds with soap before, during and after handling food. CDC lists food prep as a key handwashing time.
  • Use a thermometer, not color. FoodSafety.gov: chicken and turkey 165°F, ground meat 160°F, beef, pork chops and steaks 145°F plus a 3-minute rest.
  • You stay beside them at the stove and the knife. AAP says supervise kids cooking, match tasks to their skills, and use oven mitts.

Steps

  1. Hand over three recipes. Offer three new recipes, let them pick one, and have them write the shopping list.
  2. Shop the list. They find everything on the list; you push the cart and help with swaps.
  3. Wash up and set the station. Wash hands, read the recipe aloud, set out everything, and turn pot handles to the back.
  4. Head chef cooks. They cook and give you jobs; you stand close at the knife and stove.
  5. Check, plate, rate. Check temperature with the thermometer, plate it, rate it 1 to 10, and fill in the card.

If it stalls

  • If they freeze on the choice, ask which one they'd want to make for a friend. Pick that.
  • If something burns or flops, eat it anyway or switch to toast, and laugh about it. Rate it honestly.

Cut out: the invite

You're head chef on Saturday. Pick one of these three recipes and I'll be your assistant.

— Dad

Ask on the date

  1. If you ran a restaurant, what's on the menu?
  2. What food did you hate when you were little but like now?
  3. Who's the best cook you know, and what do they make?
  4. What's something you learned this year that you're proud of?
  5. Who should we cook for next time?

Keep it

Write the recipe on an index card, add the date and both ratings, both sign it, and start a recipe box.

Head chef's rating (1–10)
We went on Next time: Date