After-school clubs
The Hour They Ask About All Week.
A weekly cooking club at your child’s own school, during the after-school hours they are already there. Small class sizes, real knives, and a dish they made to carry out at pick-up.
How an hour runs
Same Five Beats, Every Week
The dish changes each session. The shape never does, which is why a child who has been once knows exactly what to expect the second time.
Discover
Today’s ingredient, where it grows and which kitchen it comes from.
Prep
Knives, peelers and graters. Every child has a board and a job.
Cook
Stovetop work with an instructor alongside — stirring, seasoning and tasting as the dish comes together.
Taste
They eat what they made, and talk about what they would change.
Clean up
Everyone. This is part of cooking, not an afterthought.
Over a term
What Your Child Walks Away With
- Knife skills by ageFrom crinkle cutters to a chef’s knife, each one taught before it is used.
- Measuring and following a methodFractions that matter, because the dish fails without them.
- A dozen kitchensTurkish, Vietnamese, Moroccan, Mexican, Filipino, Indian and more.
- Why food behavesWhy dough rises, why butter browns, what whole grain actually means.
- Working beside someoneSharing a board, splitting a task, waiting for a turn at the pan.
- Cleaning up after themselvesThe least glamorous skill, and the one parents notice at home.
“Our teacher teaches us how to do different techniques in cooking. Plus we have sooo much fun! And we don’t have to worry about dinner the days we have club.”
Where clubs run
Independent and private schools across the Bay Area run Food Explorers as part of their after-school program — several of them for years.
Signing up
Your School Handles Registration.
For almost every club, you register through the school
Your school decides which terms to run, communicates the club to families, takes registration and collects payment through whatever system it already uses. We are not involved in that part, so we cannot sign your child up or tell you whether a place is left.
Check the note your school sent home, or ask your after-school coordinator. That is the fastest route, and usually the only one.
Two exceptions
Your school sent you a Food Explorers link. A few schools ask us to run registration for them. If that is yours, use the link they sent — it goes straight to the right club.
Your school does not run a club yet. Then the useful thing is to tell them you would like one. Most of our clubs started with a parent asking.
Share with your schoolNext step
Still Have a Question?
If your child’s school already runs a club, they handle sign-ups — ask their office for the term dates. If it doesn’t yet, send us the school’s name and we’ll reach out.