Out-of-Door Academy's Crazy Cooks Camp a recipe for fun

By Liz Ramos
| 12:45 p.m. July 13, 2023

Brooke Oliver, a rising fifth grader, mixes all the ingredients for the potsticker filling. "It looks interesting, but it smells delicious," she says.

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Brooke Oliver, a rising fifth grader, put her hand in the potsticker filling and started mixing all the ingredients together.

Kristi Mezick, the owner of Pure Imagination Studio and leader of the Crazy Cooks Camp, asked Oliver how the mixing was coming.

"It's almost done," Oliver said to Mezick. "It looks interesting, but it smells delicious."

After a few more minutes, Oliver handed the bowl to Mezick.

"Brooke, you did a great job," Mezick said.

Mezick went on to divide the mixture and distribute it to the other campers at the Out-of-Door Academy's Crazy Cooks Camp July 13.

Although potstickers were on the menu for July 13, campers loved learning how to make various recipes, including turkey burgers, salad in a jar, linguine carbonara and broccoli cheddar soup.

"I like how this camp forces you make it from scratch," said Georgia Kennedy, a rising third grader. "It's cool learning the steps."

Norah Jawitz, a rising second grader, said her favorite recipe of the week was the broccoli cheddar soup because she liked chopping all the ingredients for the soup.

Stassi Bizzaro, a rising third grader, said her favorite part of camp was learning the recipes so she could take them home and enjoy them with her family.

Brooke Oliver, a rising fifth grader, mixes all the ingredients for the potsticker filling. "It looks interesting, but it smells delicious," she says.

Brynn Finley, a rising second grader, grates garlic for the potsticker filling.

Kristi Mezick, the owner of Pure Imagination Studio, leads the Crazy Cooks Camp.

Graham Lough, a rising fourth grader, takes his time grating ginger so it can be added to the potsticker filling.

Paige Royce, a rising fourth grader, smells the ginger before grating it.

Drew Randenburg, a rising third grader, can't wait to have his perfectly pressed potsticker fried so he can try them for the first time.

Kaitlyn Olivo, a rising fifth grader, and Georgia Kennedy, a rising third grader, love learning how to make food from scratch. "It's cool learning the steps," Kennedy says.

Rising second grader Summer Allen presses together her wonton wrapper to encase the filling.

Rising second graders Norah Jawitz and Summer Allen are amazed at how well their potstickers came out. "It's perfect," Jawitz says.

Potstickers are just one item on the Crazy Cooks Camp menu. Campers also made turkey burgers, salad in a jar, linguine carbonara, broccoli cheddar soup and more.

Stassi Bizzaro, a rising third grader, says she loves how she gets to learn how to cook cool recipes and bring them home to enjoy with her family.

Payton Campbell, a rising fifth grader, shows off her finished potstickers as she makes her way to get them fried.

Joshua Rodriguez, a rising second grader, makes sure he follows every step on how to make potstickers.

Payton Campbell, Brooke Oliver and Kaitlyn Olivo, who are all rising fifth graders, work diligently to make their potstickers.

Hailey Royce, a rising third grader, reviews the recipe for potstickers.

Drew Randenburg, a rising third grader, and Liam King, a rising second grader, try potstickers for the first time. They made them from scratch.

author

Liz Ramos

Managing Editor Liz Ramos previously covered education and community for the East County Observer. Before moving to Florida, Liz was an education reporter for the Lynchburg News & Advance in Virginia for two years after graduating from the Missouri School of Journalism.