Kids work together to create tasty dishes at Young Chefs Academy

Phillip Foti, 8, enjoys cooking and making pasta with his family members, who are Italian.

As a young cooking enthusiast, he was likewise thrilled with the experience of the Culinary Camp at Young Chefs Academy. 

“He did it about three weeks ago and loved it, and we put him in it again because he had so much fun the first time,” said his father Anthony Foti.

After moving to Sarasota from Chicago, Dennis O'Sullivan had become interested in establishing a franchise of Young Chefs Academy in his new home of Sarasota. 

"I just kind of fell in love with the concept right away," he said.

Now, the franchise has reached its first anniversary of offering kids the chance to learn how to cook. 

"Children can be a little more open to learning new things," he said. "They may not know how to use a chef knife, or they may not know how to combine wet and dry ingredients ... and it's fun to watch their faces light up when they learn something new and different," he said.

He said in addition to the lifelong skill of cooking, kids learn etiquette, manners and teamwork, in addition to elements of biology, math and science.

The company teaches adult private classes as well, but its main focus is children. 

"We wanted to be part of this community, and I think (CEO Julie Burleson's) vision of teaching the joy and value of cooking to kids and teens is just really, really important," he said. "We're a really welcoming and friendly place for children to come and feel safe, and feel important, and they're learning something that's really important, too."