Description of the Junior Chefs Camp on the Markham registration page

This summer, my 5.5-year-old took the “Junior Chefs Camp” at the Victoria Square Community Centre in Markham.  It was 5 days of camp where the kids followed recipes, played in the nearby playground and splash pad, did crafts and arts, and played games with other 4 to 6-year-old kids.  It was Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.  The payment for a Markham resident was $331.80.  Lunch and 2 snacks were to be brought in.  They did tie dye shirt day on Wednesday.  It was the first time I registered my child in a City of Markham camp program.

These are the five items they made each day:

Teddy Bear Graham Train Cupcakes.

Hot Dog Cars.

Fruit Cars.

Pizza Cars.

Traffic Light Brownies.

Every item was “car” themed because of the Markham Honda Indy happening during the same week.  While I think it’s cool that they featured everything around cars for the special once-in-a-lifetime event, it also makes everything kind of the same…

I was actually disappointed that they didn’t make any “real” food or actual dishes — things that belong in a meal and aren’t just snacky/junk foods.  There was no real cooking involved and were more like decorating foods instead.

Also, the description of the camp stated that they would eat their creations at the end of each class.  We were informed via e-mail prior to the start of the camp to bring a container for the child for them to bring home any leftovers.  The reality is that they made the recipe at the camp but brought the entire item back home to eat.  They did not eat it at the camp at all.  I wonder if this was so that the parents could see their creations.

I talked to a mom friend whose kid who attended the same camp at another location in weeks prior and they had made pizza, quesadillas, mac & cheese bites and another kid who made pasta salad, pinwheel wraps.  ‘Comparison is the thief of joy’ and while I understand that, it still means that the recipes that my kid made this week were lackluster and lacked the cooking aspect.  It makes me hesitate to register for future Junior Chefs camps for my other kids when the time comes…

If your child attended Junior Chefs Camp, what were the 5 things they made at the camp?