I am always on the lookout for a great birthday party for my kids. I live on the south side of Chicago, and I'll be honest, it is very hard to find something for kids to do for a birthday party here. It's especially hard to find something unique and fun! Also, since I am on the South Side of Chicago it is hard to find things that fall into this description that are close. Everything seems to be on the North side instead or they won't come out to the southern side of Chicago. However, that is where Sticky Finger Cooking comes to the rescue!
Sticky Fingers Cooking does cooking classes. However, we opted to go the route of a Sticky Fingers Cooking Birthday Party. All of their parties are two hours long and packed full of amazing ‘cool’inary adventure and delicious fun! You just choose a recipe, and they offer everything from gnocchi to lemon riccota blueberry pancakes to lasagna cupcakes.
Best of all, once your chefs arrive, you are done! They take over the party, and you get to stand in the background. I, of course, hung out and helped where needed. We had kids ranging in age from 5 to 10. First let me tell you though, what a great company Sticky Fingers Company was to work with.
After we set up the date for the party, they mailed Will an apron. I'm not sure if you can see it but it is personalized to say Chef Will. He thought that was the coolest thing ever. (You can also order them for all the party guests if you want, but for party guests they cost extra.) It totally got him excited for his cooking party.
About a week before the party, we received another package. In this package, was personalized recipes cards to hand out to all the party guests. There was also the chef hats that we were to hand out to all the kids at the party. About 3 days before the party, Sticky Fingers Cooking lets you know what ingredients you will need to pick up for your party (and what quantities). I really didn't have any problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store. Also, they gave us 5 choices to pick from and I allowed Will to pick what he wanted to make. He chose Rainbow Dragon Noodles with Carrot Fortune Cookies and Basil Lemonade.
When your chefs get there, they set up everything they need. I had all my ingredients laid out on the counter so they could have everything right there. They started talking to the kids and got them working right at the start time. The first thing the kids did was decorate their chef hats:
We had lots of different designs. Seriously, this was the quietest 10 minutes. The kids were so concentrating on making their hats. My mom came in from the other room, because she couldn't figure out why they were so quiet!
I have to tell you that I really loved how the chefs talked to the kids about every ingredient we were cooking with. They got to smell them and taste them if they wanted. My 10 year old daughter tried everything! Now, if I would have asked her to, that never would have happened.
The kids loved that they were part of the cooking process. Every step of the way, the chefs included the kids.
They even brought the kids knives and cutting boards for them to use.
We did cut some onions so there were a few tears (and I didn't cut any myself and my eyes were watering!)
Please know that she was laughing when I took this photo. While the noodles were cooking, the kids started on the next thing they were making.
This lemonade was fantastic.
We also made carrot fortune cookies. I realized as I was putting my post together that the kids ate them all before I got a picture of them! That sure tells you how good they are!! While the fortune cookies were cooking, the kids decorate the cupcakes for the party too. They had a blast doing that also!
Now, all of Sticky Fingers Cooking recipes are peanut free. We had one party guest who did have a peanut allergy. Now, if you have other allergies, let them know. They will make the party safe for all the kids. However, we found out at the party we had a sesame allergy I didn't know about. Want to know what impressed me? On the fly, they were able to create a sesame free sauce for the party guest with the allergy. They just rolled with the flow and the party guest didn't have to feel left out. I totally loved how they were able to do that, and really, it just made me love them even more!
When I asked the kids after the party, they all said they loved it and had lots of fun. My nephew, one of the party guests, has already made my sister (his mom) make the noodles and fortune cookies already! You know that it is a winner when the kids want to do the cooking at home!
Before the chefs left, they cleaned up. Sticky Fingers Cooking completely engaged the kids. They loved it. They tried foods they may not have before. I can only highly recommend having Sticky Fingers Cooking come out for a birthday party at your house!