Camps

_{School's Out? Day Off Camp at JCK is ON!}

Junior Chefs Kitchen is enriching young lives through an adventure in culinary and nutrition education. We are so fortunate to work with a Registered Dietitian who helps guide our curriculum, recipes and more with evidence-based nutrition information. 

Our Camp gives your child the opportunity to have fun and explore cooking in a clean, safe environment. The curriculum will reflect our daily classes and be a mixture of cooking (and cleaning) and will revolve around an interactive theme with different lesson plans that will keep your child engaged. On any given day, your child might take a cooking class, prepare a meal for someone in need, meet a chef, learn about the history of various foods and cultures, arts and crafts, create their own recipe, get a little physical activity at nearby Jonquil park (Lincoln Park) and either Mary B or Skinner (West Loop).

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What you can expect:

🥑 Fully prepare & eat two recipes each day for our Full Day Campers

🥭 Crafts galore

🌶 Movement activities to get the squiggles out

🍉 Games from our childhood - heads up 7 up?!

🍏 Board Games for a little friendly competition

🍞 Whole fruit snack + lunch provided

🥩 Daily trip to nearby Jonquil Park

🍔 Field trips to local restaurants for kitchen tours. Stay tuned for our Summer Camp 2026 field trips!

🧀 Chicago Chef collaborations & guest appearances

🍓 Fully licensed & CPR / First Aid certified staff

🍕 Fostering a Growth Mindset, teamwork, making friends and trying new foods!

_{Pricing & Details}

• Full Day Drop In $140
• Full Day 9am - 3pm
• After-Care is available from 3-5pm for an additional $20 per day. Must be purchased at time of registration or no later than 1 week prior to the start of camp.
• Ages 4+ for Camp
• Siblings get 10% off
• Lunch & Snack Included - just bring a labeled water bottle & tupperware to pack-up leftovers in an eco-friendly way! That said, if you want to pack an extra snack for your child, feel free! We always offer sandwiches, fruit, veggies as back-up lunch options.

Daily Schedule

*9:00 - 9:15am: arrival, morning activity

*9:15 - 9:30am: morning meeting

*9:30 - 10:00am: food craft / science experiment

*10:00 - 11:00am: Recipe #1

*11:00 - 11:30am: Lunch (kids will eat their creation; if they're not a fan, we have sandwiches, fruit/veggie as a secondary offering)

*11:30 - 12:00pm: clean up & get ready for the park (bathroom break, apply sunscreen); Half-Day children are dismissed

*12:00 - 1:00pm: Park Time

*1:00 - 1:30pm: Reading, Games

*1:30 - 2:30pm: Recipe #2

*2:30 - 3:00pm: Clean up, pack up! Full Day campers are dismissed

*3:00 - 5:00pm: Aftercare (Recipe #3 + more games & fun!)

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Not seeing a specific day your school is closed?? Contact Us and we’re happy to help coordinate logistics.

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**I want to caveat that we are not a feeding school. Just like when you pack their lunch at school and it comes back half eaten or they get hot-lunch at school and you have no idea what they ate (hint, it's croutons and cheese), please trust us that we have offered a variety of food but cannot force them to eat. My kids are ravenous after camp so please pack a snack in the car if your kid might fall into this category. K, love you bye. 💕

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