Not terribly happy with the increasingly common sight of overweight children, 2012 Jamaica Observer Food Awards Chef on the Rise Brian Lumley and his sister Stephanie Lumley thought they could make make good of a not-so-pleasing trend. “We wanted to put a healthy spin on food and capture young children at an early age to develop heathier eating habits, so we thought, ‘why not a kiddies food camp?'” Lumley told Thursday Food, on a return journey to Kingston from a field trip with the under-10 set to Azan’s Farms Limited in Bog Walk, St Catherine.

Twenty children, aged four to 10 years, were participants in the two-week long kiddies’ camp billed Budding Chefs and hosted at Kids On Campus at the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus. The camp, which ended last week, ahead of finalising back-to-school prepararations.

Lumley said the budding chefs learned such cooking techniques as grilling and sauteeing, as well as how to make hot dogs, pizza, fruits tarts, and other desserts. The children were also taken on field trips to Sovereign Super market to shop for the ingredients to create their pizzas. They also went on a road trip to Azan’s Farm Limited in St Catherine where they were exposed to the workings of a farm, and also got the opportunity to play with chickens.

With the inaugural Budding Chefs camp a certified success, Lumley is looking to host more kiddies food camps the future. “Definitely,” he says about more kiddies camps, “we’re looking at next summer or whenever kids are on extended breaks from school.”