Has extra time at home and more time watching cooking shows created an eager young chef in your family? This fall, harness that culinary curiosity with a family road trip that’s all about the food!
Show Them Who’s Cake Boss
If your kid cook is obsessed with baking shows like Cake Boss, Nailed It and Cake Wars, take them straight to the source to get a taste for the serious baking and decorating skills in their own backyard.
- Browse Burlington’s L.A. Cupcake Boutique’s Cupcake Gallery
- Oakville’s Sugar Suite is a luxury bakery that offers a gorgeous assortment of cakes, cupcakes, cake pops and piped sugar cookies. They specialize in eliminating common allergens in their products, including gluten and peanuts, making this an excellent choice for families with food restrictions.
Put Them To Work Picking
Pick-your-own farm experiences are the perfect hands-on approach to get young chefs excited about the farm-to-table movement. Choose from over 20 apple varieties at Brantview Apples and Cider in St. George, including Gala, Cortland, Spartan, Honeycrisp, Russet, Mutsu, Northern Spy and Golden Delicious. The farm also makes delicious ciders and apple preserves. In addition to apple picking, Orchard Home Farm, also in St. George, offers pear picking and a variety of other items for sale like honey, maple syrup, sparkling cider and fresh apple pies from their onsite bakery while Merry Farms in rural Hamilton offer pick-your-own pumpkins.
Watch What You Eat
Several Hamilton Halton Brant restaurants have been featured on the Food Network Canada show, You Gotta Eat Here. Watch the episode as a family, and the next day, surprise everyone with a road trip to enjoy your own meal there. Past episodes that you can find on the show website featuring Hamilton Halton Brant restaurants include:
- Chicago Style Pizza in Hamilton
- Stoney’s Bread Company in Oakville
- Memphis Fire BBQ in Winona
Celebrate Old-School Cooking
Taking a trip back in time is a great way to help kids appreciate how much easier cooking has become thanks to today’s technology. A tour through Hamilton’s Dundurn Castle offers a glimpse into how hard servants had to work in the kitchen to serve the Castle’s residents. While there, be sure to take a walk through Dundurn Castle’s Historic Kitchen Garden. The lovingly restored two-acre garden grows over 200 varieties of fruits, vegetables, herbs and flowers and is open through mid-October.
Meet The Makers
Visiting a farmer’s markets is a fun way to introduce young chefs to the passionate producers who grow and raise the food in the fridge. Great options include:
- Hamilton Farmers’ Market
- Burlington Centre Farmer’s Market
- Georgetown Farmer’s Market
- Civitan Club of Oakville Farmer’s Market
- Milton Farmers’ Market
- Brantford Farmers’ Market
- Dundas Farmers’ Market
- Ancaster Farmers Market
