Children interested in the culinary arts got to spend time in the kitchen this past week as they trained to become little chefs.

The Southern Cultural Heritage Foundation hosted its first Kids in the Kitchen Cooking Camp from 8 a.m. to noon Tuesday through Friday. Redwood Elementary School lead teacher Margie Heltzel led the camp.

“I love to cook and I love kids, so it’s a combination of two of my favorite things,” she said.

Children age 6 to 12 worked to create a snack and a lunch meal everyday of camp. Students were able to have a hands on experience and were happy to report no major mistakes occurred and all dishes were edible.

Heltzel said she didn’t seem to have any picky eaters in her groups of student chefs.

“They seemed to like everything they’ve made for the most part,” she said.

Christian Harris, 10, said she wanted to attend the camp for two reasons.

“I like to cook in the kitchen and make a mess,” Harris said.

Her interest in cooking started when she attended Montessori preschool at St. Francis Xavier with her teacher Laura Kidder, who was also a teacher at this week’s camp along with Caroline Simrall.

Marley Gibellio, 7, said she learned a lot through her week of camp and is going to try to make banana pudding at home. Her motivation for attending the camp was simple.

“I like to help cook sometimes,” she said.

In addition to cooking, the children learned kitchen safety tips, how to set the table, how to use can openers, table manners and they tie-dyed their aprons.

The students made their own cookbooks filled with the week’s recipes. Heltzel said she got the recipes from Pinterest and her personal collection of favorites.

The camp had guest speakers like Kay Kay DeRossette who told students to reduce, reuse and recycle and taught them about food waste and hunger.

Miss Mississippi’s Outstanding Teen Stella Ford also visited and spoke about her platform Protect and Pursue Your Dream.

Sarah Beth Johnston, 10, said she had a lot of fun this week and she found Ford’s message inspiring.

“She just told us if you have a dream just go for it and do it. Nothing is impossible so you can always just try,” she said.

Johnston came to the camp because she wanted to learn more about cooking, and she has been successful because she has already made one of the recipes at home.

Each day’s menu had a theme. Tuesday was Family Favorites with chicken tenders, macaroni and cheese and banana pudding; Wednesday was Rise and Shine it’s Breakfast Time with egg in the hole and bacon; Thursday was Healthy Eats with smoothies, pita chips and hummus and fruit kabobs; and the final day was Fun Friday with rotel dip, pizza cups and brownie sundaes.

The camp was a great success with all available spaces being filled within 24 hours. It was so well received, Heltzel said, she consented to add a second session of kids cooking camp in two weeks, which also filled up in 24 hours. She said the camp might become a seasonal offering throughout the year.

“The kitchen is the tastiest place to learn,” Heltzel said.