Simply Impressive....
Cooking Classes by Home Cooks for Home Cooks

“When my daughter was younger, I was always too busy to teach her to cook. She learned by watching me, but when you work long hours and it’s late already, the last thing I had time to do was take the extra time to work with a child. I know so many families are in the same situation now and I wanted to help,” said Judy Toth, owner of Simply Impressive cooking classes.

Ms. Toth teaches adult and youth cooking classes at the Red Mountain Multigenerational Center, 7550 E. Adobe Road. She began teaching classes after getting burnt out from her corporate job. She decided she needed a change and combined training, cooking and entertaining to form a cooking school. She said it’s the perfect fit for her.

“There are many reasons children want to take classes,” Ms. Toth said.

“First, they are a lot of fun. Not only do the children make everything with their own hands, but they do so with a group of friends. Second, often the kids want to help in the kitchen, but with parents being so busy, this is a good way to give them the foundation they need in a fun and non-threatening atmosphere.”

Cherie Baxley, who is a regular in Ms. Toth’s adult classes, decided to take her son Alan to one of the classes with her. He enjoyed it so much she enrolled him in the children’s class, where he made pizza.

“Alan brought home extra dough and made the pizza again for his dad,” Ms. Baxley said. “Alan loves it. It’s a chance to be around other kids his age, cooking. He had enjoyed every minute and learned things like measuring spoons and cups, how to cut fruit properly and cleanliness.”

Ms. Toth said classes start with a discussion on kitchen safety because she wants to make sure they understand the kitchen can be dangerous. Then they read the recipes to make sure they have everything to make the dish. Then they start making the recipes.

“In our last class, which was pizza, the kids learned about yeast as they made their own dough from scratch,” Ms. Toth said. “Then they made the sauce and toppings. Finally everybody made his or her own masterpiece pizzas. While the pizzas were baking, they also made a dessert pizza. When I mentioned making a pizza for dessert, they all looked shocked. But they learned to ‘think outside the box’.”

Ms. Toth, who has been running Simply Impressive for one year, has lived in East Mesa for nine years. She said she has been teaching cooking all of her life, from her first creation of liver and onions when she was only 5 years old. Her friends and family members convinced her to teach regularly after observing how lit up and animated she became when talking about cooking.

She said while teaching adult and children’s classes both present their own unique adventures and challenges, her students inspire her every class.

“I try to plan my classes well so there is always something the kids will be doing even though in the real world there might be down time between the time you prepare an item and the time you cook it,” Ms. Toth said. “I find some of the kids have about 30 seconds between when their hands are busy and they are saying ‘what are we going to do now?’ To keep them interested I need to keep things going constantly. I need to keep the children interested.”

Ms. Baxley, who said she never heard about cooking classes for children before Simply Impressive, said she was amazed at Ms. Toth’s patience with the children and effectiveness in teaching children the importance of cleanliness and the art of cooking.

“I like to watch the look on the children’s faces when they eat what they just made. Their faces light up with pride on what they just accomplished,” Ms. Toth said. “I also like the thought I may be starting them on a path that will carry them throughout their life and possibly inspiring someone into a career choice.”

Ms. Baxley said not only are Ms. Toth’s children’s cooking classes a very good learning experience for cooking, but also to establish early programming for proper nutrition.

“The kids have a blast and I have had calls from some of the parents asking me to offer classes at my home for children,” Ms. Toth said. “I even had one mom call and say I inspired her daughter to cook, which the mom had never been able to do.”

Ms. Toth’s next class at RMMC is Cookie and Candy Baking for Kids, April 3 and 24.

© Simply Impressive Cooking School, All Rights Reserved, 2006