Kids learning to cook with Julianna Banana

Juliette with her strawberry shortcake. We rushed the final step and the whip cream went on to a still warm cake so while not as tidy as Juliette hoped, we were able to share a delicious dessert with family.

[image of a 12 year old white girl sitting at a table with her face down low, behind a green plate with a home made strawberry shortcake.]

Making sure my kids learn to cook from a young age has always been a priority for me - partially so I know they have the skills they need when they move out, but also so that I don’t have to do as much of the cooking while they’re still at home.

That’s one of the reasons that I love that Julianna Banana is all about teaching kids these skills - and teaching them way better than just how to make Kraft Dinner or how to throw a frozen pizza in the oven! :)

Juliette got to try out the Holiday box last December, and this month she got the Summer box (and even made her first unboxing video - see below!).

Julianna Banana aims to inspire kids and families to get baking, cooking and creating in the kitchen all while learning about food, having fun, and gaining an appreciation for the importance of community and giving back.

They provide culinary experiences for kids and families, ranging from Classes to Culinary Boxes for Kids which combine the fun of a class with a collection of kid-friendly recipe cards, kitchen tools, science activities and more.

What exactly is a culinary box?

Finished pizza ready to eat!

[image of two 12 year olds standing in front of a patio door at night holding plates with pieces of the pizza they just made, ready to eat]

This box is a great mix of recipes, an experiment, an activity, kitchen tools, and support (you can join live online classes for some of the recipes!). My two 12 year olds were able to complete 3 of the recipes in a couple of days with very minimal support from me.

The Julianna Banana Summer Box contains

• A collection of kid-friendly recipe cards and booklet, summer faves like homemade strawberry jam, strawberry shortcake, homemade pizza, charcuterie and more.

• Locally sourced kitchen tools to get your junior chef cooking

• Teacher-crafted food science activity ; the science of ice cream!

• DIY Honey Lip Balm Kits; includes local HONEY 🍯 and Beeswax, tins, plus tags, gift pouch for gifting activity. Make one for a friend!

• handmade fabric jam jar covers and accessories. Make some jam, jar it and gift it! Recipe, fabric, tags and ribbon included.

• Julianna Banana Apron

• Functional storage box to store tools and recipes

• A complimentary LIVE virtual class August and September (we’ll make Pizza together), recipe included.

• Recipe notebook and additional kitchen tool, plus FREE shipping to Ottawa provided with Subscriptions ( set of Summer, Harvest and Holiday Boxes)

• Each one is individually curated and addressed to your junior chef.

A fundamental pillar of Julianna Banana is to support local businesses and to give back to the community. Materials in our Culinary Boxes including kitchen tools and accessories are sourced whenever possible from local vendors. Recipe cards are designed and printed in Ottawa and our Julianna Banana apron is made and printed in Canada.

Quinn adding the sugar to the strawberries as they made the jam

[image of a 12 year old white boy pouring sugar into a large pot of strawberries on a table top burner with a variety of kitchen tools around them and his sister’s arm in the corner]

What did we think?

• Juliette: Julianna Banana was awesome! It was super fun and I really enjoyed  making the recipes. And the meals were so delicious (the strawberry shortcake was my favourite)! I’ll definitely make them again!

• Quinn: Julianna Banana was good. It gave instructions that were easy to understand to make yummy meals that are just so good. My favourite recipe was the strawberry jam. I would do it again because it made cooking fun. I recommend it.

• Mom:
  The variety of kinds of recipes and activities was great! Desserts, something that will last a long time (jam), a main course and things for gifting (jam and lip balm.)

• I often think there aren’t enough activities that are easy for parents to do with their kid. This would make a great gift for a parent looking to have an activity for some quality bonding time.

• Aside from a few moments where I had to let go of how the kids interpreted the instructions and let them do their own thing (because I was looking for something I DIDN’T need to be involved in 😀), it was amazing. The kids were able to make 3 very different recipes independently that all tasted delicious!

• This was the first activity my twins have done together without arguing in a long time, and for that alone it was a great win!

3 jars of delicious strawberry jam made from scratch. Perfect for gifting, or, eating yourself if you’re these two! [Photo of two white 12 year olds standing in front of patio doors with a play structure and trampoline in the background, holding three jars of strawberry jam up while one gives a thumbs up]

How can you purchase one

You can sign up for the summer box, a bundle of three boxes, or individual online cooking classes from the Julianna Banana Web site. Summer boxes are ready for pick up and delivery this week!

Individual boxes are $65 and you can pick up at several locations around the city or for a fee have it delivered.

When you purchase the 3 box bundle it comes with free shipping in the Ottawa area.

We love working with Julianna Banana because the kids really do love the resources and all of the people we know who either purchased boxes or have taken classes have found them to be really well done and keep coming back to buy again. We also love that they are committed to supporting local and giving back to local charity. They are currently fundraising $3000 from Culinary Boxes and Classes for the Ottawa Network For Education.

Check them out!

Please note, Julianna Banana is a Kids in the Capital sponsor and we were provided the summer box. All thoughts and feedback are based on our personal experience with the box.