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Adventure Camps: Cooking Camp Staff Handbook

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OVERVIEW

  • Target Age: 8–14
  • Duration: 4-day camp (Mon–Thurs)
  • Hours: 8:30am–5:15pm (extended care available)
  • Focus: Life skills, confidence, creativity, fun through food

OUR MISSION #

  • Empower children to develop essential life skills through the joy of cooking
  • Provide a safe, inspiring, and imaginative culinary environment
  • Encourage teamwork, exploration of taste, and celebration of effort
  • Every child leaves proud, with something delicious to share at home

STAFF ROLES #

  • Course Leader: Delivers instruction, manages kitchen area, leads safety briefings, models professionalism and creativity
  • Course Instructor: Supports prep, manages flow and engagement, ensures hygiene and safety, connects with campers
  • Staff Ratio: 1:8 (2 staff to 16 children)

DAILY TIMETABLE #

TimeActivity
08:30–09:30Arrival & calm activities
09:30–10:00Kitchen safety, intro & briefing
10:00–11:15Session 1: Savoury Dish
11:15–11:30Break (with main camp)
11:30–12:30Cook & Plate Savoury
12:30–13:30Lunch (with main camp)
13:30–14:45Session 2: Sweet Dish
14:45–15:15Tidy Up & Discussion
15:15–16:00Themed Food Games / Free Build
16:00–17:15Pick-up window / Journals

SAMPLE WEEKLY MENU #

DaySavoury DishSweet Dish
MonPizza SwirlsChocolate Brownies
TuesFajita WrapsFlapjacks
WedsMac & Cheese BakesRainbow Fruit Kebabs
ThursVeggie BurgersCupcakes & Decoration

SKILLS & LEARNING OUTCOMES #

  • Safe knife handling
  • Measuring and weighing
  • Using heat safely (hob, oven)
  • Baking, grating, chopping, kneading
  • Tidy-as-you-go discipline
  • Team cooking and individual confidence
  • Nutritional conversations

HYGIENE & SAFETY #

  • Long hair tied up
  • Aprons provided and worn
  • Hands washed before and after each session
  • Use coloured chopping boards correctly
  • Heat use supervised closely
  • Food stored, labelled, and sent home in containers

COMMUNICATION & PARENT INFO #

  • Parents must send:• 2 labelled containers (1 savoury, 1 sweet)• Packed lunch (nut-free)• Refillable water bottle
  • Children must wear clothes that can get messy

WOW FACTORS & MAGIC MOMENTS #

  • “Chef of the Day” apron
  • “Mystery Ingredient Challenge”
  • “The Bake-Off Tent” vibe on Day 4
  • Personalised recipe cards to take home
  • Photo board of creations and chefs
  • ‘Guess the Spice’ sensory challenge

FEEDBACK & EVALUATION #

  • End-of-day mini reflections (What did you learn? What surprised you?)
  • Written feedback slips on Day 4 (with recipe folder)
  • Staff notes on participation and growth

SAFEGUARDING & MEDICAL #

  • Ensure medical needs (esp. allergies) are logged and known
  • No unsupervised access to hot zones
  • Use of cleaning products stored securely
  • Staff always in pairs for supervision
  • All injuries recorded in incident log

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