Sure, it's fun to let your budding chefs help in your home kitchen, but have you ever considered taking it a step further with a foodie family vacation?
From working in a pastry kitchen to churning butter and yes, even catching and cooking your own dinner, we've rounded up seven family vacations that will have you and your kids saying "yum!"
Sauder Village
Want to step back in time to churn butter, milk a goat, hand-crank ice cream or prepare noodles in an 1850s home? Kids can do all that and more with the immersive cooking experience at Sauder Village, a living history museum and farm in northwest Ohio. There are also customized historic cooking classes available for guests ages 10 and up.
Kimpton Seafire Resort + Spa
If your budding chef wants a peek behind the scenes, put the Seafire’s Kids Culinary program at Kimpton Seafire Resort + Spa in the Cayman Islands on your list. This program gives aspiring chefs ages 4 to 12 a private look at the luxury resort’s kitchen, featuring an exclusive tour and meet and greet with Executive Chef Massimo De Francesca. Kids can also create, bake, and decorate personalized desserts.
The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island
Want to catch and cook your own dinner? Check out the Hook, Line and Supper experience at The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island in Florida. Your family will take part in an exclusive fishing excursion, then head into the kitchen with the chef to cook up your catch of the day.
Beau-Rivage Palace
At the historic Beau-Rivage Palace in Lausanne, Switzerland, junior pastry chefs join their renowned chefs to make Swiss chocolates, macarons, cupcakes, and other tasty treats. Children can also work with the hotel's florist as a one-day apprentice to learn the craft and hidden meanings behind the flower decorations at the palace.
Omni Amelia Island Plantation Resort
Want to taste honey straight from a beehive, learn about blending your own hot sauce or gather your own eggs for breakfast? Families can do all that and more at The Sprouting Project at Omni Amelia Island Plantation Resort in Florida, which features everything from an expansive organic garden to beehives and chickens.
Coffee Creek Ranch
Visit Chef Ruth Hartman at Coffee Creek Ranch in California for a weekend on a dude ranch. Your kiddos will work with her to tend the garden and cook meals from scratch, including soups, breads, and desserts. There will also be plenty of time for horseback riding, fly-fishing, and gold-panning!
Carmel Valley Ranch Resort
Kids can make s'mores by the fire, help a beekeeper, care for chickens, dodge turkeys, and tour the organic garden at the Carmel Valley Ranch Resort in Carmel, Calif. Read about the trip our Macaroni Kid EATS! publisher Erika Veduccio took to this beautiful resort with her son.
