From the author of the James Beard Award-winning book, Notes from a Kitchen

Junior Chef Society

Learn · Cook · Create

A kids’ culinary education company built to inspire the next generation to get in the kitchen, get their hands dirty, and fall in love with cooking.

Join the Founding 100 Families See What’s Cooking
Help Us Build Junior Chef Society → Take our 3-minute survey — your input shapes what we create first
The Founder

Born in the Kitchen. Inspired by Four Kids.

Blake Beshore is the author of the James Beard Award-winning cookbook Notes from a Kitchen and founder of Small Batch Foods. After years of being a private chef, culinary instructor, and CPG founder, the most rewarding kitchen turned out to be the one at home — teaching his two sets of twins how to cook. Watching his kids discover new flavors, build confidence with a knife, and start asking to help with dinner sparked something bigger: a desire to give every family that same experience.

Junior Chef Society was born from those family meals and from a simple belief — that cooking together teaches kids more than recipes. It teaches them patience, creativity, and the kind of confidence that follows them out of the kitchen and into everything else they do.

Author of the James Beard Award-Winning Cookbook Private Chef · Culinary Instructor Founder, Small Batch Foods Dad of Two Sets of Twins
Blake Beshore and family in the kitchen
What Is Junior Chef Society

Culinary Education — Built for Kids

Junior Chef Society is an ever-evolving kids’ culinary education company. We’re building a world of stories, songs, activities, and tools designed to meet kids wherever they are — whether your child is four and squishing berries for the first time or twelve and learning to deglaze a pan.

We teach parents first, who then teach their kids — building skills, bonding, and meals that everyone actually wants to eat. There’s no wrong way to cut an onion and no wrong way to cook a sauce. In our kitchen, every mistake is just a discovery.

“There are no mistakes in the kitchen — just discoveries.”
📖🎵

Stories, Songs & Activities

Illustrated books, audio adventures, original kitchen songs, coloring pages, puzzles, and hands-on activities that bring the kitchen to life.

👨‍👩‍👧

Parent Education

Bite-sized guides with tips, tricks, and ideas to cook alongside your kids — helping you build their confidence and expand what they’ll try.

📝

Culinary Workbooks & Problem-Solving

Pen-and-paper workbooks packed with kitchen math, recipe challenges, ingredient puzzles, and creative problem-solving activities.

🎬

Short Instructional Videos

Quick, focused lessons like “How to Cook a Protein,” “The Easiest Way to Make an Omelette,” and “Safety Tips Every Kid Should Know.”

Who It’s For

Three Programs, One Kitchen

Every child grows at their own pace. That’s why we built three age-based tracks — each with its own curriculum, activities, and skill level.

🧁

Little Cooks

Ages 4–7

Sensory play, food exploration, coloring, activity books, simple recipes, and sing-along songs. Everything is hands-on, colorful, and built around curiosity.

🍳

Sous Chefs

Ages 8–11

Hands-on cooking, spice tests, real knife skills, project-based learning, and culinary stories. They’re ready to get serious — and have fun doing it.

🔥

Junior Chefs

Ages 12–16

Meal planning, advanced techniques, global cuisines, and kitchen management. They’re building real skills they’ll carry into adulthood.

The Science

Why Getting Kids in the Kitchen Matters

Somewhere along the way, we decided kids could only handle chicken fingers, mac and cheese, and plain noodles. The “kids’ menu” became a ceiling instead of a starting point. But the research tells a different story: when children get their hands in the food — when they chop, stir, taste, and create — they don’t just eat better. They become braver, more curious, and more confident around food.

Only 3%

The Kids’ Menu Problem

Just 3% of kids’ meals at restaurants meet basic nutritional standards. The “kids’ menu” teaches children that chicken fingers and fries are all they deserve.

8–15 Tries

Most Parents Give Up Too Soon

It takes 8 to 15 exposures for a child to accept a new food — but most parents stop offering after just 3 to 5 attempts.

3.5x

Lifelong Cooking Habits

Children who learn to cook before age 12 are 3.5 times more likely to prepare their own meals as adults — building independence that lasts a lifetime.

Hands-On

The Only Thing That Beats Food Fear

Research shows hands-on cooking is the only intervention proven to reduce food neophobia in children — not lectures, not nutrition lessons. Cooking.

Sources: Public Health Nutrition (2023), Kids’ Menu Nutritional Quality • NCBI Bookshelf, Repeated Exposure & Food Acceptance Systematic Review • Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (2018), Longitudinal Study • Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior (2021), Food Neophobia & Cooking Involvement

Launching Soon

Our First Adventure: Chicken Fried Snake

The debut illustrated storybook from Junior Chef Society — and the first step in building a new kind of culinary education for kids.

A Story About Bravery, Curiosity & a Very Surprising Dinner

When twins Baird and Beaux asked Chef Dad for something exciting for dinner, they got more than they bargained for. A misheard conversation, a day full of wild imagination, and one very surprising meal later — they learned that bravery, curiosity, and a great appetite can take you anywhere.

  • Fully illustrated storybook for ages 4–10
  • Original companion songs kids can sing along to
  • Audio narration with kitchen sound effects
  • Bonus coloring & activity pages
  • Parent guide with cooking activities tied to the story
“Did Dad just say snake?!” Beaux whispered, her eyes wide.

“Stop. He’s joking… right?” Baird whispered back.
— from Chicken Fried Snake
Early Readers

What Parents & Kids Are Saying

My daughter asked to help make dinner the same night we read it. She’s never done that before.

Sarah M.
Mom of two, ages 5 & 7

Finally — a kids’ book about food that isn’t just about eating your vegetables. It’s about curiosity and courage.

Dr. James T.
Pediatrician & father of three

My 6-year-old keeps asking, ‘Can we cook something weird tonight?’ That’s exactly the kind of fearlessness I want him to have.

Andrea K.
Mom of one, age 6
Free Download

Start Your Junior Chef’s Journey Today

Download the Junior Chef Bio Page — a fun self-discovery sheet where your kid fills out their favorite foods, cooking style, dream restaurant name, kitchen skills, and takes the Junior Chef Oath. It’s the perfect way to kick off their culinary adventure (and you might learn something new about your little chef).

  • Favorite foods, cuisines & spices
  • Kitchen skills & cooking style
  • Chef’s Challenge: 3 new foods to try this month
  • The Junior Chef Oath
Download the Free Bio Page (PDF)

No email required. Just print and cook.

JUNIOR CHEF SOCIETY
My Junior Chef Bio
Print & Fill In!
The Roadmap

What’s Cooking Next

Junior Chef Society is always evolving. Here’s what’s on the menu.

Now

Chicken Fried Snake — Book, Songs & Activities

Our debut illustrated storybook with companion songs, audio narration, coloring pages, and a parent guide.

Next

Book Two & the Junior Chef Society Content Library

More stories in the series, plus a growing library of kitchen songs, audio adventures, and printable activities.

On the Horizon

Digital Platform & Junior Chef Toolkit

An interactive digital home for Junior Chef Society, plus curated, kid-safe kitchen tools and gear.

Join the Founding 100 Families

100 founding family spots — free to join

Be among the first families to experience Junior Chef Society. Founding families get early access to purchase Chicken Fried Snake before it’s available to the public — and receive the book before its nationwide release.

Want to help shape what we build? Take our 7-minute Culinary Education Survey and tell us what your kids would love most.

Take the Survey