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Award-Winning Chef Offers Summer Cooking Class For Kids

BALTIMORE (WJZ)—It's a great summer for some young students in Baltimore. They come from all over the area to have fun and learn about food preparation.

Ron Matz has more on what's cooking in Fells Point.

Chef Nancy Longo's summer cooking class is in session. The kids are ready and so is the food.

"About 12 years ago, I was asked to do a class at a fund raiser for somebody. Although I had done it years ago with Chef Paul Prudhomme in New Orleans and that was for kids about 5 years old. I always thought if I can teach a 5-year-old I knew I could do this," Longo said. "And the kids I was doing it with 12 years ago were so engaged with how much they really liked cooking that I thought somebody should actually care about teaching kids."

It's a great experience for the young chefs in training, started by this award-winning chef and owner of Pierpoint Restaurant 12 years ago.

"We teach them all kinds of things. One of the things we like to do is try to teach them knife skills also basic seasoning, so they get off the salt shaker and the fat and the sugar. We don't have any of those things here," Longo said.

Mexican food is on the menu.

"We're making tortilla soup," said Ariana,14. "I'm having a great time. My parents will love it. They don't have to cook, and it's always good."

"Parents start calling in the fall for the summer. We don't take more than 10 children a day. We want to make sure there are three chefs in the room so there's enough individualized attention so the kids can get what they need out of the class," Longo said.

It's just the right ingredients for a tasty meal and a fun way to spend part of Baltimore's summer.

"It's cool. I really like cooking. It's fun to experiment with all these different cuisines," said Lily, 11.

One of the best parts of the class: the kids get to take home some of the food they've prepared.

"They take home all kinds of food. They take home enough food. Their parents don't need to make dinner   for a couple of days," Longo said.

Chef Longo also has cooking classes on Saturdays for students in the fall and winter. For more information, click here.

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