Rachael Ray, right, cooks with a protege at the South Beach Food and Wine Festival. (Red Eye Productions)Many parents shoo their children out of the kitchen when it’s time to prepare the family meal. But some studies show that involving kids in meal preparation makes them more likely to try new foods.
I recently spoke with Rachael Ray, the host of several popular television programs and a best-selling cookbook author, about cooking with kids. Ms. Ray regularly holds children’s cooking workshops and is the founder of Yum-o!, a nonprofit group that focuses on helping kids and families develop healthy relationships with food.
How did you develop a love of cooking and food? Did you cook with your parents while growing up?
My mother was the oldest of 10 kids in a first generation Italian family, and my grandfather was the primary cook in their family, and he was a wonderful cook. My mom’s mom was a great baker. My mother learned her love of cooking from doing chores and being in the kitchen with her grandfather. And later, my mother worked in the food business — she owned restaurants and managed them for other people. She brought us to work with her, so either in a commercial production kitchen or a home kitchen, I was always on her hip or at the counter or at her side. There is such a great lesson to learn in having your children in the kitchen with you. Children can smell the smells and watch all that goes into the preparation of the food. It’s a five-sense experience for them.
We often hear parents say, “My kid would never eat that!” Were you ever a picky eater as a kid?
My mother always gave us whatever she was eating. I think if you expose children to all the colors and the aromas and the experience of cooking, it becomes an innate thing for them from the time they’re very small. They’ll develop an ability in the kitchen and a really broad palate that’s not afraid to try new things. I know it works because that’s the way it has worked in our family for many, many generations.
What prompted you to become an advocate for cooking with kids?
Children have always been a focus for me. When I was still very young, my mom and I would talk all the time about this and how there was a hole in American culture when it comes to cooking. There is a whole generation of kids coming up who don’t know about anything but eating processed food.
My mom and I used to chat about how great it would be if we had some place we could teach low-income families how to stretch a buck, teach them cooking classes, teach them how to make a little out of a lot. It’s always been something I wanted to do. My mom always worked with local kids, and from the time we were very small, my family always spent Thanksgiving and holiday time in the restaurant providing parties for underprivileged kids in our communities. It’s something we’ve done as a family for a long time.
But how does a cooking class help a child overcome his or her circumstances?
It literally changes the quality of your life to be able to eat good food. It improves the nutrition of a child, and therefore it improves his or her health. But I think it’s also a self-esteem issue. I think we should get our kids into the kitchen not only for their health, but because being able to provide good food for yourself is very empowering. Being able to cook a simple meal and feed your family at the end of the day really feeds your soul.
A lot of parents worry about bringing a child into a place with sharp knives and gadgets and hot burners. What safety advice do you have for them?
Parents should encourage children as early as possible to begin safely using kitchen equipment. My mom literally had us on her hip while she was stirring pots. My first memory of burning myself — I was trying to reach a flat-top griddle and grilled my thumb. My mom had looked away for a second, and I got hurt.
So yes, your kids can get hurt in a kitchen, but they can get hurt on a playground, too. Use safety step stools, work with a plastic knife, give children play kitchens and play food. All of that is a great place to start with small children. Let them stir things, or get them scissors instead of a knife.
Kids love to bake cookies and fun food. Are they really that interested in helping to prepare full meals?
I think the importance of having kids in the kitchen is to expose them to something beyond cookies and snacks. It’s like a dumbing down of a child’s palate. By associating the fun of cooking only with sweets, you’re limiting the child’s experience.
You can make any food fun food. You can make vegetables cool to a kid if you’re mixing them up with something a child likes. If a kid says “What’s in there?” tell them, “It’s boogers and dinosaur guts.” Get a giggle out of them. If you want them to be excited about eating a veggie, put it in cheese sauce and get them psyched about the cheese sauce. Make a list of all the new foods you’ve tried and keep it on the refrigerator.
There are all sorts of ways to build healthy relationships with your children and food. You have to become more kid-like yourself. Think about what excites the child. It’s your challenge and your job to make food cool, fun and an adventure for them.
Most parents define “kid food” as the old standbys — chicken nuggets, mac and cheese, pizza and hot dogs. In “Cooking Rocks” and your other cookbooks for kids, how do you define kid food?
The point of a children’s recipe should be to teach them how to make something the whole family would enjoy eating so they get that self-esteem payoff, to see everyone is enjoying what their small hands and hearts have worked on. Chicken fingers and hot dogs are fine. Chicken fingers can be oven baked. They can be a nice part of a simple, fun dinner for everybody. There are lots of turkey dogs and all-beef dogs that are nitrate-free. If you want to put a hot dog in a quesadilla, fine.
When it comes to writing cookbooks for kids, I try to make the food sound fun and write complete meals that are as healthy as possible. I’ve been cooking since I was 12, and feeding kids and grown-ups since as long as I can remember. I cook very simple food.
You spend a lot of time in cooking workshops with kids. Are kids really as fussy about food as we think they are?
I’m finding a whole generation of kids as small as toddlers who are schooling their families in how to eat. They are very adventurous. I think the Food Network, and Discovery and Disney — there is so much great programming that has made food exciting for kids. You would be surprised at how into cooking so many kids are today.
Join Rachael Ray, acclaimed chef Alice Waters, cookbook author Jessica Seinfeld and childhood nutrition experts at the New York City Wine & Food Festival for “Beyond Chicken Nuggets: How to Raise a Healthy Eater.” To learn more about the Oct. 12 event, hosted by Well columnist Tara Parker-Pope, click here.
Healthy living doesn't happen at the doctor's office. The road to better health is paved with the small decisions we make every day. It's about the choices we make when we buy groceries, drive our cars and hang out with our kids. Join columnist Tara Parker-Pope as she sifts through medical research and expert opinions for practical advice to help readers take control of their health and live well every day. You can reach Ms. Parker-Pope at 
The easiest and most pleasurable way to eat well is to cook. Recipes for Health offers recipes with an eye towards empowering you to cook healthy meals every day. 
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Two of my four kids especially enjoyed the kitchen when they were very small, and I would give them tasks they could do (mixing meat loaf with their hands). When my daughter was 8 or 9 I had a meeting to go to and while thinking how to get dinner, I realized she had done each part of the whole — and she made baked potatos, meat loaf, and peas for the family while I was gone (Her father didn’t cook.)
Afterward, I thought about her age and apologized for giving her so much responsibility. Her cheerful voice still resonates down the forty-some years since: “That’s all right, Mom, my friends’ Moms won’t even let them in the kitchen.”
And that was also my introduction to the idea of kids being excluded from Life! In the Kitchen! These same friends were the ones who called my kids the human garbage pails when they were teens. I took this to be a teen-age insult, because I was a pretty good cook. And then one day I realized it was because they had zero food prejudices.
— Audrey GreveThrough circumstance I became the primary cook in our household at age 10 - my mom was raising 2 kids on her own while working full time and going to grad school. I was always in the kitchen as a younger kid, helping out whenever I could, so as Audrey noted with her daughter I already knew the basic steps I just needed to string them together. I started out the simple recipes picked by mom, then did research and starting experimenting and branching out. I started helping my mom plan meals for the week, made the grocery list, and went with her to the grocery store, splitting the list and filling a basket of my own. The grocery store trips were a weekly tradition until I left for college, and I still go with her and help shop and cook when I’m visiting. For me being in the kitchen was a normal thing, but truly cooking started out of necessity but ultimately became one of my favorite hobbies. Now as an adult I cook 80% of the food I eat from scratch and very rarely resort to processed foods.
— MPI remember baking my first cake (from a kiddie, mix, but in a real oven and with the help of my father and older sister) two weeks after my 4th birthday. I remember anxiously awaiting my 8th birthday, because it had been decided that that was when I’d be old enough to light the oven myself. While I’m not a big fancy gourmet cook, It’s certainly a benefit that I’ve always been able to chop up something fresh and put stuff together for a meal. You spend less money eating healthier, more delicious food if you’ve got even the most rudimentary cooking skills. So, hats off to Miss Ray, Miss Waters, and Mrs. Seinfeld for the work they are doing!
— CynthiaMany, many thanks for the article and especially to you, Ms. Ray. My childhood was also graced by very strong cooks- these were both my grandmothers and a host of aunts. I am a Family Physician. I see a lot of people and a lot of families. We talk quite a bit at every stage of life about how to shop, prepare and enjoy fresh food. It is literally the glue of civilization. As a man I have come to the kitchen by a more circuitous route. You can be sure that my 2.5 year old grandson will be hanging out with me in the kitchen as he grows. I’ll add lots of praise for the hard work in programming that all the food related channels have contributed.
— dwfMy son began to get interested in food when he observed that the high school cafeteria food gave him pimples, and that his mom’s cooking from scratch healed him over the weekend.
Now a senior in college, he cooks for himself. When he calls home, it is usually for one of two reasons: Asking for an herbal cure for a cold or something of that sort; and asking for cooking advice. Last week he called with: “Mom, what is that great rice you always use?” It’s short brown rice - delicious.
Alexa Fleckensetin M.D., physician, author.
— Alexa Fleckenstein M.D.“Rachel Ray wants kids in the kitchen.” That’s a story for the New York Times Health Blog?
What’s next? Martha Stewart touts knitting as good exercise? Oprah gives health insurance policies to everyone in her studio audience?
Geez, Tara!
FROM TPP — Did you even read the story? Or how about today’s piece on 6 Food Mistakes Parents Make that cites studies showing that involving kids in food preparation prompts them to eat more healthful foods. Of course this is a health story!!
— WigWagYes, exactly, kids belong in the kitchen! mine have helped me since they were 3-4 years old. I had one rule: you must do as I say, what I say goes and if you couldn’t follow then you couldn’t help. i had them using real knives at age 5 (supervised) and standing at the stove stirring..
i’ve even developed a very successful roast chicken recipe based on my son’s suggestions. Now at age 13 he cooks for himself all the time, good food too: eggs, fried squash blossoms, mac and cheese.
Food is life, why do we exclude the children? Cooking requires attention and imagination, way better for the brain than video!
— PamHow can it be healthy when 90% of Rachel Ray’s “30 minute” foods involve deep frying? Her recipes are anything but healthy.
— War EmblemGreat story, Tara.
Like one of the first posters, I was cooking by myself very young, only I was 7 not 9. My mother taught piano at home, so even though she was “at work,” had a started to burn down the house, she was just a closed door away. By the time I was 8, I cooked without my parents in the house. Because I grew up in the eastern part of the US South, I was taught that every meal should include a legume, a grain, and a leafy green or brightly colored veggie. I still cook that way today. I am amazed at the number of people who eat junk food because they do not know how to cook. It’s easy! If you can drive a car, you can fix a healthy meal. Programs like Ray’s “Thirty Minute Meals” are going a long way toward getting kids to eat healthy and be healthy. Even children as young as three or four can have little tasks in the kitchen, like helping to count cups.
By the way, a few recent studies around the world have shown that poor nutrition in countries that experience famine has led to decreased IQs as children develop. As an educator, I’ve started to wonder if the decline in American children’s intellectual abilities (and, yes, they are not as smart as they were twenty years ago) can be attributed to poor nutrition here–lots of stuff to eat but little of it real food. Tara, have any studies been done in the US about declining IQs and links to potato chips, high fructose corn syrup, soda, etc.?
— KimMy siblings and I ended up in the kitchen out of necessity — my mother was a terrible cook! But in the long run it was great because we all have cooking skills and know how to feed a family without using an excess of processed food. As soon as I could drive the family car I was sent to the grocery store with money and a list. I soon learned that the money could only pay for the basics and I couldn’t just throw anything into the cart — great lessons for money management also. I think it is a great idea to include your kids in these decisions. Good job, Rachael Ray!
— katTara -
Why are you so defensive when someone poses a question? You reacted the same way about the “pre-pregnancy” concept recently.
One would hope that a seasoned writer could explain her reasoning without being defensive and attacking the questioner. And the two exclamation points just make you look truly juvenile.
FROM TPP — I certainly didn’t mean to sound defensive. The introduction and text in the Rachael Ray Q&A clearly explains the link between childhood health and cooking. I don’t think it was defensive to point this out or to direct the reader to another story that included data on childhood eating habits when the child is involved in food preparation. As for the pre-pregnancy issue — my response to that reader criticism was to dedicate an entire podcast and post to the topic. I didn’t agree with readers on that one — but it was clearly such a big issue it was worth exploring and quite interesting in the end. I have always encouraged readers to share their thoughts and criticisms — and most of them appreciate that I take the time to respond to them. Sometimes my answers may be more clumsy than others, but my goal always is to take part in the conversation and encourage readers to do the same.
— Well, ReallyI would think that a real interview with Rachel Ray about food and kids would at least superficially address nutrition and fast food restaurants, in light of her endorsement of both Burger King and Dunkin Donuts. The interview sounds more like a press release for Ms. Ray and Yum-o than a true interview by a NYT reporter
— Nitin KumarMy three sons, all grown now, are all very accomplished cooks, one a professional, who enjoy food enormously. They were always allowed in the kitchen, always encouraged to help and to taste. We never had any picky eaters at all.
We also encouraged them to plan menus. Every Tuesday evening over dinner, we would make menus for the coming week’s dinners. Each person was allowed to pick a meal entirely and everyone gave input about what would be good and go together well. This enabled me to make a shopping list for a whole week’s worth of food eliminating some of the trips to the store. Seasonal ingredients were emphasized and fresh fruits and vegetables were always integral.
As a side note, none of us is fat yet each of us thoroughly enjoys eating.
— priscillaThe message of this story is important and I commend her efforts but the point is diminished somewhat by Ms. Ray’s affiliation with Dunkin Donuts. This is not a company that contributes to children’s health, nor do their products help with the issue of Americans eating too much ready-made processed food. (https://www.dunkindonuts.com/aboutus/products/) If she is committed to Americans growing up on whole homemade food she may want to consider making her money where her mouth is.
— Sageorderofr.net/sage
I do not have any kids, but I come from a big family and when I make holiday meals, I always involve my nieces and nephews in making meals — peeling vegetables, mixing pastry crust, stirring the soup, whatever. Not only are they a big help, but they love it! And those kids will eat everything, they are not food phobic like so many kids today who grow up on mac and cheese. I also grew up helping my mother in the kitchen and I have no doubt this contributed not just to my skills and comfort in the kitchen, but to my love of cooking. I think there is no question that involving kids in cooking makes them better eaters.
— fdWhile I can get behind the idea of encouraging children to get more involved in the preparation of their own food (and by extension learning about food production and practices) I can’t stand the thought of Rachel Ray being affiliated with such an endeavor.
As a spokesperson for Dunkin Donuts she’s essentially advocating, directly to impressionable kids, the consumption of baked goods laden with corn syrup, partially hydrogenated oil, artificial colors and flavors etc…
It’s beyond problematic that she’s not called to task for talking out of both sides of the media’s mouth, as well as her own. Not to mention the fact that she’s profiting financially from it.
— StefaniI hardly think Rachael Ray is qualified to address healthy eating for adults OR children, given that:
1) She’s not actually a cook
2) She’s not a nutritionist, doctor, or trained health professional
3) She endorses Dunkin’ Donuts and Burger King, two companies who specialize in UN-healthy eating
4) In her shows, she routinely eschews fresh ingredients in favor of processed food-like products from a jar, a can, or a box, an approach that played a major role in getting this country so obese in the first place.
In short, Rachael Ray is part of the problem, not the solution. Her efforts to promote herself otherwise are a PR stunt and deceitful.
— KentNot that I disagree with Ms. Ray on some of what she says, but taking advice about food and kids from someone without kids doesn’t make a great deal of sense. A significant part of the article is clouded by cognitive dissonance beyond the where others have mentioned Dunkin’ Donuts - am I to believe that Disney has a vested interest in my kids nutrition?
— AdamSage and Nitin bring up an interesting point - I do wonder how Rachel Ray reconciles her passion for encouraging kids to prepare and eat real foods with her endorsement of fast food chains?
I’m not a huge fan of her cooking shows, bu do watch them on occasion, so I have to object to War Emblem’s comment. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her deep fry anything on 30 minute meals. I can’t speak for her books, but at least on TV her preferred cooking methods are grilling and stewing. There’s a lot of foodie elitism swirling around that tries to denigrate her cooking as unhealthy based on ease/convenience. Please do not confuse gourmet and nutrition - I don’t care if it comes with cutesy names/phrases, if it gets people cooking and eating real food then it’s fine by me.
— MP#11, I agree, Tara has become noticeably more short-tempered in a short time. Remember her saintly patience still at the time of the child’s-sex-defined-by-mother’s-diet story? The way some posters address her is way out of line, too (cf. “tubby”). Let’s all try to be nice to each other. I am surprised by what gets posted sometimes, messages having nothing to do with the issue and containing only juvenile flaming against another poster.
I often fixed dinner for myself in my teens, as mom was not a homemaker. She was a great cook, though, as was grandma. So I had standards and expectations.
When I moved away from home as a student, living on a budget, I made careful calculations and discovered it was cheaper to cook for yourself.
I also tested empirically the value-for-dollar of expensive meat versus cheap meat, meticulously scraping every bit of fat off the slab of cheap meat and weighing it again. Conclusion: the meat in cheap meat was every bit as expensive as expensive fat-free meat, so I could just as well buy that.
— SusannaFROM TPP — My goodness I feel terrible about this. I don’t feel short tempered at all, so I guess I just need to be careful about how these quick responses may sound in writing. Has someone really called me tubby? Well, that makes me laugh a bit. I am lenient about what gets posted (obviously since people are apparently calling me names) but I hate to censor anybody.
Tara,
“Did you even read the story?” is not the best way to respond to criticism. I agree with Sage and others that given Ms. Ray’s affiliation with Dunkin Donuts, she was not the best choice to convey this message either.
A better way to convey the message would have been to quote the actual research that shows that involving children in cooking makes them eat healthful foods. And interview parents about their experience.
Given your response to Wigwag and Well, Really, I now wonder whether this article is somehow connected to your being the host for Ms. Ray’s Oct. 12 event.
— Well, Really is RightFROM TPP — The citation for the benefits of cooking with kids can be found in this story which also appeared today. And yes, Ms. Ray’s work with Yum-o and cooking with kids is EXACTLY why I wrote this Q&A and asked her to appear at the Oct. 12 event. Personally, I was moved by her comments about the benefits of learning to cook for a child’s self esteem. I think the message of cooking with your kids is powerful and important and Ms. Ray is a very public voice in the discussion.
Spare me the holier-than-thou condemnations of Rachell Ray for endording Dunkin Donuts and using canned goods. In the real world, people do have an occasional donut (although I believe Ray was hawking coffee for the most part) and open a can of beans rather than soaking them overnight. I’m not a particular fan of Ray/s books or TV show, but give her credit for encouraging kids to feel comfortable in the kitchen and thinking about how a meal actually gets on their plates. I also believe that cooking with kids is great for their confidence, and great for your relationship with them. So stop being so critical and cynical–seems no good deed goes unpunished.
— LynneMy granddaughter LOVED Rachel Ray’s normal (non-kid) cooking show the minute she saw it at age 4. Admittedly, she’s not allowed to watch TV very much, but Rachel really resonated with her. Rachel said “do such and such with shellfish (or something like that) and invite your neighbors, they’ll be really IMPRESSED.”
My granddaughter said with awe: “We can invite Gracie,” who indeed was her neighbor, but I wondered how impressed a two and a half year old would be by Rachel’s forced sophistication.
Something about Rachel Ray is just perfect for preschoolers, no?
— MaeAs far as the Dunkin Donuts endorsement — DD has enabled me to be able to eat somewhat healthy on those rare days I am just too busy to prepare my breakfast. My local kosher DD serves egg whites and veggie sausage on an English muffin, and their new flatbreads are low in calories and nutritious. So it is possible to eat relatively healthy, convenient food, and I have no problem with anyone endorsing that.
— AshantiI guess I submitted my comment after Kent, but before his was posted - his statements on top of War Emblem’s make me wonder if a lot of the nay-sayers have actually checked out any of her recipes. The only jarred/canned/whatever foods she routinely uses are tomatoes, chicken stock, and spices. Most of the ingredients in the recipes are fresh produce and meats - I even went to the FoodTV website and checked a couple dozen to make sure I wasn’t misremembering. You can dislike her all you want, and think her food style is beneath you, but please do not make up evil things where they do not exist.
The whole philosophy of 30-minute meals is teaching real people to use real ingredients while preparing real food, that way they don’t have to resort to fast food and package semi-food.
And Kent, for the record, she’s not a chef but she is most certainly a cook.
— MP