A guide to cooking with kids

Entire family can have fun in the kitchen

A guide to cooking with kids

Children may start their culinary careers crafting mud pies in their backyards, but that creativity and imagination soon may translate into foods they can actually eat.

Many kids love cooking because it can be fun and messy, which are two qualities that children find hard to resist.

Parents can foster their children’s love of cooking and help them along the way with these tips.

• Be patient

Going into the cooking experience knowing there will be a mess, typically when young children are involved, can help you prepare. Toddlers have not yet mastered manual dexterity, so they’re bound to spill and drop. Put a plastic tablecloth under the work area and on the floor to help catch what falls. Also, cooking with youngsters likely will take more time than it normally would, so set aside extra preparation and cooking time. • Teach kids good hygiene

Hygiene is important and can prevent foodborne illnesses. Make sure everyone involved in cooking, including children, washes his or her hands before cooking begins and continues to do so after handling foods, particularly raw meat and poultry. Hair should be tied back, and separate prep surfaces should be designated for produce and meats.

• Assign age-appropriate tasks

Consider age and maturity levels when assigning tasks in the kitchen. Even children as young as 3-years-old can chop food if they are provided a serrated butter knife with a rounded point and soft vegetables or fruits.

This helps teach knife skills that kids can develop more thoroughly in the future. Children can mix and add ingredients as well. As kids get older, parents can decide the right time to let them use the stove.

• Experiment with dough

Kids can have a blast with dough, particularly rolling out pie crusts and pasta. They also can make dumplings and then fill them with vegetables. Many cookware retailers sell small rolling pins that are easy for kids to handle.

The entire family can get in on the action when kids participate in the kitchen.

• Practice measuring together

Let children read the recipes and be in charge of portioning out ingredients. This reinforces classroom lessons about temperature, ratios and fractions.

• Move on to more sophisticated tasks

Around age eight or nine, children can take on jobs like opening cans, scooping batter, pounding poultry, proofing yeast, skewering kabobs, and slicing bread, according to cooking educator Julie Negrin.

Negrin notes that children between the ages of 10 and 12 can start working independently in the kitchen so long as an adult is in the home. Ultimately, children can cook without close supervision.

Children also can be involved in cooking by helping to draft shopping lists and taking trips to the supermarket.

This shows kids the complete process of gathering ingredients for meals, what they cost and how they are made before foods make it to the dinner table.

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Couple brings good things to their new fast-food franchise

Corinth Chick-fil-A franchise owners David and Elizabeth Rogers are proud of their little nuggets, five-year-old Davis and two-year-old Adelaide. The family moved to Alcorn County in October to oversee the construction of the restaurant.

For Crossroads Magazine

Franchise operators David and Elizabeth Rogers hope to carry their company’s mission forward by having a positive influence on all who come in contact with Corinth’s new restaurant, Chickfil-A.

“As part of our vision and principals in guiding our business, we want our employees to feel they’re not just coming to a job, but hopefully learning to become better leaders and positive influences in the restaurant industry,” said Elizabeth, 30, the restaurant’s marketing director.

David, 32, an accounting major, felt his love of working with numbers helps him in being an even better owner/operator.

“I use numbers for a more profitable business,” he said. “I’ve told our team members they can’t make a difference unless they’re being successful at what they’re doing.”

The young couple moved from Tuscaloosa, Ala. in mid-December and didn’t waste any time in making Corinth their home.

They have already met several local business owners and new friends. David is a member of The Alliance and participated in the Alcorn County Job Fair in January. His son, Davis, goes to Alcorn Central Elementary and plays on a local youth baseball team.

Davis, 5 and his little sister, Adelaide, 2, were excited about their parents’ new restaurant. Adelaide expressed delight at seeing the red “Chick-fil-A” sign perched on the building at one of the busiest intersections in Corinth. Davis was just happy he gets lemonade now whenever he wants it.

“People keep telling us how excited they are Chick-fil-A is here in Corinth, but David and I are just as excited to be here,” said the children’s mother.

When given a choice on where to own their first Chickfil-A franchise, it was a chance meeting of strangers at Corinth’s city park that helped the Rogers decide.

“We had conversations with two different people who were about our age at the park,” said David. “One was a University of North Alabama graduate and the other was a Mississippi State University graduate. Both commented they had wanted to come back home to Corinth to live and work after graduating. That was important to us because we didn’t want to move to a community everybody was trying to get away from. We wanted to live in a community where our family could grow and thrive.”

Being closer to her family in Florence, Ala. was also a big factor for Elizabeth.

“My mom’s joy at us being here in Corinth probably exceeds everyone else’s,” she said, chuckling.

Elizabeth already had a vague knowledge of Corinth as a child because her grandparents lived in Savannah, Tenn. They would often come to Corinth to eat and shop. She also remembers family picnics at Pickwick Landing State Park and visiting Pickwick Landing Dam with her father who worked for TVA.

Though they lived in Tuscaloosa two years before moving to Corinth, the couple considered Birmingham their home. It’s where they met and graduated from college at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

David started working for Chick-fil-A as a freshman in college in 2008. He graduated from UAB in 2012. Elizabeth obtained her bachelor degree in communications with a minor in business administration and marketing, graduating from UAB in 2013. A month later the couple married.

Elizabeth worked at her church where she loved being around people during worship times.

Rogers children Davis and Adelaide share a big brother and little sister moment.

The Rogers family remains proud to call Corinth and Alcorn County their home, including David, Elizabeth, Davis and Adelaide.

“I’m an extrovert and found during the week I was getting too much quiet time. Plus I was a newlywed and missed seeing David,” she said, smiling. “I decided to work with him part-time at Chick-fil-A on Saturdays and a couple of times during the week. A year later I acquired a fulltime marketing position with the company.”

In 2016, the two Chick-fil-A employees began traveling all over the country, opening and leading restaurants with Chickfil-A’s Leadership Development Program. From the age of five months old to three years old, Davis was along for every plane ride and road trip. Adelaide was born on their last official day of traveling.

During this time, the Rogers began exploring the idea of becoming Chick-fil-A franchise owners and by 2018 started the process of acquiring their own business.

David had known since high school he wanted to own his own business.

“My baseball coach was an accountant and owned a small accounting firm. This allowed him a flexible schedule and good income which left an impression on me as far as determining my career choices,” he said.

After graduating UAB, the sports lover continued his ministry with “Campus Crusade for Christ” or “Cru” at the college. The Cru axiom, “If you want to change tomorrow, then influence tomorrow’s leaders today,” served as inspiration in his work with students.

“This gave me direction for what I wanted to do for the next 30-40 years of my life in how I think, what I wanted to accomplish with my job and what kind of positive difference I could make,” said David. “Though I was pursuing a career in accounting, as a team leader at Chick-fil-A, I began thinking I could accomplish more in my life by continuing to work for them.”

He wanted to be part of a company which was much more than about food.

“My twin brother, Jonathan, and I started working for Chick-fil-A at the same time and motivated each other,” said the oldest of six siblings. “He is now a Chick-fil-A franchise owner in Starkville. Owning our own franchises was a dream of both of us for a long time and now it’s realized.”

Both David and Elizabeth are avid disc golf players though Elizabeth admits David is more competitive than she is. She also enjoys baking while David enjoys playing his guitar during the week. However, his two small children don’t always provide their father the leisurely time.

“Adelaide’s favorite thing to do is get my guitar pick and drop it into the hole in my guitar then watch me try to get it out,” he said, laughing.

The Church of the Crossroads has become the Rogers’ new church home. The Hwy. 72 church is affiliated with the couple’s former church in Tuscaloosa and Elizabeth said the worship center immediately felt like home.

Coming from Tuscaloosa, she said people often ask if they’re “Crimson Tide” fans. She remarked both of them were actually huge fans of the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s football and basketball teams. She added David was manager for the baseball team when he started at UAB. She also noted she was part of the effort to get the UAB football program reinstated in 2017 after it was disbanded.

“Go Blazers!” she yelled with enthusiasm.

The couple were very earnest in their desire to play a positive role in their new community.

The close connection they have with each other was evident as David nodded toward his wife, saying, “I couldn’t do any of this without her. The reason why we’ll be successful is because we work so well together.”

“We have a great team who have come from all parts of Alcorn County,” he continued. “When we started this business we wanted everybody who worked here to know they were becoming a part of our Chickfil-A family. They represent us in the community and the quality experience we want our customers to have. For our younger employees we could be a launching pad for their future. Though they may not always work in the restaurant business, we want them to be inspired to become the best versions of themselves.”

“Leadership author John Maxwell said everybody is either a plus or a minus when they interact with other people,” said David. “Our goal is to be a plus.”

David Rogers began working for Chick-fil-A as a college freshman, then wife Elizabeth joined him in 2016 as part of the Chick-fil-A Leadership Development Program, traveling the country to help plan and open new restaurants. Their dream was to own their own franchise.

Carol Humphreys is a resident of Corinth and a freelance writer who contributes to Crossroads Magazine.

•sales • service • parts

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