Cooking Classes for Kids with Special Needs in Manhattan

   
If your child has expressed an interest in learning to cook, check out these programs in Manhattan that offer cooking programs for children and teens with special needs.
     

The Creative Kitchen

718-406-7506
thecreativekitchen.com
events@thecreativekitchen.com

The Everybody Can Cook class tailors its lessons to various abilities, reinforces developmental and social skills, and can accommodate special dietary needs within any of its healthful recipes. Parties and play dates can also be customized for children with special needs using The Creative Kitchen’s Everybody Can Cook curricula, which provides adaptations for children with diverse physical and developmental abilities.
     

JCC Manhattan

334 Amsterdam Ave., Upper West Side
646-505-4444
jccmanhattan.org

The JCC’s Jack and Shirley Silver Center for Special Needs offers two cooking-related programs for teens with special needs: Community Cooks and Foodie Friends. Community Cooks (free) is an inclusive monthly program in which teens work together to prepare a home-cooked meal for the B’nai Jeshurun/Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew Homeless Shelter. In the weekly Foodie Friends ($75 for teens with special needs; $25 for teens without special needs), teens can connect, cook, and deepen friendships while enjoying a meal the group made together. 
     

 LilChefs.com Special Events 

Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, Bronx, Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Rockland, New Jersey
516-338-0552
lilchefs.com
paula@lilchefs.com

Chef Paula offers hands-on workshops and birthday parties at your location for ages 3-14 that include chef hats and aprons, as well as a personalized recipe booklet specific to the event, for each young chef. All parties and workshops are conducted in an inclusive environment, and Chef Paula can customize an event specifically for children with special needs, geared toward different abilities. Recipes can also be created for various dietary needs, and every event includes multi-sensory components relating to sight, smell, touch, taste, and sound.
 

 The Manhattan Behavioral Center 

124 W. 95th St., Upper West Side
646-480-5756
manhattanbehavioral.com

Once a week, kids can participate in the cooking class, which incorporates songs, stories, and an adapted recipe. Children will shop for ingredients and practice social skills at the grocery store, and create a gourmet treat in the center’s kitchen.
 

 SparKidz 

at P.S. 6 The Lillie Devereaux Blake School
45 E. 81st St., Upper East Side
917-930-6446
sparkidz.org

The Saturday program, held from 10am-4pm in an environment in which children with special needs can build friendships and participate in activities, includes culinary arts. Children will learn practical and more exotic types of cooking including breakfast and lunch preparation, as well as making pastries and ice cream.

    
Main image: The Creative Kitchen can tailor parties or play dates for children with special needs using its Everybody Can Cook curricula.
Courtesy The Creative Kitchen

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