About
CookUp offers hands-on cooking and baking classes where kids and families make dishes such as Doughnuts & Boba Tea, Bagels & Schmears, Sushi Rolls, Mac & Cheese, and Ice Cream Sundaes. Classes also include themed sessions like Luca Movie Inspired Favorites, Princess and the Frog Inspired Beignets, Raya and the Last Dragon Movie Inspired dishes, Halloween Cupcakes, Fourth of July BBQ, Summer Fruit Pies, Autumn Apple Harvest, Fall Favorites, Pumpkin Patch, and a Chocolate Factory class. CookUp provides in-person public or private group classes, cooking parties, and online classes, and asks participants to bring their own aprons.
• Ages: 3–18 years old
CookUp’s mission is to teach the life-long skill of cooking and baking to children and young adults in the Central Valley of California by hands-on learning. Classes include activities such as Bread, Butter & Jam, Biscuits & Butter, Carrot Cake Cupcakes, Summer Cupcake Decorating, Tea Party, Movie Night, Milk & Cookies, Favorite Spaghetti Dinner, Mexican Street Food, Fried Rice with Yum-Yum Sauce, Chicken Shack, Acai & Pitaya Bowls, Autumn Apple Harvest, and Mother’s Day Breakfast. The program teaches nutrition, food safety, and the importance of using fresh and healthy ingredients, and offers small class sizes for more personalized attention. The kitchen used for classes is equipped with child and special needs-friendly utensils, appliances, and safety measures, and CookUp serves children and people with special needs.
CookUp is led by Chef Laurel, who attended culinary school at 16 years old at Johnson & Wales University in Rhode Island. She holds an Associate of Science in Baking & Pastry Arts and a Bachelor of Science in Culinary Nutrition, and has over 20 years of professional experience in the food industry. Her background includes work as a high volume caterer, culinary nutrition instructor for a weight loss academy, manager for a healthy fast casual restaurant, staff chef at a private golf club, and positions in a teahouse, BBQ restaurant, college bakery, gourmet coffee shop, and a prestigious country club. She has also been a guest instructor for children and adult cooking classes and has made wedding cakes.
CookUp is an approved homeschool vendor for Yosemite Valley Charter and Monarch River Academy, and an approved special needs vendor for CVRC and SDP. It offers flexible class options including weekday classes and private lessons, and provides private parties to celebrate any occasion, big or small. CookUp is described as a leading culinary enjoyment experience for kids and families in the Central Valley of California and offers hands-on and interactive culinary experiences designed to empower young chefs.
Parents and students have shared that kids “love the CookUp classes” and “ask to go back,” and that they “learned skills they can use at home.” Families mention that Chef Laurel is “nice, kind, and very patient with the kids,” and that classes offer “fun bonding time” and “opportunities for the kids to practice knife skills, kitchen skills, and listening.” One parent noted that their child’s interest in cooking was nurtured and that the child “cannot wait for her next class,” and an 11-year-old student said CookUp classes are “great” and that participants “get to meet other kids, make friends, and make delicious savory and sweet dishes.”
Last updated June 20, 2026.
• Ages: 3–18 years old
CookUp’s mission is to teach the life-long skill of cooking and baking to children and young adults in the Central Valley of California by hands-on learning. Classes include activities such as Bread, Butter & Jam, Biscuits & Butter, Carrot Cake Cupcakes, Summer Cupcake Decorating, Tea Party, Movie Night, Milk & Cookies, Favorite Spaghetti Dinner, Mexican Street Food, Fried Rice with Yum-Yum Sauce, Chicken Shack, Acai & Pitaya Bowls, Autumn Apple Harvest, and Mother’s Day Breakfast. The program teaches nutrition, food safety, and the importance of using fresh and healthy ingredients, and offers small class sizes for more personalized attention. The kitchen used for classes is equipped with child and special needs-friendly utensils, appliances, and safety measures, and CookUp serves children and people with special needs.
CookUp is led by Chef Laurel, who attended culinary school at 16 years old at Johnson & Wales University in Rhode Island. She holds an Associate of Science in Baking & Pastry Arts and a Bachelor of Science in Culinary Nutrition, and has over 20 years of professional experience in the food industry. Her background includes work as a high volume caterer, culinary nutrition instructor for a weight loss academy, manager for a healthy fast casual restaurant, staff chef at a private golf club, and positions in a teahouse, BBQ restaurant, college bakery, gourmet coffee shop, and a prestigious country club. She has also been a guest instructor for children and adult cooking classes and has made wedding cakes.
CookUp is an approved homeschool vendor for Yosemite Valley Charter and Monarch River Academy, and an approved special needs vendor for CVRC and SDP. It offers flexible class options including weekday classes and private lessons, and provides private parties to celebrate any occasion, big or small. CookUp is described as a leading culinary enjoyment experience for kids and families in the Central Valley of California and offers hands-on and interactive culinary experiences designed to empower young chefs.
Parents and students have shared that kids “love the CookUp classes” and “ask to go back,” and that they “learned skills they can use at home.” Families mention that Chef Laurel is “nice, kind, and very patient with the kids,” and that classes offer “fun bonding time” and “opportunities for the kids to practice knife skills, kitchen skills, and listening.” One parent noted that their child’s interest in cooking was nurtured and that the child “cannot wait for her next class,” and an 11-year-old student said CookUp classes are “great” and that participants “get to meet other kids, make friends, and make delicious savory and sweet dishes.”
Last updated June 20, 2026.
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