About
Summer Culinary focuses on hands-on cooking, including making appetizers, entrees, desserts, sauces, and glazes, along with plating and knife use. Participants make over 100 recipes from scratch and create and enjoy their own lunches and dinners using full recipes with special emphasis on plating and presentation. The program also includes cooking competitions leading up to the next summer and fun evening activities such as city exploration with curated tours.
• Ages: 12–17 years old
• Schedule: In the kitchen from 10am–6pm every day
Instructors at Summer Culinary are professional chefs who teach in professional, fully outfitted kitchens. The program is described as a first-class sleepaway and day cooking camp and as a premier cooking summer camp for teens, and it is open to all students between the ages of 12–17, with experience suggested but not required. Participants can join as sleepaway or day students, including day-only options in Washington DC and sleepaway or day options in New York City, San Francisco, and Seattle, and they may live on college campuses or attend as commuter students. The mission of Summer Culinary states that the camp is for teens who are serious about learning to cook regardless of their skill level, with the main requirement being a love of food and a desire to learn culinary arts, and that it aims to equip students with skills to step up their game and to know themselves as someone who can create and serve excellence. Families can also receive a free recipe every month via the program’s newsletter, and the camp has been described as America’s Top Cooking Summer Camp.
One 2022 parent reported that the camp “changed my son’s life for the better,” noting welcoming and supportive adults and students, evening activities to bond and create an inclusive environment, and that their child attended one week in Austin and wanted to return for a longer stay and possibly other cities. A 2025 parent survey response stated that the program is “not only teaching young students how to cook but is also teaching important life skills like independence and the building of friendships.” A teen participant, Nicole, age 14 from Chicago, said her favorite part was “making delicious food all day, every day and connecting with people who have the same interests.”
Last updated January 5, 2026.
• Ages: 12–17 years old
• Schedule: In the kitchen from 10am–6pm every day
Instructors at Summer Culinary are professional chefs who teach in professional, fully outfitted kitchens. The program is described as a first-class sleepaway and day cooking camp and as a premier cooking summer camp for teens, and it is open to all students between the ages of 12–17, with experience suggested but not required. Participants can join as sleepaway or day students, including day-only options in Washington DC and sleepaway or day options in New York City, San Francisco, and Seattle, and they may live on college campuses or attend as commuter students. The mission of Summer Culinary states that the camp is for teens who are serious about learning to cook regardless of their skill level, with the main requirement being a love of food and a desire to learn culinary arts, and that it aims to equip students with skills to step up their game and to know themselves as someone who can create and serve excellence. Families can also receive a free recipe every month via the program’s newsletter, and the camp has been described as America’s Top Cooking Summer Camp.
One 2022 parent reported that the camp “changed my son’s life for the better,” noting welcoming and supportive adults and students, evening activities to bond and create an inclusive environment, and that their child attended one week in Austin and wanted to return for a longer stay and possibly other cities. A 2025 parent survey response stated that the program is “not only teaching young students how to cook but is also teaching important life skills like independence and the building of friendships.” A teen participant, Nicole, age 14 from Chicago, said her favorite part was “making delicious food all day, every day and connecting with people who have the same interests.”
Last updated January 5, 2026.
Is this your business? There is no cost, but you will be asked to sign up or log in.