Kidinary Cooking Academy

Kidinary Cooking Academy offers weekly kids cooking classes, day-off camps, camps and events, birthday parties, corporate and group events, scout and badge classes, and virtual online kids cooking parties. The program is a mobile cooking school that brings fully equipped, hands-on cooking experiences where kids cook real meals, explore new foods, and use kid-safe tools. Every Kidinary experience is hands-on, fully supplied, and built to grow real skills rather than only following a recipe.

• Ages: 4–15 years old
• Schedule: Operating hours Monday–Friday, 10 am–7 pm; office hours Monday–Friday, 10 am–4 pm

Kidinary Cooking Academy operates as a completely nut-free and allergy-friendly program, with every class held in a nut-free environment and allergy-friendly substitutions available. Kidinary brings every ingredient, kid-safe knife, cutting board, tool, and piece of equipment to each class and does not require kitchen access, only a sink. Every recipe is designed by a chef with a Master’s degree in Pediatric Nutrition.

Kidinary Cooking Academy offers age-grouped programs called Mini Chefs (ages 4–8), Jr. Chefs (ages 8–13), and Tween Chefs (ages 11–15, summer only). The program also offers custom hands-on cooking experiences for various groups, with virtual options available, and serves as a preferred Girl Scout cooking partner offering badge-aligned classes. An online school is listed as coming soon.

Kidinary Cooking Academy’s mission is to change the trend of childhood obesity by giving kids the tools, knowledge, and confidence to make healthy food decisions for life. The program works with families across Plainfield, Naperville, Oswego, and the greater southwest Chicago suburbs, partnering with schools, churches, homeschool co-ops, scout groups, and community organizations to bring cooking education directly to where kids already are. The program history is noted as © 2019–2026 Kidinary Cooking Academy.

Jessica Jackson-Nyarko is the Director and Lead Instructor of Kidinary Cooking Academy. She holds a Master’s degree in Pediatric Nutrition, has training through traditional culinary school coursework, and completed a study abroad culinary program in France focused on French cooking.

Last updated May 23, 2026.