Mini Food Explorers offers cooking experiences for children from toddler age right through to teenagers. Our in-person workshops are suitable for younger children, while our online Junior Chef Challenge is designed for children aged 9–14. Our Duke of Edinburgh cooking course is aimed at teenagers completing their Bronze or Silver DofE Award, typically aged 14–24. If you're unsure which course is right for your child, feel free to get in touch and we'll point you in the right direction.

No prior cooking experience is needed for any of our courses. The online Junior Chef Challenge and Duke of Edinburgh course both start from the very basics, with step-by-step video lessons designed to be accessible for complete beginners. Our in-person workshops are equally beginner-friendly, with all equipment provided and expert guidance throughout. The only requirement is enthusiasm — and maybe a willingness to wash up afterwards!

Our in-person cooking workshops are held in [your location]. We run seasonal events throughout the year including holiday workshops, Easter baking sessions and festive Gingerbread House events. Private parties and bespoke group sessions can also be arranged — just get in touch to discuss your requirements. Our online courses are available to families anywhere in the UK and can be completed entirely from your own kitchen.

All Mini Food Explorers courses are created and taught by Jemma Davis, a professional recipe developer with a BSc (Hons) in Food & Consumer Studies. Jemma has extensive experience developing award-winning products for major food brands including M&S and Annabel Karmel. As a mother of two, she brings both professional expertise and real-life family cooking experience to every lesson, making her teaching style accessible, practical and genuinely fun for young cooks.

Yes — our Duke of Edinburgh cooking course is designed specifically to meet the requirements of the DofE Skills section for both Bronze and Silver Awards. The course runs over 3 months for Bronze and 6 months for Silver, with approximately one hour of cooking activity per week. It includes structured progression, weekly evidence submission by photo, and a completed Assessor's Report provided by our qualified assessor. You'll need to register the activity with your DofE Leader and get your programme planner approved before you begin.

For our online courses, children need access to a standard home kitchen with basic equipment such as saucepans, a baking tray, mixing bowls and a sharp knife. A full equipment list and store cupboard essentials guide is provided when you enrol so you can make sure you have everything you need before you start. No specialist equipment is required — everything used in our recipes can be found in a typical family kitchen or picked up inexpensively at a supermarket.

Our online courses are designed to fit around school, exams and family life. Each week involves approximately one hour of cooking activity, following along with that week's video lesson and cooking the recipe at a time that suits you. Evidence submission is simple — just take a photo of your finished dish and email it to us. There are no fixed lesson times or live sessions to attend, so you can cook on a weekday evening, at the weekend, or whenever works best for your family.

Our online courses — the Junior Chef Challenge and the Duke of Edinburgh cooking course — are available to families anywhere in the UK. Everything is delivered online through step-by-step video lessons, downloadable recipe cards and email-based evidence submission, so location is no barrier. Our in-person workshops are currently held in Berkshire — join our mailing list to be notified when new dates are released.

Mini Food Explorers courses are created and taught by a genuine professional — Jemma Davis is a qualified food developer with industry experience at M&S and Annabel Karmel, not just a cooking enthusiast. Our recipes are family-tested, practical and genuinely delicious, designed to be skills children will actually use for the rest of their lives rather than one-off novelty dishes. Our online courses also include personal feedback on every recipe submitted, meaning each child gets individual attention and guidance throughout their learning journey.