Kaitlin Coleman knew months before her eighth birthday that she wanted to host a different sort of pizza party.

So, on Saturday, she and seven party guests decorated paper chef's hats and sat around stainless steel tables inside the Young Chef's Academy in Sherwood Park, kneading pizza dough and garnishing their own pies to celebrate Kaitlin's big day. The group drove three hours from the O'Chiese First Nation near Rocky Mountain House for the party at the academy, one of an increasing number of venues around Edmonton that caters to kids who want to cook.

"It's becoming very popular," said Bonny Schmidt, general manager at the cooking school, which opened in January 2008. "It's very controlled here, and the parents don't have to do anything. There is nothing the kids can touch that would harm them in any way, and we are always aware of any food allergies so we can alter the recipe."

Another big plus: "There's no cleanup," added Schmidt.

The kid-friendly kitchen, painted in bright pinks and blues, caught Kaitlin's attention immediately when she stopped in a few months ago with her mother, Bernadine Coleman.

"At the time, she said, 'I want my birthday here. This is what I'm going to do, Mom,' " Bernadine said. "My friends joked with me on Facebook, 'Oh, maybe you're going to learn to cook, too,' because I'm a terrible cook. I do my best."

That lack of cooking confidence is a common circumstance in many households, said personal chef and cooking educator, Elaine Wilson.

"Parents want their kids to get excited about cooking at age eight, 10, 12, because they didn't," Wilson said. "We have a whole generation of adults who can't cook."

"My mom's favourite ingredient was cream of mushroom soup. I joke that I learned to cook in self-defence."

Wilson said she is noticing a huge increase in demand for kids' cooking classes.

Today, there is much more awareness about nutrition, food additives, preservatives and processing and the importance of reading food labels, Wilson said.

Celebrity cooking shows have also kick-started kids' interest in culinary arts, she noted.

"It's just become more commonplace to talk about food."

Wilson is running several privately booked kids' cooking classes this summer through her company, Allium Foodworks. The creative cook shows kids how to raid the pantry for ingredients and spices that can be blended in a variety of dishes.

Wilson always encourages kids to play with their food.

"It's about having fun with it. If kids don't have fun with it, they won't do it."

At NAIT this summer, kids between the ages of eight and 15 can sign up for weeklong "mini-chefs" and "mini bakers" camps. Dinner Revolution on the south side is also offering weeklong summer camps for kids that will introduce them to international cuisine.

The City of Edmonton is running 15 summer day-camps for young foodies between the ages of three and 13. All but one of those classes is full.

Three-year-old Zoe Storey is one of five preschoolers enrolled in the city's "junior chefs" camp at the Argyll community league hall, which starts in two weeks.

"I like to make pizza. I like peppers and I like olives all over," Zoe said. "I just like to make cookies, too, sometimes. Cooking camp will be a lot of fun."

Zoe is constantly asking to help in the kitchen, said her mom, Kerri Storey.

"She was telling people for days we made Popsicles--we froze juice."

At 8:30 a. m. on May 4, Kerri waited online to enrol Zoe in the junior chefs program the minute the city started accepting registrations. "I know someone else who tried to register at 9 a. m. and they were all full, so the cooking classes are obviously very popular."

asands@thejournal.canwest.com