Lil' Chef grows at North Hills to offer more classes, programs for kids

The cooking studio for kids and teens has more than twice the space to offer programs and classes. It celebrates its grand opening Saturday.

Posted 12:50 a.m. Sep 5, 2011 — Updated 12:55 a.m. Sep 5, 2011

Sarah Lindenfeld Hall

Susan Caldwell is a familiar name here on Go Ask Mom. The owner and founder of Lil' Chef, the cooking studio for kids and teens in Raleigh, was a featured mom here in January. Starting in the spring, the mom of two also began sharing healthy, easy recipes here on the site at least twice a month. You can see some of them in the box to the left.

I'm now excited to be working with Caldwell on a big event at North Hills this Saturday. Go Ask Mom will be outside on the Commons at the Raleigh center from 8 a.m. to noon. We'll have a giant chess board, the Sandbox band, mascots and a craft from Lil' Chef. That same day, Lil' Chef will be celebrating its grand opening at North Hills with face painting, cupcake decorating, tours, contests and more inside its new studio. Read all about the event in this earlier post.

So I thought I'd feature Caldwell again today as she prepares to move into her new space, which is more than twice the size of her old spot at the Falls River Shopping Center in north Raleigh. The additional space will let Caldwell offer more cooking classes and programs for kids along with a small retail shop with cookware for kids and adults from Swiss manufacturer Kukn Rikon.

The space was still under construction when I dropped by the other day. Caldwell was juggling meetings with builders and inspectors as we chatted. But there are big plans for the look of the space, including an outdoor theme for one of the kitchens, complete with artificial turf and a patio in the center, and something she calls "liquid lava tiles" in another part of the studio.

Lil' Chef, which has programs for kids ages 3 to teen, will continue to offer birthday parties, kids night out events, and etiquette and cotillion classes. It also is launching a four-part healthy child class for parents and kids ages five and up, focusing on healthy cooking, nutrition, fitness and manners.

For more about the new space and the event this Saturday, watch the video. Learn more about Lil' Chef and its programs on its website.

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