The Determined Chef

My niece Abby had her 7th birthday party on Saturday at the Young Chef's Academy in Winston-Salem. Upon arriving at the party location, I was a little apprehensive after seeing that the only two employees present appeared to be no more than 16-years-old, and they were to be responsible for entertaining 17 children ages 7 and under (with the exception of model-child Ben Esposito, age 9. Seriously, you should all be so lucky as to have a kid like him).

The two teenagers in charge soon proved me wrong, as they had complete control over the group (for the most part), thanks to seating charts and a few onlookers (myself included) who were not shy about checking the behavior of party guests. The two instructors began the class with some tips and instructions and then had the kids try their hands at measuring "the perfect cup of flour." Granted I'm no chef, but these weren't really CUPS of flour...no matter. Instructor #1 (as I will call her since sadly I did not get either of the 2 girls' names) showed the kids how to do this. She carefully measured, tapped and evened-off her "cup", flipped it over, and then firmly tapped the bottom of the cup until a perfectly molded mound of flour was deposited into her palm.


Then the kids were challenged to do the same. The series of photos below depicts Abby on her journey for "the perfect cup of flour."

The beginning...


The face of determination and irritation...


The face of realization that achievement is in sight...


SUCCESS!



Then we have Abby with her cake and blowing out her candles, followed by Ben Esposito with sister Sara and a partial-Jay shot. GORGEOUS!





And the most loveable, flour-moustache and all, was Max. Honestly, I think I took a dozen photos of that kid. He wasn't the happiest camper, but if you offered a hand he took it willingly. He's a full-blown sweetheart, and absolutely beautiful!