Cooking Class Global Feast, written by Deanna F. Cook, features a fun primer on International cuisine for young chefs with 44 recipes from around the world, basic cooking tips, and more. A few highlights include Coconut Bread from Tonga, Sweet Shortbread from Scotland, Atakilt Wat from Ethiopia, Swedish Meatballs, and Sausage Rolls from Australia. I will also be sharing a recipe for Caprese Salad following the review.
Disclosure: I received this book from Storey Publishing in exchange for my honest review. All opinions and statements are my own. This post contains Amazon affiliate links. If you purchase something through the link, I may receive a small commission at no extra charge to you.
Deanna F. Cook
Deanna F. Cook is a children’s book author and acquisitions editor for Storey Publishing.
She has written many award-winning cookbooks for kids including Cooking Class and Baking Class. Deanna is currently based in western Massachusetts.
Cooking Class Global Feast!
Deanna begins Cooking Class Global Feast with an introduction and incredibly detailed guide to the kitchen. The basic rules and tips are especially helpful for new and younger cooks.
She also provides step-by-step instructions for prep work, stovetop skills, measuring, and mixing. There is even a section for kitchen safety.
Claire is a beginning reader, so she particularly appreciated the labeled photos accompanying the required kitchen tools and notable ingredients (she continues to turn to these pages to help work on her spelling too).
Chapters are divided based on course: Breakfast, Snacks & Drinks, Lunch, Dinner, and Dessert. An additional page in the table of contents is divided by continent with recipes listed by page number for easy reference.
More fun follows the recipes with flag stickers to fold around toothpicks (these were a big hit), a food passport to check off new recipes, and ingredient/food-related stickers to decorate.
The entire book is visual-based with illustrations, large print, and step-by-step photos paired with every single recipe. Both kids kept looking back at the photos as they went through the steps. Measurements are listed in US Customary. Titles are written in English and sometimes in the original language.
Each recipe includes a headnote with basic information, serving size, difficulty level, and helpful tips. My children also enjoyed the personal interviews with the kids featured in the book with recipes they have made and their favorite foods.
Caprese Salad
Two of Claire’s current favorite things are fresh mozzarella and tomatoes, so she was very excited to see a recipe for Caprese Salad (Insalata Caprese)!
Featuring the colors of the Italian flag, this salad comes together quickly and easily with overlapping layers of fresh basil leaves and sliced mozzarella and tomatoes. Finish off the salad with a light drizzling of olive oil and a sprinkling of salt and pepper. It is the perfect way to celebrate fresh and seasonal summertime produce!
No cooking is required and there are only a handful of ingredients, so this recipe a great choice for younger cooks. Claire only needed assistance on technique while cutting the tomatoes and mozzarella.
If possible, try to get tomatoes that match the size of the fresh mozzarella. This will help with the look and layering.
This Caprese Salad is best served immediately after assembling.
More Cooking
I gave the kids complete control over what to make from the book. Evan chose the Fried Bannock Bread and Kasha. Along with the Caprese Salad, Claire decided on the Körözött and S’mores.
The Fried Bannock Bread is the very first recipe in the book. It was also Evan’s favorite. Versions of this bread come from native communities throughout Canada (reminded me of Fry Bread here in the United States). Flour is combined with baking powder and salt, then water is mixed in to form a dough. The dough is divided into pieces and fried in hot oil until puffed and golden.
Evan also made the Kasha from Russia. Kasha can be prepared with a variety of grains, but this recipe uses semolina (манная каша). The porridge comes together on the stovetop incredibly quickly with just milk, semolina, butter, sugar, and salt. Immediately before serving, top with a little extra butter and a sprinkling of brown sugar.
Körözött is a delicious cheese spread from Hungary. This spiced cheese was especially perfect for Claire since no cooking is involved. Butter and cream cheese are simply blended with onion, paprika, caraway seeds, and salt. We particularly loved it with freshly baked bread.
The S’mores from the United States was another easy and fun recipe for Claire. Mini marshmallows and chocolate chips are arranged on halved graham crackers and toasted until golden and bubbly.
Cooking Class Global Feast is a great pick for those looking for cookbooks with kids in mind. The recipes range from no-bake, quick dishes perfect for the youngest of chefs all the way to slightly more advanced meals best for older kids and teens. Each recipe includes a spoon guide as an easy reference to skill level: 1 spoon for no baking/cooking, 2 spoons for stovetop/oven baking, and 3 spoons for recipes that are better prepared with parental or older sibling assistance.
Most of the ingredients are readily available in the average American grocery store. A few items that may require further searching include canned British beans in tomato sauce, semolina, Jamón Serrano, tahini, gochugaru, bulgur, chickpeas, sriracha, empanada wrappers, adobo seasoning, lingonberry jam, Berbere seasoning, and sweet sticky rice.
Caprese Salad Recipe
Excerpt from Cooking Class Global Feast
Caprese Salad (Insalata Caprese)
Ingredients
- 12 fresh basil leaves
- 2 large ripe tomatoes sliced into rounds
- 1/2 pound fresh mozzarella sliced into rounds
- 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Rinse the basil leaves and pat dry with a paper towel. Pinch off the stems.
- Place a tomato slice on a plate. Overlap it with a slice of mozzarella and a basil leaf. Repeat until you have filled the plate.
- Drizzle with the oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Sue
I love Caprese salad, just like Claire. I am also so intrigued by this book, what a wonderful way to get kids in the kitchen!
Anjali
Caprese salad is one of my favorite salads to eat in the summer! It’s so simple but so satisfying!!
Serena
I love a good caprese salad. I’m really curious to check out the book. Such a great idea for cooking with kids.
Chenée
What a fresh and flavorful salad! Also can’t wait to check out the book!
Biana
This salad looks so colorful and delicious. Perfect for summer!