Season 3, Episode 6:
Kitchen Personalities

Conner: (00:01)
Welcome to Kiddos in the Kitchen, a podcast hosted by my mom.

Alison Settle: (00:18)
Kitchens can be sort of a motley crew of people, and I think a lot of families would say my kids are a dang motley crew and they don't resemble each other at all. And trying to figure out how to nurture them, grow them, strengthening them and all of that, it's difficult.

Stephanie: (00:34)
Alison Settle has been a professional chef for over 10 years. She's the executive chef at Barn8 at Hermitage Farm located in Goshen, Kentucky, about 20 minutes east of Louisville. She's also mom to adorable 5-year-old, Arlo.

Stephanie: (00:53)
Welcome to Kiddos in the Kitchen, a podcast about helping busy adults find the inspiration and information they need to teach the kids in their lives how to cook. I'm your host, Stephanie Conner. And today, we're talking about different personalities in the kitchen, and we have a cooking kiddo later in the show as well.

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Stephanie: (01:51)
Alison has worked in professional kitchens for a number of years, and one thing it's taught her is to appreciate everyone's differences, their various strengths, weaknesses, and interests.

Alison Settle: (02:05)
You have people of lots of varying abilities, experiences, ages, and temperaments, and managing those people is kind of figuring out where they fit in and what tasks you can trust them with. You want to give people something to do; something that makes them feel empowered, appreciated, and that's within their abilities. So that they feel confident in their skills and then they'll maybe try something a little different next time. Managing a kitchen is a lot like managing a family. It's not necessarily like some sort of office situation where, I'm going to just say accounting. I'm not trying to generalize accounting or anything like that, but you go into an accounting office and I think a lot of times you're going to find a lot of people that like math, a lot of people that enjoy crunching numbers, you all work nine to five, you all have a similar education background. They're all sort of similar people.

Alison Settle: (03:00)
When you go into kitchen settings, you'll find that a lot of times people who work in restaurants in the service industry are people that either need flexibility, have other things going on during the day, or even are musicians that need weird schedules or people that just like haven't ever fit in anywhere else. You're going to find a lot of different kinds of personalities in kitchen and restaurant work, and I think that's sort of like running a family. I only have one child, but I'm sure if I had more, that they would have different personalities from each other and I would have to figure out, what are their strengths? What are their likes and their dislikes? What do I need to educate them on? And craft kitchen activities. Kitchens can be sort of a motley crew of people. And I think a lot of families would say, my kids are a dang motley crew and they don't resemble each other at all. And trying to figure out how to nurture them, grow them, strengthening them, and all of that, it's difficult.

Stephanie: (03:57)
When you bring your kiddo into the kitchen, it's also helpful to remember your own personality. What do you, as the grownup in the kitchen, need to feel good and relaxed. Alison knows herself. So she needs to maintain a certain level of control and she needs to plan ahead for Arlo to join her.

Alison Settle: (04:20)
This might sound kind of awful, but I'm really a control freak in the kitchen, and there's a reason for that. It's my occupation, it completely makes sense that I would be that way. And so to a certain extent, I kind of appreciate when I can invite him into the kitchen when I've set aside a task for him that I feel is within his realm of ability and that it's going to interest him, but that is within my control. I'll go ahead and pre-chop something, pre-measure something, and get it all set up. He has some sensory-seeking issues and I really need to keep that as simple and easy to execute as possible and fun. For my sanity and for his. I will almost always involve him in at least one task and he's usually pretty keen on it.

Stephanie: (05:11)
As parents, we are trying to teach our kids various skills in the kitchen, and it helps to remember that we all have different learning styles. Some kids might want to watch a video lesson or read some instructional text before diving in. Some might want a more formalized lesson, while others just want to dig in and learn. Alison's son is highly inquisitive by nature and he asks a lot of questions.

Alison Settle: (05:40)
I don't have to, like, really dig into him to try and figure out what is he interested in. He tells me, which I'm very thankful for. He'll come into the kitchen and be like, what's this? Can I put this in here? How do I hold this? This is yellow. This is purple. This is that and I want to hold it and I want to do it. He's very much like that. I don't necessarily have to craft these elaborate learning experiences for him. I do sometimes. I love to teach. I do teach Arlo as much as possible, but he's so busy. I have to be on my game, very concise answers. What is this? It's an onion. How's it cut? It's a [inaudible 00:06:22]. And then like a flash in 30 seconds he'll be gone in another room, doing something else. So, for me, it's just trying to capitalize on those moments when he is being inquisitive. It's not necessarily about coming up with an experience for him to sit down, he's just not that kind of kid. Some kids are and some kids aren't!

Stephanie: (06:43)
To help engage Arlo and ensure he has tasks he can handle, Alison relies on mis en place.

Alison Settle: (06:50)
Usually what I'm doing is I'm just making my mis en place like I would in any restaurant, in any kitchen. I'm chopping my vegetables, I don't really measure anything, but I'll put aside my spices and try and put them in little containers. Something that I may not have done before Arlo is separate everything into different bowls, but I do it now for him so that he has more activities. He's getting interested in knife work now, so I'll usually set up his own little cutting board and he'll stand on a chair. I'll give him a dull paring knife and let him chop alongside me if he's interested in doing that. He's a pretty inquisitive kid and I don't really have any trouble shoving information into his face anytime he asks for it, but it's so fleeting, like I said, that it's not necessarily a rehearsed event.

Stephanie: (07:39)
So you mentioned the knife work that he is getting interested in now. What else gets him excited in the kitchen?

Alison Settle: (07:45)
Um..fire?

Stephanie: (07:48)
Boys.

Alison Settle: (07:48)
Yes, boys. The steam, the sizzle, the smell, the heat, the physical action of cooking. He is really, really interested in it and just a part of who he is.

Stephanie: (08:01)
Arlo has been raised in kitchens, but Alison doesn't aspire for him to follow in her footsteps and become a chef. She does, however, see a value in him acquiring the skills.

Alison Settle: (08:14)
I think being confident in how to cook, how to prep, how to think about how much you need to feed a certain amount of people, these are all really, really important life skills that a lot of people don't get anymore. I want him to be able to take care of himself. I want him to be able to leave my house and know how to make something that's healthy for him. Right now he's not in a phase where he's eating much that's good for him. He likes salad for some reason, I have no idea why that's the thing that he's decided is okay, but he does. I would like for him to be able to say, you know, I think I need to eat a little bit more consciously, I'm going to roast a chicken today and have vegetables, and him be able to do that.

Alison Settle: (09:04)
It's important to me because I think it's a basic life skill, and I think that we're in a place in this world where it's a skill that people don't have. I'm not saying that I have every life skill. I cannot look at tax paperwork without my eyes crossing, I just, it's like my brain just goes into a primitive human. I don't know how to do that. But I think cooking is something that everybody can do, and everybody has to eat. Taxes didn't always exist, but food always did. We always have to eat. I would really enjoy it if he could feed himself without having to ask for help. Yes, that's important to me.

Stephanie: (09:45)
And now it's time for Kitchen Questions. Alison had a couple more thoughts we wanted to share.

Kitchen Questions: (09:50)
It's time for Kitchen Questions. I have a question. What would happen if you put a little bit of the wrong ingredient inside a cookie? Why are cupcakes squishy? How often do you burn things on accident? Do you like cake? What is the difference between baking and roasting? What is your favorite recipe?

Conner: (10:21)
What's the secret to getting eggshell out of raw eggs?

Alison Settle: (10:26)
Oh, well, actually there is and I learned this from Arlo's dad. I had already been cooking professionally for, like, five years. I'd never heard this. So you just break off a piece of the eggshell that you set aside, or you were going to throw away, you take a piece of that and you stick it in there and you can just scoop it right out. It's bizarre, it's like magic. There's something about the eggshell itself, it just sinks straight through that albumen, that egg white protein that's really difficult. It just slices right through it, somehow. It's really interesting.

Conner: (11:04)
What's one kitchen gadget we shouldn't buy?

Alison Settle: (11:08)
An air fryer! Oh my gosh! Don't buy an air fryer. Never. An air fryer is a tiny convection oven that you put on your counter. If you have an oven, that's five to 10 years old, more than likely you have the option to have a convection fan inside of the oven, and that's all you need. And a lot of people are like, it's just more energy efficient to use an air fryer on my countertop than it is to use my stove. For one, doubtful. But for two, it's something that you bought that was shipped to your house, that was packaged in cardboard, that was packaged in Styrofoam, that was shipped from China, I could go on and on. You don't need an air fryer. Use your oven, please, from the depths of my heart. It's Occam’s razor, the most simple answer is the right one.

Stephanie: (12:00)
Thank you to Alison Settle for joining me today. You can follow Alison on Instagram at @alizasettle and her restaurant Barn8 at @barn8restaurant. I'll share these links and more in the show notes at kiddosinthekitchen.com.

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Stephanie: (12:49)
Now it's time to meet a Cooking Kiddo.

Cooking Kiddo Intro: (12:54)
I'm a Cooking Kiddo. I'm a chef. I love making memories in the kitchen. I like to eat what I cook. Kitchen time is the best time.

William White: (13:11)
My name is William White.

Stephanie: (13:13)
And what do you love to cook?

William White: (13:15)
Baking muffins and brownies.

Stephanie: (13:18)
William, who lives in Scottsdale, Arizona, is in the second grade. He loves math and science and has a wide range of interests.

William White: (13:29)
Sometimes I play video games. Sometimes I'll play dinos with my friends and sometimes I build Legos.

Stephanie: (13:39)
In the kitchen. He's all about the baking. What else besides muffins and brownies?

William White: (13:45)
Cake, because one time it was my mom's birthday and my grammy and my dad and me made a cake with a cut cake mix.

Stephanie: (13:55)
What flavor was the cake?

William White: (13:57)
I think it was the vanilla flavor?

Stephanie: (14:00)
And what kind of frosting did you put on top?

William White: (14:02)
I think it was also vanilla.

Stephanie: (14:05)
William handles a wide variety of kitchen tasks.

William White: (14:09)
I crack the eggs and I mix the batter and I also put all of the stuff in. And we have this shredder thing, and one time we made soup and I put all the vegetables in and I shredded them.

Stephanie: (14:28)
William has a birthday this month. He's turning eight, and he says he's ready to take on more advanced tasks in the kitchen, such as using sharp knives.

Rachel White: (14:39)
William has this idea when he turns eight that he is going to be able to expand his cooking horizons.

William White: (14:45)
Yeah, I turn eight. Yeah I used one of the black knives a couple weeks ago, I don't know.

Stephanie: (14:52)
So, Will, what is your favorite thing about being in the kitchen?

William White: (14:55)
Eating the food?

Stephanie: (14:58)
Well, especially when it's brownies and muffins, right?

William White: (15:00)
Yeah.

Stephanie: (15:01)
So you said you want to do more with the stove and the oven. What else do you think you want to learn?

William White: (15:06)
To make a full meal.

Stephanie: (15:09)
He hasn't yet figured out exactly what it is he wants to create, but he does know exactly why it's important for kids to learn how to cook.

William White: (15:19)
You can go out to eat, but you spend money and you could spend too much money. So you need to know how to cook so you can make food at home.

Stephanie: (15:30)
William is off to a great start. You can catch an adorable video of him making Shake Shack’s cheese sauce on YouTube. I'll link to that in the show notes, but cooking and Legos aren't his only talents.

William White: (15:44)
I have a really good dino roar. Roooooaaaaaarrrrr.

Stephanie: (16:07)
Personalities are a funny thing, they can be hard to understand and navigate whether you are in an office, at school or in a kitchen. But our kids' personalities and learning styles are important to keep in mind when we're planning cooking activities. A child who is more risk averse might need extra attention to help calm fears around knives or the oven. A child who is too daring for our comfort might need extra attention to ensure safety. Some kiddos need a faster pace, while others prefer a slower tempo. Kids who are naturally inquisitive, like Arlo, will keep the questions coming, while a more reserved child might need you to share more upfront. Don’t count on them to ask why or how. Alison's experience in professional kitchens has helped open her eyes to the different personalities in the kitchen. As parents, we can appreciate the different personalities of the children in our lives, but sometimes it requires a little extra thought before starting a cooking project to make sure we've thought through how our kiddos will best experience what we're teaching today.

Stephanie: (17:52)

So this month I'd like to issue a challenge. Take some time to really think about your children's personalities and learning styles. How do they learn? What are they naturally curious about? What gets them excited? What bores them? What pace makes them most comfortable? Then consider how you can plan your next kitchen endeavor in a way that delights them as they learn. You may already be doing this without thinking about it, but I'm willing to bet that consciously thinking about these questions will yield some new insights and ideas. It did for me.

Stephanie: (18:34)
Thanks for joining me for Kiddos in the Kitchen. I'm your host, Stephanie Conner, with a reminder from my son.

Conner: (18:40)
If you like my mom's podcast as much as I do, you can subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, wherever you get your podcast.

Stephanie: (19:00)
That's right, Conner. You can also view the show notes, subscribe to our newsletter and check out all of our other content at kiddosinthekitchen.com. We're Kiddos Cook on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. And I’ll be back next month with another fresh episode. Until then, I encourage you to get your kiddos in the kitchen.