KIDS BIRTHDAY PARTIES
The Escuela de Rogow Neighborhood Cooking School is a rustic, fun, and relaxed backyard kitchen that’s perfect for creating birthday memories and making great food with friends! Birthday parties at Escuela de Rogow are all about cooking, eating, laughing, and celebrating together.
Everyone gets their hands dirty, learns something new, and—best of all—enjoys the food they make!.
Great for kids, tweens & teens…even families!
Here is how a birthday works...
Signature Cooking Party - $550 • 2½ hours • Up to 12 cooks • Ages 8+.
Teamwork: Cooks work in teams of 2 (sometimes 3) and make everything themselves (with a few exceptions). Underage siblings who want to cook may join a team as a third team member or work with an adult. Everyone is part of the headcount though.
Step-by-Step Guidance: Each team will follow clear instructions and hands-on demonstrations, so everyone is involved and learning. The menu is designed around the age and size of the group, and everyone gets a chance to cook, eat, and participate.
Breaks: Short breaks will be given as needed, allowing kids to burn off some energy, play, and reset their cooking stations. This keeps the event fun, interactive, and ensures kids stay engaged while learning valuable cooking skills.
What Is Included: I provide all of the food and essentials. The kitchen will be decorated with cute birthday decor, along with paper products, basic serving items, and loaner aprons. If you want to add your own birthday flair, a cute apron for each cook makes a great party favor and goes a long way toward creating those adorable photos. Amazon and Etsy have some amazing kid-apron selections. And if your child decides to make sweets, there’s often enough to make those the party favor, too!
Snacks/Drinks: Since the menu takes time to prepare, I always provide lemonade, sparkling and still water and lots of snacks throughout the party. You’re welcome to bring a simple supplement to the menu—a cake or cupcakes if the kids are making something savory, or pizza, sandwiches, etc., if they’re making only sweets. The kids’ creations will be ready to devour toward the end of the event, and take-home supplies are available for leftovers. One important request: no ice cream cakes, please! Just not enough freezer space.
Allergies and Dietary Restrictions: I can accommodate most dietary restrictions with advance notice, so your menu can be a perfect recipe for everyone. It’s best to choose dishes that can be easily modified for any major restrictions. To keep every guest safe at the table, each participant must submit a waiver. No accommodations can be made for restrictions we don’t know about, so all waivers must be submitted in advance. Menus can be changed up to a few days in advance.
Additional Guests: Think of the kitchen more like a Pump It Up, trampoline park, or roller rink party. Parents dropping off guests are more than welcome to stay and watch, but the setting is intentionally relaxed and simple. And while I love a good piñata, elaborate decorations, party entertainment, and all the birthday fanfare, the cooking is the main event here, so the experience is centered around the kids who are here to cook. If you’re looking for a place to gather a crowd of family and friends for a more traditional birthday party, this probably isn’t the right fit. The kids can only produce so much food—they’re cooking for themselves, not catering a meal for everyone in attendance. Guest drop-off is encouraged, and parents picking up party guests are welcome to arrive a little early to sample what the kids have made. The kids love showing off their work!
Event End Time: Please plan to wrap up and head out at the scheduled end of the event. I build in a short 15-minute window after cooking for goodbyes, gathering belongings, and getting everyone out the door. If the event extends beyond 2¾ hours total, a $100 overtime fee will be added to the final invoice.
Location: The kitchen is in the backyard of my home (outside) in the residential Saranap neighborhood of Walnut Creek.
Weather Considerations: Keep in mind that the kitchen is located outdoors. It is generally comfortable under the pavilion in summer weather or light spring rains. However, sometimes weather conditions may require an event to be adjusted, postponed, or canceled. Wind presents the greatest challenge during rain and may make it impractical to be celebrating outdoors. In such cases, collaboratively, we will make the decision to proceed, adjust timing, postpone, or cancel the event. If an event is canceled due to weather, the deposit will be fully refunded. Most weather-related decisions are typically made once reliable forecasts are available, generally within 10 days of the scheduled event.
Younger birthday kiddo? My parties are designed for ages 8+. If your birthday child is younger, I recommend coming back when they're of age. You'll enjoy the experience much more when they are older!
It is possible to get a minor cut or burn in the kitchen—this kitchen is no different! I take safety seriously and do everything I can to prevent injuries, but minor kitchen mishaps can happen when kids are learning to cook. It’s part of the hands-on experience!
Need room for more?
Big Birthday Crew - $725 • 2½ hours • 13–18 cooks • Ages 8+
Sometimes the guest list has a mind of its own! If you need to accommodate more than 12 cooks, I can host up to 18 using a modified format. It is a tighter fit, but it can be a great solution when trimming the guest list down to 12 just isn't in the cards. This option is simply here for those times when you need the extra capacity—and I'm happy to make it work! Here is how I do it…
The menu is limited to recipes that work well for a large group. I will walk you through some options.
Everyone gets a job and a chance to get hands-on. The difference is that kids will share the cooking tasks rather than each doing every part of the recipe.
The same 2½-hour party format applies with breaks, drinks and snacks.
The cooks will need most of the space in the kitchen. There simply isn't room for many spectators nearby. There are other areas of the backyard where parents can relax if they would like to stay but drop off is strongly encouraged.
To Get Started
Scroll through the calendar to view available dates. Dates are not reserved more than 90 days in advance.
You may secure your date immediately with a $100 deposit, or feel free to reach out with your interest or questions. Weekend dates do disappear quickly but I’m happy to place a 3 day hold on your preferred date, before any payment is necessary, while you decide if it’s the right recipe for your group. Timing is always flexible, the time on the calendar is just a placeholder.
If you need to select a different date from the one you have secured, let me know. Your deposit may be applied to any other available date—no need to start from scratch, we can just swap ingredients!
Once your date is secured, we can start cooking up the details and planning your menu!
The kitchen is outdoors so I close for the winter from mid-November to mid-February, but the online calendar remains open for booking events up to 90 days in advance.