Fostering a love for cooking

Annie Prizzi’s kitchen at Tony’s Off Third is usually sparkling.

She and her sous-chef, Greg D’Orazio, work in total silence in the large upstairs kitchen.

But once a week, Prizzi, the catering chef at Tony’s Off Third in Naples, heads to the finishing room with the primary goal of teaching about 10 children how to cook.

Tony’s Off Third, with the help of The Children’s Network of Southwest Florida, is hosting two month-long cooking camps for area children. The class lasts four weeks and is designed to give children in the foster care system a chance to learn how to cook in a professional kitchen, said Debra Webb, Children’s Network director of public relations and resource development.

“(Annie) just came to us and said they wanted to do a summer camp for the kids,” Webb said. “The kids really love it. This is kind of a nice event for them to come to.”

Wednesday, nine Collier County children filled Prizzi’s kitchen to learn how to make pizza. Flour flew while the children, many of whom were from the Youth Haven shelter in East Naples, played with the sticky pizza dough they had just made.

“Gloves on, kids. Watch me. If you put flour on the gloves, you’ll be able to get the dough off easier,” Prizzi said, as she tried to get the children’s attention. “Don’t pound it. It’s dough, you have to be nice to the dough.”

Photo by Garrett Hubbard, Daily News

Annie Prizzi, chef for Tony’s Off Third, helps 8-year-old Cheyenne Washburn with her pizza dough while sous-chef Greg D’Orazio observes the sticky situation during a cooking camp in the restaurant’s kitchen Wednesday in Naples. Tony’s Off Third and The Children’s Network of Southwest Florida organized the cooking camp, where they made pizza for lunch.

This was the second session, Prizzi said. Last week the children made brownies, and with fudge and cake still on the class menu, Prizzi wanted to have one chocolate-free week, she said.

Prizzi, who came to Naples in October, said she started a similar program for foster children in New Jersey when she was a chef there. She said she saw a need for a program that would give the children a chance to work with adults and have a little bit of fun.

“They’re good kids,” Prizzi said. “We’re hoping to bring a little of the big city into a smaller city.”

Prizzi said she’s also hoping to expand the program to older children. The children in this month’s session are younger than 12, Webb said.

D’Orazio said while his years as a camp counselor prepared him for dealing with children, it never prepared him for their gratitude.

“I guess you don’t expect it to be as rewarding as it is,” he said. “Last week when we did this, they all came up afterward and thanked me. It was a really good experience.”

Cherokee Washburn, 11, said she was excited to take part in the cooking camp and enjoyed making pizza Wednesday because it is her favorite food. But Cherokee is no stranger to the kitchen, she said.

“It would be fun to be a chef, maybe,” Cherokee said. “I made my mom a cake and brownies and pancakes.”

Turning children on to the idea of becoming a chef is really an afterthought, D’Orazio said. Instead, the main goal is to show the children a good time.

Children will participate in this camp until the end of June, Webb said, then another one will start the first week of July. Webb said the program has the ability to expand, but depends on the interest level of children in her network.