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Inquiring Chef Culinary Camps in Kansas City

318 E. 55th St.Kansas City, MO 64113Email: camp@inquiringchef.comWebsite: Visit Website Google Map

Inquiring Chef Academy offers Montessori-inspired culinary camps for kids in the Brookside neighborhood of Kansas City. We are owned and operated by a Brookside mom and chef.

At our Day Camps and Week-Long Summer Camps your child will gain hands-on cooking experience and build confidence in the kitchen. We bake treats and design ways to present them and work in small groups to prepare our snacks and lunch. We play games, do colorful crafts, and learn hosting skills that will serve your child for years to come.

We use a variety of tools so that even our youngest campers can safely participate. No cooking experience needed.


All of our camps are taught by Jess Smith alongside a team of staff and counselors. Jess has been cooking professionally for 15 years. She served as the Chief Recipe Developer at Cook Smarts and has been featured in Raddish Kids, Parade, Hallmark, Honest Cooking, Livestrong, Self, Yahoo, NBC, HuffPost, and She Knows

Jess has a Masters’ Degree in Education Policy and spent the early part of her career working in education. She is a proud mom to Molly and Clara (age 9) and June (age 5) who attend Academie Lafayette.

You can find Jess most days of the week sharing vegetable-forward recipes on Instagram. Her first cookbook, Start with a Vegetable, will be released in the fall of 2024.