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“How can we teach children to eat healthy starting early and
continue their whole life? We are realizing every day that what
goes into our body affects every aspect of our life,” stated
Alphabet Chef®.
Eating healthy CAN be fun for kids…and adults. The key is to start these eating habits early and they will never change. Our body’s immune system is supported better with good foods to prevent illness and overall energy throughout the day.
When the Chef visits a classroom or does an event, the children are excited about the Alphabet Chef®’s voice and personality. She grabs their attention and can then engage them in conversation about foods. She’s able to make food more fun!
She can show up at your local grocery store, library, school or even come for a birthday party visit. The kids may sing, cook, color and chat with the Chef while learning about healthy eating habits that will help them for life. The Chef uses puppets, music, coloring, foods and other items to stimulate a child’s attention.
In this age of overwhelming statistics of childhood obesity, the Alphabet Chef® is here to entertain and teach children about healthy eating habits. Having grown-up in an Italian home with a mother who loved to cook, she was exposed to wonderful foods and tastes at a very young age. Fruits and vegetables were a staple item in her home growing up.
The Alphabet Chef® was created and trademarked many years ago by first entertaining kids in their highchairs with exciting foods choices. The foods were healthy while still being fun. Kids became more excited for dinner time than going to the park to play. It was kitchen meal playtime! Most of the time, children didn’t even realize that they were given something a bit unusual. They just accepted the food that was put on their plates as something fun and exciting. For sleepovers, the neighbor children would always request the Chef come to visit.
The Chef tries to make things simple and easy so that you can do it at home. With all of our busy schedules, it can be hard to eat healthy at times. But teaching young minds at an early age will help them to think differently about foods and to learn what foods they should be eating to help their bodies.
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Purchase A Child-Size Chef Hat
ABOUT THE CHEF
Many years ago, she started this program on a small scale in front of her own children. Dressing up like a funny chef and talking in a high pitch voice about the foods that we were going to be eating that day. Having always been into healthy eating and also a professional entertainer, it worked out well to combine those two passions into one. Her children liked it so much that she started entertaining their friends at sleepovers. An official chef hat and jacket were added and the Alphabet Chef® was born! She has fruits and vegetables sewn all over her jacket. Acting crazy and fun made it so the children didn’t even know that they were learning about healthy foods. Most of these children are now healthy young adults that have grown up with the Alphabet Chef® program. It has impacted their lives in many ways. With all of the increased childhood obesity news over the years, the Chef has decided to market her idea and reach young minds everywhere.
ABOUT THE PROGRAM
The Alphabet Chef® likes to make healthy food fun! Her crazy outfit. Her hair. Her voice. When she walks into a room, the kids light up with excitement.
Sometimes there is singing with the children because the Chef loves to sing! But the main focus is always on The Chef’s “letters of the week” that she has selected. There are fruits and vegetables that start with the Chef’s letters.
With her rolling cart of fun, she visits the classroom or home filled with the goodies that start with the same letter of the week (usually around 2-3 letters). There are some “unhealthy” items to talk about and make comparisons or alternative suggestions for those items. If permission is given, the Chef can let the children try certain foods or make a healthy snack to sample. Topics of discussion are kitchen savvy rules, hand washing skills, cleaning your work area and washing foods before eating. She also may use her “magical germ flashlight” to see if kids are washing their hands properly. She uses puppets to help interact with and “pretend talk” with The Chef. She can also teach simple organizational skills for children.
At the end of the program, The Chef usually passes out a fruit or vegetable coloring sample for each child to color and share with their parents. Or maybe a recipe as a gift to their caregivers for the children to take home. The kids could even color them and return the artwork to the Chef on her next visit. She might even use it on her website! The program is about 45 minutes-1 hour in length. Please contact her for program costs or questions.
PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS:
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Puppets may be invited to help be part of the presentation – kids love puppets!
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World’s Largest Picnic Basket – easy to transfer mobile visit to any park, community center or birthday party.
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Mini chef hats- available for purchase or enter the Chef’s online cooking contest and you could win one for FREE!
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Submit your recipe — Alphabet Chef® will be writing a children’s cookbook. If you have a favorite healthy snack or meal, submit it online here and it will be considered for the cookbook. If selected, you will receive a free autographed copy of the book and a credit - once it is published.
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Homeless Goodie Bag (HGB) project — (focused on reaching middle and high school age groups) Students can get volunteer points and help the homeless at the same time! Contact the Chef for more information.
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Design a Coloring Page – if you are an artist, help the Alphabet Chef® by doing a drawing of fruits and vegetables to be used in her classroom programs. Submit your drawings here.
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“Kick the Candy, Not the Can” Campaign - (focused on reaching middle & high school age groups) Usually held in October, students collect canned goods for local food pantries. Contact the Chef for more information.
Types of Presentations: presentations can be adjusted for any age but the target age group for the AC character program is PreK-3rd graders. Contact the Chef to set up a visit and get more details. She can discuss the goals, costs, reaching teens and her magic handwashing tool.
Elementary-aged children:
From cooking to coloring, The Chef helps bring fun into healthy eating choices. She also discusses good hand-washing techniques, organizational skills, and food shopping habits. With her famous “food letters of the week” program, she uses her “crazy” personality to get the children interested in food discussions. The Chef also may incorporate music and hands-on experiences to help solidify her talks.
Middle/high school-aged children:
The Chef leaves her costume and craziness at home and gets this age group involved with her Homeless Goodie Bag program. She combines this with discussions of eating habits & overall health tips for these young adults. There is also her “Kick the Candy, not the Can” campaign for Halloween to help donate items to food pantries for the holiday season.
Consulting Team: Professional healthcare & nutritional experts for the Chef.
Daryth Stallone, Ph.D., MPH
Ph.D. in Human Nutrition from Cornell University
MPH (Master of Public Health) from Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health Research experience in obesity, regulation of body weight, and the interaction of social status, nutrition and cardiovascular disease.
Dr. Peter J. Weiss
Author of “More Health, Less Care”
“I’m excited about Laura St. John’s work as the Alphabet Chef®. Obesity often starts in childhood and our kids need help. The Alphabet Chef® helps kids learn healthy eating habits in an energetic and fun way.”
