National Kids Take Over the Kitchen Day – September 13, 2026

History of National Kids Take Over the Kitchen Day

National Kids Take Over the Kitchen Day was introduced to the world by the “Young Chefs Academy,” a cooking school franchise located in Texas. The academy offers children from ages four to 18 culinary classes, mini-camps, and birthday parties with the goal to empower them with culinary skills.

Based on archeological evidence, the art of cooking has been present for over a million years. Burnt bones and plant ashes found in the Wonderwerk Cave in South Africa point to the evidence of human control of fire from a million years ago. Humans did little to prepare their food as hunter-gatherers collected fruits and plants that don’t require cooking. The flesh of animals was roasted or boiled and the cooking process was very simplified.

The early form of the kitchen surfaced during the Paleolithic era, about 200,000 to 400,000 years ago. The focal point of homes, these open hearths merely consisted of stones piled in a circle for building the fire. It wasn’t until around 200 years ago that the first partially modern cook stove was invented. They were designed in the 1790s by Benjamin Thomson, also known as Count Rumford. The stoves were essentially box-like brick structures with flat tops, through which pots could be lowered to the fire.

From being a bare necessity for survival, cooking has now become elevated to the realm of art and science, as new cooking techniques are invented and experiments are performed with the food we eat. There are millions of culinary institutions with the sole aim of teaching students how to cook — and cook well!