Cook a Multi-course Meal
Plan a meal with two to four courses and give each child primary responsibility for one course with support from an adult.
Suitable for
- Age
- 7–12 years
- Group size
- 3–5 children
- Place
- Indoors
- Equipment
- recipes, ingredients, kitchen utensils, paper for a menu
Duration: 90–180 minutes · Energy level: Medium
How to play
- 1
Decide how many courses to make and choose recipes that can be ready at roughly the same time.
- 2
Assign one course or a clear part of a course to each child.
- 3
Make a simple menu and a shared plan for timing, heating and serving.
- 4
Set out the ingredients, wash hands and clear each work area.
- 5
Cook with adult help for heat, knives and tasks that need extra control.
- 6
Set the table, introduce each course in turn and eat the meal together.
- 7
Share the clean-up in the same way as the cooking.
Variations
- Prepare three cold courses that do not need a hob or oven.
- Choose a shared theme or a colour that must appear in every course.
- Let one child host and introduce the menu while the others present their own courses.
Tip
Choose courses with different levels of difficulty so everyone has genuine responsibility without handling tasks they are not ready for.
Rules can vary between places. Read how we work with sources, variations and quality checks.