Let's Wok & Roll Camp at Haverford College
- Create-a-Cook Camp
- Jul 17
- 2 min read
The kitchen was buzzing with energy this week as our Let's Wok & Roll Camp took over the Haverford College Campus! Junior chefs spent the week exploring the bold flavors and exciting cooking techniques inspired by Chinese, Thai, and Japanese cuisines while building confidence, teamwork, and creativity in the kitchen.
Led by Chef Carisa, campers learned how to stir-fry, steam, sauté, and roll their way through a week of delicious recipes while strengthening their knife skills and practicing safe kitchen techniques. Instructional Assistants Spring and I'Jhier were there every step of the way, encouraging campers as they tackled new culinary challenges and discovered exciting ingredients.
Our savory menu featured a variety of Asian-inspired favorites, including Chicken Lettuce Wraps with Sticky Rice and Peanut Sauce, Vegetable Fried Rice prepared in authentic woks alongside fresh Summer Rolls, Chicken Stir Fry with Noodles, Cold Noodle Salad with the ever-popular Viral Carrot Salad, and a fun fusion favorite—our Wok & Roll Quesadilla served with a Yum Yum-inspired dipping sauce.
One of the week's highlights was learning to make fresh Summer Rolls, with this lesson led by Instructional Assistant Spring, who guided campers through the rolling technique while helping them create beautiful, colorful rolls filled with fresh ingredients. It quickly became one of the campers' favorite hands-on experiences of the week!
In baking and pastry, campers explored colorful flavors and creative decorating techniques while making Matcha White Chocolate Cookies, Coconut Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting, Ube Dot Cake, Orange Loaf Cake with Honey and Thyme, and soft, chewy Ube Crinkle Cookies.
Throughout the week, campers had the opportunity to cook using traditional woks, giving them a firsthand experience with authentic stir-fry techniques. They also worked with unique ingredients like vibrant matcha and colorful ube paste, introducing many junior chefs to entirely new flavors and expanding their culinary confidence.
Another special part of the week was welcoming back so many familiar faces. It was wonderful to see returning campers from earlier this summer, as well as junior chefs who have been part of Create-a-Cook over previous summers. Watching returning campers build on the skills they've learned over the years while welcoming new friends into the kitchen is one of our favorite parts of camp.
Junior chef adds ingredients to their sauté pan for their Chicken Stir Fry with Noodles recipe. Junior Chefs proudly present their plated Carrot Salads for all to see! Ingredients for two different recipes. The viral Dot Cake with a delicious twist... Ubé flavored! A Junior Chef icing their Coconut Cupcakes with Cream Cheese frosting. Matcha White Chocolate Chip Cookies Junior Chefs using woks to make their Vegetable Fried Rice! A junior chef cooking their egg in their wok! Captured an epic moment of a Junior Chef tasting their completed Cold Noodle Salad. Vegetable Fried Rice plated. This Junior Chef LOVED using the wok! Plated Cold Noodle Salad (with Ms. Jess's hand).
From learning new techniques to tasting new flavors, our Let's Wok & Roll Camp was filled with creativity, laughter, and plenty of delicious memories. We are so proud of everything our junior chefs accomplished this week and can't wait to cook with them again soon!
