Youth Workshop: Wood Fired Pizza Adventure🍕🧑‍🍳

Get ready to stretch, sauce, and fire up your culinary skills! Join us for an exciting, hands-on cooking experience where you'll learn the art and science behind making the perfect wood-fired pizza. Working in teams, you will whip up a fresh, flavourful homemade sauce and learn professional dough-stretching techniques to create your own custom pizza. We will finish the evening by sharing our handmade pizzas and a fresh Caesar salad, made by you, together in our community meal.

🌽Harvest Bucks are back! Just for attending, learning new skills, and participating, you’ll receive $20 in Harvest Bucks vouchers to spend on fresh, local food in the community. Whether you're new to cooking or love trying new foods, bring your appetite and your teamwork for a fun night of kitchen skill-building!🌽

🗓️ Date: Wednesday, August 12, 2026

Time: Doors open at 5:30 PM, workshop begins at 6:00 PM

Location: Growing Chefs Headquarters, London, Ontario – https://www.growingchefs.ca

Target Audience: This workshop is for youth aged 12 to 25.

This beginner-friendly workshop is all about teamwork, foundational skills, and tasty food — no cooking experience needed!

In this workshop, you will:

• Introductions & Social: Kick off the night by getting to know each other through quick icebreakers before we jump into the kitchen.
• Scratch cooking: Learn to prepare a simple yet delicious homemade pizza sauce and creamy Caesar salad dressing as a healthier, low-sodium alternative to store-bought options.
• Science of Dough: Participate in an interactive “balloon demonstration” to see exactly how living yeast ferments and creates a light, airy, and chewy pizza crust.
• Master the Stretch: Practice professional dough-handling techniques to shape your crust perfectly without creating rips or tears - and learn quick maneuvers to fix them.
• Wood-Fired Baking: Discover how to recognize the perfect pizza bake - from a beautifully golden crust to perfectly melted cheese - while our team helps fire your pizza in a real wood-fired oven!
• Kitchen Confidence: Brush up on fundamental kitchen safety skills.
• Shared Meal Celebration: Sit down with the group to enjoy your freshly made Neapolitan pizzas and Caesar salads.

What you’ll need:

• Your appetite and enthusiasm!
• All ingredients, tools, and materials are provided.
• Bring a container if you want to take home leftovers (highly recommended!)
• Closed-toe shoes that are appropriate for indoors.
• A hair tie or clip to secure long hair during food preparation.

Bringing a friend, sibling, or support person? Awesome — just let us know when you register so we can plan ahead.

This workshop is completely FREE! However, any donations made at checkout are appreciated and go directly towards funding future workshops.

RSVP through the Dandelion Event Page. Questions or need to update your RSVP? Email us at lcrc@lcrc.on.ca. If your plans change, please let us know as soon as possible so we can offer your spot to someone on the waitlist!

We’re committed to creating a welcoming, inclusive space for everyone. Let us know if you require accommodations to participate fully.

Accessibility:

Step-free entrance (no automatic door). Main bathroom upstairs; a staff bathroom on the main floor is available if needed (note: narrow walkway). Staff will assist as needed to ensure participants can access the space comfortably. ** **

About Harvest Bucks:

We are thrilled to bring back Harvest Bucks for this workshop season! For attending and participating in this session, you will receive $20 in Harvest Bucks vouchers. You can collect these at every workshop you attend during the season!

What are they? Harvest Bucks are community vouchers redeemable for whole graded eggs, dried beans, fresh vegetables, and fresh fruit at participating local farmers’ markets and small community grocery stores.

Why do we use them? The goal of the Harvest Bucks program is to increase access to and consumption of fresh, nutritious foods, while building comfort and familiarity with local farmers' markets and small grocers. It’s a great way to support local producers and bring more fresh food into your kitchen!

About Growing Chefs Ontario:

Growing Chefs Ontario is a nonprofit connecting kids and youth with fresh, healthy food through hands-on food education programs. Their learning kitchen spaces give youth a safe, engaging place to build cooking skills, food literacy, and an understanding of food systems. For this workshop, we’re excited to be borrowing their space! Learn more at https://growingchefsontario.ca

About YWHO:

Youth Wellness Hubs Ontario (YWHO) is a nonprofit initiative supporting youth aged 12 to 25 and their families by providing the right services at the right time and place. Services include mental health and substance use support, primary care, education/employment assistance, peer support, and more. YWHO also helps connect youth to workshops like this one. Learn more at https://youthhubs.ca ** **

About Grow Cook Learn:

Grow Cook Learn is a project of the London Community Resource Centre (LCRC), a nonprofit, building community through food literacy and food security while promoting health and wellness for all. Learn more at https://lcrc.on.ca

Disclaimers:

• Ingredient availability may vary.
• Allergen Note: Please be aware that these recipes contain wheat, gluten, dairy, and mustard. Vegan and allergy-friendly options (and more) are available upon request—please let us know when you register so we can best support your needs.
• Teamwork & Sharing: Participants will be working in teams to create pizzas and salads, and are encouraged to enjoy together when they are complete!
• Attendance Policy: To ensure a quality experience for all, please plan to attend the entire session. Arriving late will result in missing the introductions and vital safety information, while leaving early may result in your team's meal not being completed.
• Email Subscription: Signing up for this workshop automatically adds you to our workshop invitation email list. We send updates on future Youth Workshops. You can request to unsubscribe at any time.