
MEET OUR CHOPCHOP KIDS ADVISORY BOARD: Ailey Gee
We’re excited to introduce our ChopChop Kids Advisory Board (KAB). This group of cool kids was hand selected from kids that applied. They help us to test recipes, think of new ideas for the magazine, and make sure ChopChop gets the kid approval. For the next few weeks we’ll be spotlighting different members of the board. This week, meet Ailey Gee.
Ailey has been a ChopChop reader for a few years and loves dancing, cooking, and swimming. When Ailey grows up she wants to be ether a dancer or a surgeon. At age two or three, Ailey says she would stand on a chair and watch and “help” her mom or dad making her favorite meals as a toddler. She slowly started learning the basics and now Ailey knows how to make fancy desserts, many types of sauces and dressings, and really yummy fried fish.
Learn more about Ailey below.
Name: Ailey Gee
Location: Pennsylvania
Age and Grade 11 years old, 6th grade
How I got involved with the ChopChop Kids Advisory Board: I got the Chop Chop magazine a few years ago for Christmas and I’ve been cooking the recipes from it ever since. A few months later, we get a note that says I can fill out a survey to get into the Chop Chop kids advisory board, so I signed up.
What I love about ChopChop: There are so many recipes you can make and if you have used the ChopChop magazines long enough you pretty much have a cook book of amazing meals!
Something that all kids should learn to cook is: I know this may sound silly, but pasta from a box is something really simple. As a kid you’ll learn the basics like: how to boil water, use the stove safely, and if your parents are coming home late and you need to make dinner you can just heat up some pasta!
My advice for kids just learning to cook and who may be nervous is: Practice makes perfect! When anyone is new to cooking, it is best to start small and have an adult help you. You can learn the basics like how to cut meat and vegetables, measure ingredients, and boil water. These simple things will help with most simple recipes.
My secret ingredient is: If it’s a baked good, it’s vanilla. For any savory item, it’s spices.
My favorite food is: Cupcakes and Sushi
My favorite thing to cook is: Cupcakes or omelets.
The first thing I ever cooked was: Scrambled Eggs.
If I was a vegetable or fruit, I would be: Maybe a raspberry!
Something I didn’t used to like to eat, but I do now, is: Blueberries
A time I messed up a recipe was: I love making meringues but when I first started learning how to make them I never beat my eggs long enough before adding in the ingredients, so my batter would be super liquidy and not stiff. My friend’s mom, who used to be a pastry chef, told me some rules of making meringues, so now you won’t see me putting flat meringues in the oven! Everyone messes up a recipe at least once, but the good news is you can always try again and you learn from your mistakes.