MEET OUR CHOPCHOP KIDS ADVISORY BOARD: Mason Partak
We’re excited to introduce our ChopChop Kids Advisory Board (KAB). This group of cool kids was hand selected from kids that applied. They’ll 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 Mason!
Mason raised $26,052 for his school kitchen when his was in the 3-5th grades. The school now has a culinary sciences lab so kids at Alta Vista Community Charter School get to learn to cook. We think that makes him a really cool kid! Read more about Mason’s awards , like being a Hometown Hero.
Name: Mason Partak
Location: Auburn, CA
Age and Grade: 12, 7th grade
How I got involved with the Chop Chop Kids Advisory Board: My mom told me about the advisory board and I thought it would be a great way to spread my message about empowering kids. If parents will just say yes to their kids, their kids can do amazing things – not only in the kitchen, but in life.
I learned to cook from: My mom, mostly. We all cook in our family and we watch A LOT of cooking shows
Something all kids should learn to cook is: Eggs. There are so many ways to cook them and you can add vegetables to eggs and they taste great.
What I love about ChopChop is: They are giving me a voice to reach more people, and their message is encouraging and teaching kids to cook.
My favorite food is: Sushi!
If I was a vegetable, I would be: Steamed broccoli, it tastes great.
My favorite thing to cook is: Fried chicken.
My advice for kids just learning to cook and who may be nervous is: Don’t be afraid. Ask for adult help and just go for it. Try to make things that don’t need cooking at first, like sandwiches, or make tuna fish, or a fresh salad. Those kinds of things can give kids confidence to see that they can make a delicious meal and then will hopefully want to learn to cook.
The first thing I ever cooked was: The Ritz cracker soufflé.
A time I messed up a recipe was: When I first started to cook, I told my mom I wanted to make a Ritz cracker soufflé’. When I told her it had meat and crackers, she told me it sounded more like meat loaf. She let me try it and it was terrible! I added too much salt. After that try, we totally reworked it and today it is my award winning Beef Mandarin Slider. I also learned what a soufflé’ really is.
Something I didn’t used to like to eat, but I do now, is: Ahi tuna.
Some of my hobbies are: Playing video games, BMX biking, acting, public speaking
What I want to be when I grow up: I’m not sure, but I want to entertain people.