NATIONAL

Focusing on getting kids involved in the kitchen and preparing healthy meals for themselves, this program has 241 participating leagues all over the country.

Kitchenware mecca Sur La Table has locations in 14 states with a culinary program, and there are a few classes on the menu for kids and teens, including cooking camps in the summer.

Classes for kids ages 4 through 14 focus on etiquette, safety, and basic food preparation. The program includes classes paced for preschoolers that, in addition to basic culinary skills, will help kids with numbers, shapes, and colors. YCA has locations in 29 states.

ATLANTA

Located in Athens, about an hour-and-a-half from downtown Atlanta, this store offers cooking classes of all kinds—including a five-day summer culinary camp where kids ages 9 to 12 get to see food go from farm to table.

This grocery-store chain has a five-day kids' cooking camp in the summer. Kids 8 to 12 spend every day of the "cooking boot camp" learning the basics, including safety techniques. They also use foods from around the world, including Italy, Asia, and Mexico.

BOSTON

Create-a-Cook is based in Newton, a suburb of Beantown. Kids ages 3 to 15 work in classrooms designed for them while learning fundamentals like knife skills and incorporating fresh herbs into dishes. Each class is limited to 12 kids, so young chefs get plenty of personal instruction.

This not-for-profit organization in Roxbury offers tuition-free after school classes. Each eight-week program (beginner, intermediate, or advanced) culminates in a graduation dinner for students and their families.

CHICAGO

The organic food empire offers five-week sessions for kids in Evanston. Three age groups meet for one hour each week to learn the basics: 4 to 6, 7 to 9, and 10 to 12.

This Windy City staple's Lincoln Square store has four- and five-day cooking camps for kids and teens. Students can choose world cuisine, all-American cooking, or a breakfast-to-bedtime class, in which they'll cook a meal for each time of day.

DALLAS

Started by a mom, this program lets you enroll your kids year-round in classes like Super Science, in which kids can learn the science of cooking, and Artistic Foodie Fun, which celebrates the creative side of cuisine.

This fresh market chain, with locations all over Texas, has a teens' cooking camp in the summer. Weeklong classes are available for younger kids and subjects range from wrap making to a Mediterranean feast.

MINNEAPOLIS

At Way-Cool, located in Minneapolis suburb Eden Prairie, students learn kid-friendly recipes like spaghetti and meatballs and cotton-candy cupcakes. Plus, parents and kids can learn to make simple family meals together during Family Night Out classes on Fridays.

Whole Foods in Minneapolis offers two three-class series in the summer for kids for age 10 to 12 and 13 to 15, which includes one day each of American, Caribbean, and Italian cuisine.

NEW YORK CITY

With courses like Harry Potter Kitchen Wizardry and locations around the city, ICE offers kids and teens options that range from basic ice cream sundaes to more exotic fare, like Thai/Chinese cooking.

About an hour and a half outside the city in Moorestown, New Jersey, Kitchen Kapers has weeklong kids' camps in the summer for kids ages 6 to 11 or teens 12 to 16. Kids will learn step-by-step recipes from guest chefs (and taste lots of samples) during the five-day courses.

The littlest chefs (in big white hats!) learn to make snacks, salads, desserts, and other easy recipes, while kids over 11 and older do entire courses—appetizers, entrees, and more. Class size is always capped at 12, and all-day (8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.) programs are available for teens in the summer. It's located in Nyack, about 50 minutes north of New York City.

RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA

This extensive program for kids ages 6 to 17, located just outside of Raleigh in Cary, N.C., offers courses such as the Iron Chef—Kids' Style class, which includes a 60-minute time limit and a secret ingredient. The "Healthy and Delicious" series teaches kids about making fresh, nutritious food choices.

This Chapel Hill school is usually inhabited by adults, but C'est si Bon also offers weeklong camps for eager aspiring chefs ages 8 to 14. The classes span the culinary world, from California to China.

SAN FRANCISCO

Kids Culinary Adventures has professional chefs who teach classes like "Veggie BBQ Throw Down" and "Sculptured Bread Making" to younger kids through teens. There's a focus on the point where cooking intersects with reading, math, science, and art—so your kids can sharpen more than just their cooking skills.

Run by a local mom, this company has chefs who travel around the Bay Area teaching afterschool programs for kids of all ages, including middle-school students. Chefs can also come to your home teach a class as a playdate, a parent-kid activity, or a private lesson.

SEATTLE

This cooking school for adults, which focuses on the latest trends in the culinary and restaurant world, teaches classes for younger chefs through its NuKids and NuTeens programs. Kids ages 6 to 16 are encouraged to learn about nutrition while expressing themselves through food.

Located throughout metropolitan Seattle, PCC's Kids Cook program offers courses for children and teens ages 2 to 14, who get credits for taking classes and then earn certificates—even a chef diploma. Classes range from a four- or five-day excursion through the cuisine of the world to a class devoted to calzones.