Samantha Barnes '02 and daughter Cecily (Illustration: Chelee Ross '12)

This profile originally appeared in the Summer 2011 issue of Bowdoin magazine.

Title: Kitchen Kid founder and culinary coach

Website: www.KitchenKid.com

Most rewarding part of my job: It’s so exciting to help kids make connections while cooking, and watch them realize they just learned math, history, geography, and nutrition while making pesto!

Most important thing for kids to learn about food: That they’ll like it even more when they are involved in preparing it. Once they learn this, they’ll discover healthy doesn’t mean yucky. Time and again I see kids who “hate” lettuce chow down on salads they made themselves.

Favorite Bowdoin memory: Some of my happiest, funniest, most-memorable, and most special college memories (including my first kiss to my future husband) all happened in the dining hall. Lifelong friendships were formed over potato-leek soup at Moulton!

Goals: I truly believe the “˜kitchen classroom’ is the tastiest place to learn, and I dream of bringing interdisciplinary edible education to schools across the country.

I can’t live without: My to-do lists. They’re like weeds in my garden: I cross one thing off and two more sprout up.

Late-night snack: I really wish it weren’t true, but ever since I was pregnant with my daughter, now 15 months, I enjoy ice cream almost every night.