Summer Camp
In 2025 we are offering Culinary Adventure Camp for one week only! July 7-11, limited to 12 campers. Get all the details and sign up here…
2025 Culinary Adventure Camp
2025 Culinary Adventure Camp
One week only: July 7-11
Early-Bird Discount! Sign up by 1/31 for 10% off registration (applied at checkout).
This year’s theme: NYC Tongue Tour!
Believe it or not, the human tongue can only detect 5 tastes: sweet, salty, sour, bitter and umami. Take your tongue on a tour of NYC with us, exploring the city through one new taste each day.
Limited to 12 campers ages 12-15. Spend the week exploring the real-world NYC food scene with us as we eat our way across the city. Full day, lunch and transportation included. Details below…
Early-Bird Discount in effect!
Sign up by midnight 1/31 for 10% off registration (applied at checkout).
This year’s theme: NYC Tongue Tour!
Believe it or not, the human tongue can only detect 5 tastes: sweet, salty, sour, bitter and umami. We'll learn how it is we can taste all the other flavors in the world, as we take our tongues (and palates) on a tour of NYC, exploring one new taste each day.
Detailed itinerary is in development, but here’s some of what we’ll explore:
Sweet!
That's right, baby! We'll taste and describe the differences between different sweet things like honey, cane sugar and maple syrup, and we'll also be able to detect the sweet in roasted carrots and caramelized onions! And of course, we'll eat lots of sweets. Yum!
Salt is magical.
Not only does it make things like French fries, potato chips and popcorn taste deliciously salty, but it also keeps food from going bad, and has the power to bring out every other flavor! We'll tour NYC in search of the best salty foods, explore the preservation powers of this mighty mineral in things like ham and hot dogs, and taste-test our way through lots of delicious treats to teach our palates about the power of salt.
Pucker up, baby.
Sour makes us pucker and chefs often call these foods "acids": lemons, limes and oranges, as well as vinegar and wine! (Don't worry parents, we won't taste wine.) But we will explore the role of all of these flavors in brightening flavors in things like adobo, tacos, lemonade, and wine sauce on a steak.
Don’t be so bitter.
And don't be afraid - because Bitter Day means Chocolate Day! Yup, chocolate is bitter, and so is the kale in your favorite salad, the bok choy in your ramen bowl and the coffee in your frapuccino. We'll find out which of us is the most sensitive to bitter (everybody's different!), we'll learn to distinguish between sour and bitter, we'll visit chocolate shops, and more.
Umami tsunami.
Umami is really hard to describe, but it’s all around us! And by the end of camp, you should be able to detect it in your favorite tomato sauce, hamburger, sushi dinner or parmesan pasta.
More about Culinary Adventure Camp:
Here’s me with our campers , passing under the Brooklyn Bridge on our way to visit the Raaka bean-to-bar chocolate factory in Red Hook, Brooklyn (2019)
What’s Culinary Adventure Camp?
This is a one-of-a-kind experience, created by me (Lynley, hi!) to take advantage of the NYC food scene and provide an experience kids can’t get anywhere else. We spend the week having food adventures in the real world with real New Yorkers.
We eat, we walk, we learn about food and we take public transportation. We meet lots of different kinds of people and we explore the way food connects with history and culture.
And most of all, we have fun!
Who’s it for?
Adventure Camp is for 12-15 year-olds, whether adventurous or not-so-adventurous eaters! Foodie kids will have much to pique their palates, and there will also be plenty of foods that are familiar and enjoyable to most kids.
No matter what we're eating, we never force or pressure kids to taste anything they don't want to try. (In fact, kids who are nervous about finding something they will like are welcome to bring a bag lunch - no shame!) Adventure Kitchen is all about joyfully encountering food as a means of discovery and connection, and there will be something for everyone as we have fun exploring the world of food around us.
We stopped for a traditional Japanese breakfast (2018)
How does camp work?
Our campers posing in front of the Empire State Building (2018)
We take the train together from Montclair into NYC, and spend each day walking and taking public transportation all over the city.
Drop off is at Walnut St. Train Station in Montclair, NJ at about 8:30am each morning (exact itinerary coming late spring 2025). We return to the same train station at around 5-5:15pm each day. (We text families each afternoon to confirm we’re on the train.)
We are a small group of 12 campers, accompanied by me and an adult assistant (more about us below). We keep the group small so we can keep a close eye on everyone, have a more “real” experience than larger tour groups, and have the flexibility for extra exploring.
We spend each day tasting and touring through venues that are carefully chosen by me to give the campers a unique, curated culinary experience. And - it’s an adventure! So we always leave a little time for unexpected discoveries and side trips. (More on this below!)
Lunch, tastings, tickets and transportation are all included each day. (Many kids also bring a little spending money for extras, up to you!).
There is tons of walking (up to 8+ miles/day!) and we take public transportation with everyday New Yorkers. We'll visit a mix of indoor and outdoor venues so kids should wear sturdy walking shoes, dress for the weather, wear sunblock, bring a water bottle and be prepared to carry their own things themselves.
Early bird discount! Sign up by midnight 1/31 for 10% off registration (applied at checkout).
One week only! July 7-11
What’s the itinerary?
As described above, this year’s theme is NYC Tongue Tour! As we create a more detailed itinerary we’ll share it with camp families. But here are some favorite destinations from past years:
Museum of Food and Drink
Chinatown
The High Line
Raaka Chocolate
Chelsea Market
Cheese factories
Cultural museums
Historical landmarks
Funky doughnut shops
…and so much more!
My goal is always to make the experience super fun and adventurous (of course!).
A moment of silliness oustide the Museum of Food and Drink in Brooklyn (2018)
Adventure is always part of the plan!
Here we are with comedian Jim Gaffigan outside The Doughnut Project where we stumbled upon him filming a segment for an upcoming program (2018)
We like to leave things a bit loose so we can take advantage of random adventures as they arise. Sometimes we decide to change things up during the week, or even during the day!
For example, we’ve made spur-of-the-moment visits to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the World Trade Center memorial, Alexander Hamilton’s grave and many others. We’ve also had quite a few celebrity sightings, including David Schwimmer (from “Friends”) and comedian Jim Gaffigan!
Meet the chefs!
We try to structure things so that we meet chefs and other food professionals each week. In previous summers, we’ve met Chef Jacques Torres (“Nailed It” cooking show), Chef Pierre Thiam (Teranga restaurant and Yolele foods), Chef Tyler Kord (A Super Upsetting Cookbook About Sandwiches), Montclair’s own Chef Rachel Wyman (Montclair Bread Co.), and the chef-editors in the test kitchen at Bon Appetit magazine, as well as many other talented and hard-working chefs and cooks you’ve never heard of.
We met Chef Jacques Torres (“Nailed It” cooking show) at his chocolate shop and museum in Manhattan (2018)
Chef Jacques Torres spent time taking selfies and chatting with all of us (2018)
…and more chef encounters:
We met Geoffrey Zacharian and other chefs on the set of The Kitchen (2017)
We met Chef Pierre Thiam at his Senegalese restaurant Teranga at The African Center in Harlem (2019). Chef Thiam later went on to found Yolele Foods and introduce the ancient grain fonio to the American market via Whole Foods.
We met Chef Tyler Kord at his sandwich shop No. 7 Sub (2017). He signed copies of his cookbook A Super Upsetting Cookbook About Sandwiches for all the campers (highly recommend!).
If you’re interested, don’t wait!
We keep this camp small and it usually fills up! And now we’re only offering this one week. If you want to get notified of Summer Camp plans you can sign up for those emails below. But if you are seriously interested in attending this camp, don’t wait! The week may fill up before you snag a spot.
More Details:
On Monday, before we depart we'll cover NYC "survival skills" to be sure everyone is comfortable, confident and ready for the adventures ahead. We'll discuss train safety and rules like staying where we can see each other, using the bathroom when you can, handwashing and other guidelines to be sure everyone is prepared whether this is their first time in NYC or they're a veteran. There are lots of adventures in store, but we'll take things at a pace that keeps everyone feeling safe and included.
Campers heading into NYC on the Montclair-Boonton Line. (Oops, I usually remind them not to put their feet on the seats but it looks like I forgot this time, totally my bad! Please don’t judge me!) (2019)
Waiting for the train (pretty much every day)
Sampling salts at The Meadow in Brooklyn (2018)
Lunch is provided each day, along with some extra tastings and treats. We will select certain foods and experiences to enrich the kids and give them a memorable culinary foundation. Kids are welcome to bring additional spending money for souvenirs or extra treats that are not included in the day's plans.
Early bird discount! Sign up by midnight 1/31 for 10% off registration (applied at checkout).
One week only! July 7-11
Who are we?
Camp Leader: Hi, I’m Lynley!
Lynley Jones, Camp Leader and founder/creator of Adventure Kitchen. Montclair mom, food nerd, goofball and adventurer.
I’m a local mom, cook, writer, spice-maker, Spice Pop inventor, and the founder and chief creator at Adventure Kitchen. I started by teaching after-school cooking classes when my own kids were at Edgemont Elementary School in Montclair, NJ and I’ve been having adventurous food experiences with curious cooks of all ages ever since.
Camp Assistant: Meet Carl-Eric!
Carl-Eric Granfelt, Camp Assistant for Adventure Camp 2025. Here he is selling our fozen Spice Pops at the Montclair Farmers Market. He can’t wait to meet you!
Carl is an English major at Hunter College NYC and a Montclair High School alum (class of ‘22). He’s a writer and multi-instrumental musician (acoustic and electric guitar, piano, harmonica and ukulele), and he previously studied film and music theory at DePaul University in Chicago. Carl has traveled to Finland, Puerto Rico, Canada, Spain and the Dominican Republic, as well as 16+ US states, and as an NYC college student he knows his way around the city. He’s a former Culinary Adventure Camper himself and - he also happens to be my son! He’s a lot of fun, and he can’t wait to meet our campers this year!
We can’t wait to see you in camp!
One week only! July 7-11
Early bird discount! Sign up by midnight 1/31 for 10% off registration (applied at checkout).
Please note that photographs and/or video are taken at Adventure Kitchen classes and events. If you'd rather not appear in these, just let us know. Thanks!
Questions? Email us at hello@adventurekitchen.com.
In 2025 we’re offering one week only of our Culinary Adventure Camp! On this page you can see pictures from previous years, link to sign up for summer 2025 and join the email list to get the latest in your inbox.