The Dizzy Whisk is a place where children learn to cook, bake and appreciate food.

The idea for The Dizzy Whisk stems from my own childhood. My parents both worked and so each day I had to prepare my own lunches after school. The easiest option at the time was sandwiches.

Today, the equivalent meal is a microwaveable meal or fast food. Neither are the healthiest options for a growing child. It is my firm belief that habits are set from a young age and so The Dizzy Whisk has been created to provide children with the knowledge, skills, tools and passion to prepare their own food from scratch. This should allow them to grow up to become self-reliant teenagers and then college students who don't want to live on pizzas and junk food.

Culinary skills are critical life skills. These days, where "1 in 4 Canadian children and adolescents aged 2 to 17 is overweight or obese"*, it is crucial that we give our children the tools to prepare food from scratch without additives and preservatives. Homemade snacks, meals, breads and desserts are healthy and delicious and within the reach of any child who has taken a course at The Dizzy Whisk.

Since 2006 I have been teaching kids to cook and bake in numerous programs at the Jewish Community Centre in Vancouver.  During my teaching I have observed a phenomenon which I call "the group effect". In numerous cases, parents had advised me that their child would not eat a whole range of vegetables. However, these very same children would often ask for a second helping by the end of the lesson. Having prepared the dish together and then having watched their peers enjoy eating the wonderful results, even kids who were reluctant at first ended up trying new foods and experiencing new tastes and flavours which they might never have been prepared to eat at home.

Flavours, textures and ingredients are the basis of every recipe. At The Dizzy Whisk we learn how to read recipes and follow them from beginning to end. We learn the skills and methods of cooking and baking and we end each lesson by eating what we have prepared. I also like to teach children that food does not originate in the supermarket, but in the earth and to do this we study and use the herbs and vegetables growing in my own garden.

Cooking and baking are my passion. I hope your kids can join me in my own kitchen where we will learn to appreciate food, and where we will learn how to cook and bake for a better, tastier and healthier life.

Hilit Nurick
*Hearts & Minds (A Heart and Stroke Foundation Publication) Oct. 2008, p.4

About Hilit Nurick, Founder and President, The Dizzy Whisk Ltd.

Hilit Nurick immigrated to Vancouver from Israel in 2005. She has a Masters degree in English and two culinary diplomas.

She graduated in Baking and Pastry Arts with a special award for excellence from the Dubrulle Culinary Arts School at The Art Institute of Vancouver in 2007, and she is also a graduate of the Osim Bishul Culinary School in Israel. She did her practicum in the Pastry Kitchen at the Pan Pacific Hotel in Vancouver under the instruction of pastry Chef Ted Hara.

Since 2007 Hilit has been teaching children to cook and bake at locations in and around Greater Vancouver.

Hilit's two great passions in life are children and the kitchen. She combines these passions at The Dizzy Whisk Ltd. Hilit is married and has three young children of her own.