The Complete Cookbook for Teen Chefs: 70+ Teen-Tested and Teen-Approved Recipes to Cook, Eat and Share

by America's Test Kitchen Kids

For the first time ever, America’s Test Kitchen Kids is bringing their rigorous testing, kitchen knowhow, and hands-on learning to teenagers in the kitchen. Fiercely independent and searching for culinary adventure, teen chefs are ready for exciting, global recipes made to share with friends and family—with the support of fundamental kitchen techniques and approachable instruction. Set for release on March 1, 2022, The Complete Cookbook for Teen Chefs offers just that, filled with over 70 recipes that have been tested and approved by thousands of teens from across the country.

Whether a teen is looking to make Tik Tok-worthy sticky buns or a simple egg and cheese breakfast sandwiches before school, The Complete Cookbook for Teenage Chefs has something for everyone. With recipes ranging from Biang Biang Mian (Hand-Pulled Noodles) to Steak Tacos with Charred Corn Salsa, Arepas to Congee, French Fries and Cheeseburger Sliders to Apple-Cider Donuts, this book features helpful sidebars to ensure that teens can learn more about why a recipe works, and how to take their recipes to the next level.

Genres: Cookbooks, Nonfiction, Cooking, Food

208 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2022

Reviews

[Storywraps · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Whether a teen is looking to make Tik Tok-worthy sticky buns or simple egg and cheese breakfast sandwiches before school, The Complete Cookbook for Teen Chefs has something for everyone. With recipes ranging from Biang Biang Mian (Hand-Pulled Noodles) to Steak Tacos with charred Corn Salsa, Arepas to Congee, French Fries and Cheeseburger Sliders to Apple-Cider Donuts, this book features helpful sidebars to ensure that teens can learn more about why a recipe works, and how to take their recipes to the next level."

This stellar kid's cookbook is from the editors of the New York Times bestselling series: The Complete Cookbook for Young Chefs and the Complete Baking Book for Young Chefs. Thousands of teens tested these recipes in their own home kitchen, but each recipe was only accepted if at least 80% of the testers considered it a keeper.

The layout makes it easy to engage: what ingredients are needed, how to prep and the actual cooking of the chosen recipe. The best part of all are the photos of exuberant teens enjoying and sharing the fruits of their labour. YUM! The introduction of the book discusses safety tips and illustrates common techniques and equipment needed. The recipes are labelled beginner, intermediate, advanced, and vegetarian ( but not vegan ). Every aspect is covered in this fantastic book to assure cooking success and bragging rights!

This book is a delightful start to encourage a personal collection of cookbooks or to give as a gift. It shouts quality from beginning to end. I highly, highly recommend this book. Enjoy and "Bon Appétit!"

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

I agree with what some other reviewers have said: while there are some nice recipes in here, they do seem a bit advanced for the stereotypical teen who just wants to eat something fast and simple and get back to video gaming, ha, ha. It is a bit fancy, and aimed at, oh, middle class and up teens with nice big kitchens, nice big parent-sponsored budgets, and lots of educational privilege I'd say. Also, some of the recipes sound like they were written by an AI bot. It's nice that basic kitchen concepts are introduced in the beginning, and the book looks good and generates hunger for sure though. It can definitely work with adult supervision or overly-bright, overly-educated, overly-provisioned teens.

[Anna Catherman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have...questions as to how much the target audience will actually enjoy/benefit from this book. I suppose the title is somewhat apt: it is best for "Teen Chefs", not "teens who happen to find themselves in the kitchen and want food". From-scratch cinnamon rolls are not exactly casual teen cookery, but the book is attractively laid out and has some neat recipes.

[Abbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good

Most kids cookbooks are junk, but this was pretty useful and contained more "normal" food than most. There are a lot of different cultural foods, whether you consider that a boon or not.

[Jenn. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Borrowed from DC library.

Well laid out. Each recipe has a delicious looking picture. Just not to my teens taste or skill level. Most were rated intermediate...even the first recipe listed was intermediate. I was hoping it would start off easy and build on skills.

[Jessi · Rating 4 out of 5]

The cookbook itself was fine and had a good variety, but I just need to throw out there that I'm very tired of this trend of super bright, overexposed photos in cookbooks. It's so uncomfortable.

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of recipes , I only found one I really want to try though

[Anne Rutkowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome recipes

[Lacey W · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice recipe selection and good instructions for teens. Recipes are all easy to make, but do have some variety in skill set, so the book can grow with the chef.

[EJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

A truly great cookbook for teens—a variety of skill levels, solid directions and enticing photos, and a diverse range of options for recipes (thank you, America’s Test Kitchen, for trusting that so many of today’s teens have palates beyond bland American diner-like fare!).

[Kirsti · Rating 4 out of 5]

UPDATE: I made the shakshuka! It was labor intensive, and I had to watch it carefully to make sure it didn't burn, even in a nonstick pan. But it was delicious (spouse loved it too) and I like the idea of a relatively inexpensive, meatless meal that's hearty and that relies mostly on pantry ingredients.

-------------------------

Many of these recipes seem quite ambitious to me, but I haven't made any, so I can't be sure. Emphasis on equipment and techniques. Clear and detailed instructions, often with pictures. Nice selection of vegetarian options, but nothing marked as vegan. Lots of exotic ingredients (Chinese black vinegar, crema, star anise, various spices), but the recipes usually provide substitute options for these. I don't think any teen chef would make all 75 of these—and that's not the purpose of any cookbook anyway—but making even 10 would give them a solid foundation in home cooking and baking before going out into the world.

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an extremely helpful cookbook for teens who want to learn to cook. It gives all kinds of information in the beginning, like how to tell when meat or fish is done, how to fry something safely, how to chop or mince something, key terms and kitchen gear you will need. The back of the book even has conversion charts that are really helpful. But the best part is all the recipes. Different levels of recipes are available and easy to follow. Everyone should find recipes they may want to try in this book, me included. Each recipe even highlights the kitchen gear you will need within the recipe.

[Sylvia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I originally wanted to give this 2 stars, but I ended up giving it three because once I got to the "sides" section there were actually recipes that I thought I would make. I feel that most of the recipes in this book (that is targeting teens) are too exotic and have too many steps. Most beginning cooks, especially teens need to start with straightforward, relatively easy recipes that they recognize and when they are finished will have a sense of success because what they made actually looks like what it is supposed to look like. Maybe this was geared toward teen cooks with some experience, but that is not in line with the "how to use" section which pretty much assumes no experience.