Culinary Cubs

REX RYSTADT FOR TIME
The pastry prodigies fill silicon molds with chocolate to create tasty candies

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Kids' interest in cooking has not gone unnoticed by other businesses. Publishers are among the most eager to cash in, and cookbooks for kids have come a long way since the Betty Betz Teenage Cookbook told nervous teens how to make a sandwich in 1953. "Cooking is the newest and coolest hobby for tweens [ages 8 to 12]," says Debra Dorfman, president and publisher of Grosset & Dunlop, a division of Penguin Putnam, which in May is launching a series called Dish. Each book will include a story about friendship and a recipe card. Another book, PB&J; USA (Small Potatoes Press), puts a spin on that traditional favorite with recipes from real folk as well as celebrities.

Lagasse, who also plans to bring out a line of cookware for kids this summer, will publish Emeril Kids' Cookbook: There's a Chef in My Soup! (HarperCollins) later this month. "The inspiration for the cookbook and cookware came from kids," says Lagasse. "We had heard from them about the show, and we also talked to them directly. When we saw how interested kids were, we said, 'This is for real.'" His cookware line will include a pot and utensils scaled down to kids' size, an apron ("You can't put an adult apron on little kids," he explains) and--here's the really exciting part--Baby BAM, a toned-down version of his signature spice mix. "I had so much fun doing the cookbook," he adds, "I'm going to do a second one--There's a Chef in My Pasta. Not even my publisher knows about it yet." With the trend as hot as it is, we might soon hear kids across America chanting "Kick it up a notch," and they won't be talking about soccer.