Little Kitchen Academy Coming to Colorado

The first of 20 planned LKA Colorado locations is opening in Denver later this year.
Photo: Official

Two entrepreneurs behind Goldfish Swim School franchise locations along the East Coast are bringing a new children’s cooking academy to Colorado. Little Kitchen Academy franchisees Scott Payne and Keith Lublin plan to open the first Colorado LKA at 9+CO in Denver in late summer or early fall of 2022.

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Little Kitchen Academy is a Montessori-inspired cooking school for children ages three through teenagers. The brand is growing, and Payne and Lublin plan to open 20 locations across the state of Colorado in coming years with the first at 4064 E. 8th Pl. in Denver.

“Denver is a great area to really encourage this opportunity for kids to learn this life skill,” said LKA 9+CO Denver Director Lindsay Joyce. “We also have a real value on health, so I think that is definitely something that drove them to open in that area.”

Classes offer a variety of educational experiences to students including math through measuring and cutting ingredients, as well as basic science because they are watching what happens to foods as they cook. “How do proteins change? How do things smell? What do spices do? They’re reading, so they’re getting to read the recipes and strengthening those skills or developing those for the younger ones,” Joyce explained.

“They are getting those life skills, having a lot of fun, and everything is hands on. Our tag line is ‘changing lives from scratch,’ and that’s truly what we get to do,” Joyce told What Now Denver. “Kids get to participate in everything from pulling all of their tools out, measuring all the ingredients, tasting things, tweaking recipes either as needed for allergies or based on preference. Everything is individualized, so there is a great opportunity to meet each kid where they are as an individual.”

They are currently working to develop a class schedule for the Denver location, but they try to tailor time frames for each age group.

As the mother of a three-year-old child, Joyce resonates with a quote from LKA Co-founder Felicity Curin. “She said, ‘We don’t need to trick our children into healthy choices. We need to provide an environment where our children can feel empowered to try healthy food on their own,’” Joyce said. “I’m really excited to bring that opportunity to other kids in the Denver area.”

Amber D. Browne

Amber D. Browne

Amber D. Browne is an author, freelance writer, and editor based in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. She has more than two decades of experience in journalism including in television, radio, magazines, and online publications.
Amber D. Browne

Amber D. Browne

Amber D. Browne is an author, freelance writer, and editor based in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. She has more than two decades of experience in journalism including in television, radio, magazines, and online publications.

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