Derek Rego, 10, gives a favorarble review to the watermelon pizza he just made at Diman's Culinary Wellness Camp.
Diman junior Nicholas Mota coaches camper Kekoa Levesque, 11, through rolling out dough for a pizza crust. - Herald News Photo | Jack Foley
Emma Giovenelli, 8, may have used her own smiling face as the model for her watermelon pizza - Herald News Photo | Jack Foley
A watermelon pizza, made at Diman's Culinary Arts Camp - Herald News Photo | Jack Foley
FALL RIVER — Diman Regional Vocational Technical High School’s five-day culinary camp is designed to help kids make healthier choices and learn about what’s going in their food, said culinary arts instructor Scott Botelho.
This is the first summer Diman has hosted the camp, Botelho said. It was funded by a Wellness Grant and allows 22 kids ages 9 through 11 an opportunity to gain culinary skills, all for free. The camp runs from 9 to 11 a.m.
Botelho said there are kids with varying levels of experience and he has to find ways to keep all of them interested and occupied.
At the camp, Botelho said he teaches the kids about nutrition and how to make healthy choices.
Botelho said he hopes the camp teaches kids “to be more aware of what they’re eating.”
Botelho’s culinary arts students served as guides for the kids at the camp, helping them cook and learn about what they were making.
The camp offers healthy alternatives to regular foods, such as the peanut butter and banana quesadilla the kids made.
Botelho said they also made healthy fruit smoothies and showed the kids that just two tablespoons of honey can go a long way in a two-quart mixture to help make the smoothie sweeter and less sour.
At the end of the week, the kids will have compiled a recipe book with eight different recipes, Botelho said.
The kids should be able to make healthier, more nutritious choices wherever they go, but it’s OK not to make the healthiest choice all of the time, Botelho said.
“It’s way easier for them to learn while they’re young,” he added.
He said there are good choices available everywhere, even at places like McDonald’s. They just have to be on the lookout for healthier options.
“They’re in control of what they put into their bodies,” Botelho said.
Brianna Ferreira, a junior in the culinary arts program, helps Diman Wellness campers Samantha Holt, 9, left, and Katelyn St. Pierre, 9, create watermelon pizzas - Herald News Photo | Jack Foley
Chef Scott Botelho shows his example for campers on what their individualized boxes should look like as they begin to make oven-baked pizza - Herald News Photo | Jack Foley
How sweet it is for camper Maylee Thibault, 11, as she tastes her watermelon pizza. - Herald News Photo | Jack Foley
