La Happy Belly

Happy Belly camp was the perfect end to our summer of camps! My daughter was wiped out from large camp groups and tiring days, so a whole week with Vanessa at Happy Belly was just the ticket. A smaller sized group and the personal attention from Vanessa were just what she needed to be back on track for a school year. My daughter first went to Happy Belly when we moved to San Francisco and the kindness and warmth of Vanessa made our transition here easier. We cook a lot at home, but Vanessa has a way to get kids to try food they might never touch at home. Her experience at Happy Belly made my daughter more brave with new foods and also feel more at home in the city. She tells me where to get dinner now! Another plus was the cookbook Vanessa sent home full of the dishes they made during the week. Vanessa's banana bread is now our firm favorite. Thank you Happy Belly!

My 7 year old son loves happy belly so much! He's done it twice -- once the weeklong summer camp, and once a daylong winter break session.

Vanessa has such a great way with the kids; she's able to get them to do real cooking, with all its complexity and skill-building in a way that is fun for everyone. And the food they make is delicious and culturally resonant (for example, in the winter session they made latkes, apple sauce, and challah).

Summertime can be maddening for me as a parent trying to find just the right camp to match my child's interest at that particular point in time. I have a 4.5 daughter and 6.5 year old son who I usually put into different camps for age or interest reasons. They both said they wanted to take La Happy Belly Cooking Camp for one week - the last week of summer camp - and aside from a week at Giants baseball camp for my son, they said it was the best camp they attended all summer. I know they got their hands deep into the cooking process. They ventured to the Ferry Building for a field trip where they tasted clams and oysters and watched a fish get filet then later used that fish (head and all) to make fish stew. They learned about intestines (my son still confuses the word with contestant and sometimes says his contestant is having trouble) and healthy ways to feed their gut and foods that contain the good bacteria. La Happy Belly Camp is a culinary adventure and so much more than standing over a cutting board learning how to cut celery.

Happy Belly camp = happy kiddos and in my case a happy mama!!! Vanessa is a wonderful, thoughtful, and energetic educator who creates magic at Happy Belly. We needed a few extra days of camp to finish up our summer and Vanessa was incredibly flexible and allowed us to attend the days we needed. My son came back happy every day and got to do things I don't think he'd ever do with me --try an oyster, watch a fish being scaled, make/ eat his own pie, and create a 5-star meal with friends. I appreciated that Vanessa was respectful of his preferences; she gently encouraged him while also providing fun back-up activities when he wanted a break from cooking and the planned curriculum. Most of all I loved how genuinely enthusiastic Vanessa was about everything which was definitely contagious among the campers. She was also so patient and kind to everyone -- honestly, in her situation with lots of kiddos and trying to multi-task so much I don't know how she did it, but I enjoyed my every interaction with her and I know my son felt welcomed, valued, and just plain happy at her camp.

My daughter attended Vanessa's camp in early August this year. She absolutely loved it. She learned how to make yogurt and bread and visited different vendors in Ferry building. I highly recommended Vanessa's camp. She is great with kids.