Celebrating the Middle School Kitchen Liberation Era

Once they entered middle school and were tall enough to stand in the kitchen without it being dangerous, I gave them permission to cook on their own.
Since then, they have been cooking every day without getting bored.
Because they were monopolizing the oven range so much, I rented an extra one through a Panasonic subscription service.
The first thing they made for me was macarons.

They cracked and didn't go well at first, but these finally took shape.
They would come home from school and keep trying until late at night.

Once sweet potatoes started appearing in supermarkets, they made sweet potato treats.

A salted salmon arrived from my parents' home, and they are filleting it.

A cake they made, saying they wanted to bake their own birthday cake.

The first pizza bread they ever made.

A cake they made after buying a terrine mold with their own allowance.

A friend sent us some shiitake mushrooms, so they made tempura.

A cheesecake they baked because they said they wanted to try making one.

They said these are pigeon shortbread and haniwa shortbread, inspired by the pigeons in Animal Crossing.

He bought a whole bunch of apples and made something for me.

At first, I subscribed to an oven range just for him, but he used it so much that I'd say the oven range itself must be happy. It was in full operation.

When he entered middle school, he said he wanted to go to a culinary course, so I started looking for high schools from his second year, wondering if he was serious.

He struggles with middle school studies, but since he seems to be working hard at his cooking studies, I've let him do as he likes. Well, I kept telling myself that regular schoolwork isn't the only kind of study, and that what's inside varies from person to person...

As a parent, I had hoped he would enter a public general high school, but he went on to a private high school with a culinary course, just as he wished.

Private schools have comprehensive content and allow for specialized learning, so it seems to be the best for him, and he continues to cook every day.

However, the tuition and material costs are tough on us parents, but I just think, if you want to do it, go for it. I've written about his journey in three parts, and I would be happy if you could see his cooking and perhaps taste it someday.

Having said that, he hasn't even become a chef yet...

He laments that it's hard to find a part-time job as a first-year high school student, but I wonder if there's anyone who might see his cooking and become interested? (laughs)