Create your own cafe

Got nothing to do these holidays?  Why not get the kids to ‘create a cafe’.  This fun activity will teach kids how to plan, prepare and serve healthy food in a fun way (and possibly earn them some pocket money along the way).

Step 1: Choose a theme

Start by deciding what you want to serve in your ‘cafe’.  Will your restaurant specialise in pizza or curry ?  Or maybe serve dumplings or a sushi train for lunch or perhaps a brunch bar offering delicious pancakes on a lazy Sunday morning?

Step 2: Create a name

The next important job is to come up with a fun name for your ‘cafe’ or ‘restaurant’!    Archie’s Pizza Parlour sounds pleasing, Cait’s Curry would be scrumptious or maybe Max’s Mexican Taqueria would be taco-rific!  Get your marketing hat on and come up with a catchy name to entice customers.

Step 3: Plan the menu

Browse through our recipes and plan your menu.   If you need some inspiration, take a look at our menu ideas:

Archie’s Pizza Parlour

• Easy pizza – quick and easy and ready in 30 minutes!  Even better, why not make a ‘Pizza Face‘
• Rainbow vegetable salad – get some colour onto the plate
• Fruit platter – a refreshing dessert to end the meal healthymadetasty.com.au

Cait’s Curry

• Sweet potato and lentil curry – leftovers can be used in a wrap the next day
• Cauliflower and spinach dahl – so tasty your taste buds will thank you
• Naan – a perfect accompaniment 
• Fruit salad parfait – a delicious after-dinner treat

Max’s Mexican

• Guacamole and pita chips – a delicious starter option
• Mexican meatballs and salad – get your Mexican fix with this tasty meal
• Chicken burrito bowls – great alternative if you don’t feel like meatballs

Josh’s Japanese

• Pork gyoza – did you know that ‘gyoza’ is another word for Japanese dumplings?
• Vegetable gyoza – you can’t go past trying our veg gyoza 
• Rainbow sushi – a colourful way to get your vegies

Brianna’s Brunch Bar

• Banana pikelets – one word ‘AMAZING!’
• Easy savoury muffins – a delicious way to start the day
• Apple pie overnight oats – it will be like eating dessert for breakfast!

Need more inspiration?  Check out our YouTube channel!

Step 4: Design the menu

Get creative and design up a menu, placemats and name tags.  Download our menu template or make your own.  Check out our menu for Archie’s Pizza Parlour for inspiration.  You could even make your own chef hat – watch this video for simple instructions on how.

If you are business-minded, you could list the price of each dish on the menu and earn some for all your hard work!

Step 5: Set the table ready for customers

Depending on your theme, will you be setting the table with a tablecloth, placemats and serviettes or is it more of a casual affair?  The choice is yours!  Most important is the menu for your customers to peruse.

Step 6: Take orders from your customers

Grab your menus and get to work!  Take orders from your ‘customers’, you might want to ‘up-sell’ the meal and add a special ‘berrylicious smoothie‘ for only $1 .

Step 7: Get cooking!

Be like a real chef and ‘mise en place’ – which means ‘get organised’:

• Gather your ingredients.
• Gather your tools – what saucepans, spoons, knives or cutting boards do you need?
• Get an adult to help pre-measure and prepare the ingredients.
• Put anything away that you don’t need before you start cooking.
• Get cooking!

Step 8: Time to serve and enjoy!

Plate your dishes and serve up.

Step 9: Clean up

Remember not to leave the dishes for the adults – that is unless they don’t pay up 🙂

© Cancer Council NSW 2024 Head Office Address: 153 Dowling Street, Woolloomooloo NSW 2011. Cancer Council NSW is registered with the Australian Taxation Office as an Income Tax Exempt Charity: Charitable Fundraising Authority No. 18521.

Some images on this site have been supplied by Cancer Council Western Australia's Crunch & Sip website