Chef Michael Brady teaches students knife skills using roasted beets during the Lil' Chefs summer camp at All Saints Episcopal School in Tyler on Friday July 20, 2018. (Sarah A. Miller/Tyler Morning Telegraph)

Cooking lunch — one including beets, no less — might not be what most kids envision when it comes to summer camp, but a handful of campers got a lesson in kitchen basics during All Saints Episcopal School’s Little Chefs day camp this week.

“I learned that if you’re in the kitchen, you have to have fun,” said Charlotte Courtney, 7.

The students spent time with school chef Michael Brady as he taught the science of cooking and the art of bringing people together with a meal.

After the campers learned the science behind the sizzle of grilling, they went around the campus and delivered lunch to crews working on construction projects.

Anastasia McKay, 15, said she enjoyed the opportunity to learn things while spending time with her friends. Her favorite project was helping make peach cobbler.

“My friend said yesterday that cooking is a science you can eat,” she said. “I’ve learned that you should nurture people and serve them first before you serve yourself.”

Brady expanded the campers’ palates by having them work with food they had never eaten.

“We’re trying to get them touching things they might not like,” he said. “One thing that’s really big with me is that they try it. I don’t care if they like it, as long as they try it.”

The campers learned to cut, roast and serve beets, and more than a few worked up the courage to try them.

Brady also stressed safety with the little chefs.

“However many fingers you go to the cutting board with is how many you want to walk away with,” Brady said as he guided them through the process of cutting the beets.

Students can participate in a camp for the entire day or attend shorter half-day sessions.

During the next few weeks, Brady will teach camps focused on one-pot meals, farming and healthy lifestyles.

All Saints also offers summer camps focused on science, technology and the arts. Each week camps have themes, such as pirates and fairies, dinosaurs and world travel.

Twitter: @TMT_Cory