Learn To Cook

In the category of "life skills everyone should have," cooking is a good idea to get kids thinking about, even if they can't cook yet. When John was writing this song, he watched episodes of MasterChef Junior* and Chopped Junior** for inspiration. He thought he would see simplified versions of recipes since these shows were geared towards kids, but he watched in amazement as youngsters chopped and brazed and reduced – pretty much everything adults do in the kitchen!

This song is written in the style of a Broadway musical (check out the instrumental tracks!), but it's easy to sing – no syncopation and a strong melody line which is covered on the recording by one of our instrumentalists throughout the song. For the bridge section (measure 34) in order to express the scope of cooking, it starts with making popcorn, then works its way up to a very fancy dish, in this case Beef Bourguignon (bor-gin-yahn). It could also have been other dishes as well (Duck A L'Orange, Crown Roast Of Lamb, etc.). Some of these dishes do have alcohol in them, though most of the alcohol does burn off in the cooking process, so if this seems offensive to anyone, please change the dish to anything you like, as long as the lyrics fit the music.

In this song the word "cook" refers to any and all culinary arts – baking, cooking, food preparation, etc. In performance, it would be appropriate to wear a chef's hat or apron. If you're looking for an excuse to perform this song, National Cooking Day is September 25.

Note – Adults should supervise young chefs-in-training, especially where high heat and sharp objects are concerned.

*MasterChef Junior is © Endemol Shine North America.

**Chopped Junior is © Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.