Founded
2016
Home base
Oakville & Mississauga, ON
At the 2026 Event
Set up at the Father's Day Waterfront Festival vendor market on race day, sharing their hands-on cooking and nutrition programs for kids, teens, and adults.
COOKSMART started in a family kitchen with three small kids learning to cut veggies for their pizza toppings — and grew into one of the GTA’s go-to cooking education programs. Building kitchen confidence since 2016, the team has taught more than 28,000 young cooks across Oakville, Mississauga, and the GTA, with roots planted firmly on this side of the lake.
The programs go well beyond recipes. Kids and teens learn practical cooking skills, kitchen safety, food literacy, and healthy eating through camps, 6–8 week class series, after-school clubs, school-based workshops, and birthday parties — all in small groups, all hands-on, and all fully nut-free and allergy-aware. There are workshops for families and groups too, so the confidence doesn’t stop with the kids.
On a Father’s Day morning full of families, COOKSMART set up at the Father’s Day Waterfront Festival vendor market — a natural fit among the local makers and small businesses that brought the 2026 Mercedes-Benz Oakville Bronte Harbour Classic 5K festival to life.
Why we love having them at the Classic
A race built around families and healthy habits needed exactly this booth. COOKSMART teaches kids the skills our sport runs on — real food, made with your own hands — and their Oakville programs run right in the race's Bronte backyard.
— The Bronte Harbour Classic race team
Fun factCOOKSMART has taught more than 28,000 young cooks across the GTA — with every program fully nut-free and allergy-aware.
For our runners
Get your kids cooking
From summer camps to after-school clubs and birthday parties, COOKSMART runs hands-on cooking programs across Oakville and Mississauga — browse upcoming programs and book at cooksmart.ca.