Taking a cooking class in Paris with your kids is a fantastic way to enjoy quality time together.
My eight-year-old daughter dreams of becoming a chef and opening her own café someday. With a brand name already picked out and a menu filled with her favourite dishes complete with prices, the only thing left is learning how to cook!
This December, we enrolled in a cooking class at Chez Bogato in Paris, and I’m thrilled to share our experience.
It was a lot of fun to take this class as a Christmas-themed activity. For more inspiration on activities to enjoy in Paris during this festive season, check out “10 Things to Do Over Christmas in Paris with kids“.
Boutique
Chez Bogato Boutique in the heart of Marais offers pastry workshops for children with ever-changing themes throughout the year. Kids can join workshops or “ateliers” designed for 4-10 year-olds, teenagers (aged 10+), or opt for duo workshops with a parent. During the Christmas holidays, the classes focus on making festive treats like Christmas-themed macarons, snowman cookies, and Christmas trees.
They also sell delightful cakes; you can even order a custom-made cake for your child’s birthday party. Check out their website for a display of creative confections.
The pastry store offers baking tools and equipment for sale from a brand called Scrap Cooking and others. You can also order items from this brand on their Amazon store. Scrap Cooking provide a top-notch selection of pastry equipment, moulds, cutters, colourings, and themed decorations for all your baking projects. We recently ordered these piping bag nozzles for decorating cupcakes and cakes. There are also many moulds on sale for crafting a Bûche de Noël, a Gingerbread House kit, and much more.
Furthermore, all pastry workshops can be purchased as gifts, so save this as an idea for a Christmas present this year.
Pastry workshop
Arriving 10 minutes early, we explored the beautiful shop filled with cakes, gifts and baking supplies. Then, we headed downstairs to the kitchen, where our group of only six children gathered around a large table. After washing hands and donning aprons, the real fun began.
Chez Bogato provides a variety of classes, and we chose the 90-minute duo workshop to make a Christmas Tree Cake. In this class, we learned essential pastry techniques such as making a ganache and using a piping bag. The dough for the biscuits was pre-made, and the kids rolled it out into large circles. They then used tree-shaped cutters before the creations went into the oven.
The teacher then showed us how to make different ganache fillings (white and milk chocolate, and pistachio) and fill the piping bag without making a mess. The kids took turns decorating their trees with the different ganache flavours. The final touch was adding redcurrants as tree bauble decorations.
At the end of the lesson, we were given to-go boxes for our creations and a detailed recipe card to recreate the cake at home. The 90 minutes flew by, and the kids remained engaged throughout. The pre-made dough and ganache allowed kids to focus on the most fun parts, like cutting out shapes and using the piping bag.
After the class, we couldn’t resist another look around the super cute shop. It’s a fantastic place to find gifts for little and big chefs, including cake stands and party cake decorations. The Christmas Tree Cake we made was small, so we had no trouble finishing it the same day, savouring every bite. We’re already looking forward to returning for another cooking class during Easter, this time making Easter-themed goodies.
Prices
There are three different categories of Christmas workshops for kids:
- Teen masterclasses (for ages 10+), lasting between 1h30 and 2hrs at €45
- Kids workshops (for ages 4+), lasting for 1h30 at €39
- Parent/Child duo workshops (for ages 4+) lasting 1h30mins at €39
Our class cost was €39 per person, a reasonable price for a fun and educational experience in the heart of Paris.
Café Bogato
Right next to the store, you’ll find Café Bogato. Here you can sit indoors, have lunch or a delightful cup of coffee paired with delicious cakes. On the menu, you will find seasonal sweet and savoury foods like brioche sandwiches, French tarts and pastries.
The store is in a lovely spot, just a short walk from the beautiful Hôtel de Ville and the BHV Marais department store. Stroll around the Marais neighbourhood and browse through wonderful shops nearby.
Address: 5 rue Saint Merri, 75004, Paris
Nearest metro: Hôtel de Ville or Rambuteau station
Pastry Shop opening hours: Every day except Mondays from 11.00 – 19.30 (Sundays 11.00-19.00)
Café Bogato opening hours: Tuesdays to Fridays from 8:30 – 18:30 and weekends from 10.00-19.00
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links and I receive a commission if you visit a link and buy something on my recommendation. Purchasing via an affiliate link doesn’t cost you any extra, and I only recommend products and services I trust. All opinions are my own. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. For more details see my disclaimer and privacy policy.
