Our family recently visited Center Parcs Longleat and while there our six-year-old daughter spent a morning at the Chocolate Chefs Academy.
Here’s what we thought.
When going on holiday, we always try to make sure everyone gets to pick one thing that they want to do.
While I adore my daughter, I’ll admit that she’s not the most adventurous little soul, so when looking through the activities for Center Parcs, there were quite a few that just weren’t her cup for tea.
She does, however, love cooking and crafting and making things. So the Center Parcs Chocolate Chefs Acdemy sounded like it would be perfect for her.
Now, this is an activity where children are left with the onsite staff for a few hours and while I knew she’d be in safe hands, she hadn’t done anything like this while on our previous holidays, and I was a little bit worried she might get nervous or upset on the day.
Well, it turns out my fears were completely unfounded, because as soon as she had the Golden Ticket in her hands, I may as well not have been there.
At least I could leave knowing she was happy and my husband and I and our toddler could take ourselves off to enjoy an early morning Starbucks.
So, while I didn’t experience the Chocolate Chefs Academy for myself, I am able to tell you what my six year thought about it and show you some of the things she made while there.
At Chocolate Chefs Academy, the children get to make four different chocolate-based treats.
These include chocolate pizza, decorating a chocolate biscuit, decorating a cake with chocolate and designing and making their chocolate bar.
Before getting started with the chocolate they also get to design and colour in their own chefs apron which they get to keep at the end of session.
And it’s not just about the chocolate – the children get to enjoy lots of other fun and games in between, including playing with soft-play blocks, learning a dance and getting their faces painted.
At the end of the session, the parents are invited back to hear all about what the children have been up to and see the dance routine for themselves.
Our daughter thoroughly enjoyed this activity and it was her favourite thing she did during our Center Parcs holiday. She even got a certificate to take home with her!
She has asked to do it again on our next break despite my suggestions that she might prefer something different such as Spy School or Wizard School.
Overall, we had a great experience with Chocolate Chefs Academy.
The only minor downside was that the chocolate used for the makes didn’t taste great. I’m assuming it was cooking chocolate, which melts easily, so I understand why it was chosen.
Personally, I’d only ever use it as an ingredient or for drizzling.
How Much Does Chocolate Chefs Academy Cost At Center Parcs?
The price of this activity was £38 (however this is subject to change) and lasts for three hours.
While I think Center Parcs activities are generally on the more expensive side, I did think this offered good value if you consider the typical cost of childcare per hour plus ingredients etc.
It is perfect for adults that might be looking for some child free time to maybe book into the spa for a treatment or take a nice long walk in the beautiful surrounding forest.
Children can only spend four hours per day at unaccompanied activities at Center Parcs so it’s worth keeping this in mind when making plans for later in the day.