The Kinderkookkafe: A restaurant run by kids

This latest unique restaurant is one to potentially cause some concern from child labor advocates.  The Kinderkookkafe, located in Amsterdam, The Netherlands is an eatery that is entirely staffed and run by kids.  The intent here is not to dodge those messy minimum wage laws, however, but to offer the kids a chance to learn about what really goes into maintaining a restaurant on all levels.

This little project has been around for more than 30 years now, being first put together as a non-profit in 1981.  The “staff” consists of children ranging in age from 5 to 12.  Supervised by some adults, they learn how to cook, how to serve the food, how to bartend (non-alcoholic drinks only, of course), how to clean up and bus tables and even how to make you pay your bill.

The key behind finding a staff of children are those children’s parents.  Adults bring their kids in to Kinderkookkafe so that they can learn and hang out with kids their own age.  Being that the project is non-profit, all these kids are strictly volunteer workers, though the food they produce still comes with a price tag.

The restaurant itself is composed of child-sized tables and chairs and the menu consists of things that children would likely want to eat (and thus cook), such a pizza, sandwiches and sweets.  Just like a regular restaurant, the kids must prepare each meal to the needs of the customer, whether those be picky preferences or allergies.  Once the food is done, adults and children alike chow down on the finished product.

Kinderkookkafe also does parties and other events and anyone is welcome to bring their child in to experience the adventure of working in a proper restaurant.  Being as how it’s located in the Netherlands, I’m pretty sure any kids that volunteer would need to speak Dutch, however.  Find out more about the place at the (Dutch) website.

Kinderkookkafe sign photo courtesy of gurman-i-ko.ru