Students scurried around the kitchen Wednesday at the Clark County Extension Office whisking eggs, sautéing vegetables and tasting their homemade frittatas.

The frittatas were just one of many creations the students made during Super Star Chef camp, a three-day program providing nutritional education and basic cooking skills to children ages 8 to 18 around Kentucky.

Teams from the University of Kentucky run the programs and have traveled to more than 40 counties, Madison Copher, a team leader, said.

About 20 students attend camp each day to learn new skills and recipes.

“We have different recipes that we use each day as well as different lessons to maintain healthy lifestyles and to have kids be empowered when cooking in the kitchen in general,” Copher said.

The program is in its fifth year and runs for about nine weeks, visiting various communities throughout the summer.

On a typical day, campers put on their blue aprons and make three different recipes.

Students learn a variety of basic cooking skills such as proper measurement techniques, knife safety and the various nutrients offered in the different food categories.

At the beginning of the week, students made carrot muffins and fruit kebabs.

On Wednesday, students made salsa and frittatas.

Students will also break for some non-food-related games.

The program was free for the students and ran locally Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

The camp usually works in conjunction with either 4-H agents or family consumer science agents depending on the county. The Clark County 4-H program worked with Super Star Chef camp this year to get students interested in cooking and hopefully, join the cooking clubs offered by Clark County 4-H.

Copher said the camp is an excellent opportunity to make the students realize what all they are capable of doing in the kitchen.

“They’re coming to the age where they can make some choices for themselves and be able to cook in the kitchen,” she said.

Throughout the day, the staff will hear stories from the students about how they went home and made the recipes for their parents or how they taught their siblings a recipe. Copher said some students even put their spin on it, using ingredients available at their home.

“The kids are taking the initiative and teaching their parents or their siblings what they’ve learned in these classes,” she said.