Cooking Up Change

08/25/2025

As the summer is quickly coming to a close we are so proud of our new Junior Chef youth and how much they have learned about seasonal cooking. Josh is one of a few who have embarked on private 1:1 lessons with Chef Pam Fanjoy to hone his skills in the kitchen. Starting with foraging our teaching garden in Guelph, he made rhurbarb pies, then moved indoors to learn about spice mixtures, Mexican cuisine, knife skills with seasonal vegetables and this week we were onto corned bruschetta bread!

What a remarkable young man, naturally talented and a real joy to be teaching.

07/19/2025

Weekends are a favorite time here at our culinary studio as we cook and provide emotional support to teens one on one. This summer Chef Pam is working with older teens developing more independence (15-24 years old) and Cai, our Junior Chef Coordinator and Cook is cooking on Sundays with 12-17 year olds . These individual culinary therapy classes are perfect for youth with autism, social anxiety, FAS, or other challenges. We customize how we approach teaching each teen critical life skills to help them find a safe space to embrace who they authentically are, while also supporting their parents through that process.

We are currently accepting a limited number of new clients, aged 12-24 for these individual Culinary Fundamentals Classes, Level 1 and 2, for August. Contact pam@chefpamfanjoy.com for more information.

06/27/2025

Happy Pride Weekend to all of those who celebrate their uniqueness and to our allies. We celebrate all year long and welcome youth who identify across the spectrum into our culinary Junior Chef Programs. Our Rainbow Connections Culinary Program has been operating since 2019 and will be having some exciting new changes coming up this summer as our outdoor kitchen. in Guelph evolves so stay tuned here for further updates in the month ahead.

04/21/2025

https://calendly.com/pamfanjoy/counselling-appointment

We are thrilled to now be accepting a limited number of new counselling clients now with appointments available immediately, when you need them, with no waiting list. THIS is the way counselling should be provided. All counselling appointments are now being provided directly by Pam Fanjoy, who is a clinical social worker with 30 years of

Click on the Calendly link below to book your first appointment and see how we can support the changes that you want to make in your life.

All counselling sessions are currently taking place on ZOOM. This booking page will be for a 60 minute Zoom session with Pam Fanjoy MSW, RSW. Should you wish to book a longer session at the prorated fee, please email Pam directly at pam@chefpamfanjoy.com for a different booking link.Please note that

02/06/2025

Come join us as we open up opportunities for 2-3 new Board of Directors for 2025/2026 who will provide strategic leadership as we build capacity to continue and . We are looking to bring your experience in education, health care, mental health or finance to our table, in order to make a difference as we whisk together innovative solutions, to address social isolation and hunger in our community.

"I envision a world where everyone has access to healthy food, the knowledge and resources to know how to cook it and someone to gather around a table to enjoy it with so that they can nourish their physical and mental health, reach their full potential and live joyful lives, sustainably." Chef Pam Fanjoy

Applications will be open until February 15, 2025. We appreciate your interest and resume being submitted at the link below in the comments or directly to pam@fanjoycookingupchange.com

01/23/2025

When there is a cold snap we might as well teach teens how to embrace the weather and use our outdoor pizza oven in the winter months. Leo and Joseph tried their hand at pizza and calazones last weekend. They learned about making dough, how high heat works and a lot about fire safety that clearly showed that they were superstars at the oven.

This made for a delicious dinner to take home to share with their families.

We are currently accepting new youth for our 1:1 weekend lessons this winter season.

12/11/2024

We pleased with our popular demand, we are now offering limited weekday after school availability for our Fanjoy Junior Chef™ Culinary & Life Skills individual classes in Guelph. These classes are specifically targeted towards youth 12-25 years old who manage ASD, Learning Exceptions, or mental health concerns including social anxiety. With individualized attention, we see progress within weeks in our culinary therapy programs.

Please email pam@chefpamfanjoy.com directly for more infomation and to book a Discovey Call to see if this program will be useful to your child.

The perfect Christmas gift this year!

11/28/2024

We are excited to announce openings for our 1:1 private classes, held at our Surrey street location. Open to youth 11-24, the home kitchen environment offers more space and less noise than a typical commercial kitchen. Private classes offer direct parent/guardian feedback after each class as well as flexibility, with your 4 classes available to be used over 6 weeks. Individualized classes allow Junior Chefs to learn at their own pace and to their own ability level.

09/26/2024

We are thrilled to be launching our NEW Fanjoy Culinary Classics Program this fall in Guelph at Einsteins Cafe, Sundays 1-3pm for high school teens and young adults, aged 14+ . These classes are geared specifically to neurotypical youth who are performing in or around grade level and who have a keen interest and/or experience in the kitchen already. Learning the classics of French cooking, Chef Pam will teach teens how to hone their knife skills, cooperate in the kitchen with others as part of a team and a variety of culinary techniques that will have them creating delicious meals at home, while also training to be in a professional kitchen should they wish to consider working in the restaurant or hospitality industry.

With 5 levels, each 8 weeks long, youth 15 years+ will be eligible to enter our preemployment program just in time for next summer.

For more information, fees and 4 week block dates, click the link below. Please note, group start dates will begin only when we have 4 youth registered to attend and may be delayed accordinly.

Additional Fanjoy Culinary Fundamentals & Life Skills Programs for neurodivergent teens are also now open for registration and can be found on our website.



https://www.cookingupchange.ca/junior-Chef Pam Fanjoy

Fanjoy’s Junior Chef™ programming provides teens and young adults with innovative cooking classes and therapeutic programs that build confidence, increase social connection and teach healthy life skills for optimal mental health. When youth feel that they belong and can feed their body, mind and...

09/21/2024

We are excited to launch our new fall culinary programs for the Fanjoy Culinary Fundamentals & Life Skills Programs and our new Baking Bliss Saturday Programs in Guelph. With several changes this fall, we are most pleased to be partnering with Einstein's Cafe in Guelph who will be hosting our classes at their restaurant on Grant Street, just steps away from our Surrey Street location. Chef Rocky and his team have been an amazing support as we launch into Guelph being our primary location for hands on teen programs this fall, which we are so greatful for.

Classes are now rotating which allows youth to join anytime in our four week blocks without waiting until the next 'session' starts.

Geared towards teens with ASD, ADHD or mental health concerns, our Culinary Fundamentals and Life Skills Program on Sundays are small group classes that allow for plenty of adapting to meet the needs of your teen, whereas our Baking Bliss Programs are geared towards teens of all abilities who prefer to eat cake for breakfast!!!

Register here and feel free to contact us if you require more information about which program is best for your teen!



https://www.cookingupchange.ca/junior-Chef Pam Fanjoy

Fanjoy’s Junior Chef™ programming provides teens and young adults with innovative cooking classes and therapeutic programs that build confidence, increase social connection and teach healthy life skills for optimal mental health. When youth feel that they belong and can feed their body, mind and...

08/16/2024

What a great way to celebrate the end of summer than to support our youth programs this week by ordering some delicious fresh Canadian oysters, ready for you to pick up and take home this Sunday, aug 18th in Guelph. Just a min donation of $20/dozen, cash only. We will have them chilled, cleaned and packed for you (you shuck at home) whenever you are ready to enjoy them.

Please message us with your order and to confirm your pick up time. Orders must be received Saturday by 7pm.

Limited quantities available, so reserve yours today, like and share with others. All proceeds will go to provide subsidies to our families for fall culinary programs being held this Sept Einsteins Cafe Guelph