MISHA Blackett proudly holds up a box of chocolate cupcakes, the result of a morning’s work weighing, mixing, decorating – and learning. It might be the school holidays, but Misha, 11, and her friend Neve Mckidd were keen to head to Junior Kitchen in Darlington to develop their kitchen skills.

“I like cooking, especially cakes and biscuits,” explains Misha. “My mum found out about Junior Kitchen at Darlington Food Market and it sounded good.” Neve adds: “It’s good cooking things from scratch. You get to learn about cooking and it’s fun.”

This recipe of education and enjoyment has been put together by former health worker Sue Martin and her business partner Andrew Howden. They established the first Junior Kitchen outlet in Andrew’s home town of Leeds, primarily to offer baking parties for children where they would teach the art of home cooking. It has now expanded to offer a full range of baking activities for all.

The latest Junior Kitchen has just opened in a former Greggs bakery in Northgate, Darlington, and youngsters are already rolling up their sleeves for some culinary coaching. It’s aimed at children from pre-school age to 16 and youngsters can take part in a host of different cooking experiences from the Five Hours of Fun holiday club, where they get to bake, prepare and make a main course and dessert for lunch and take home the goodies they have made, to Monday after-school club and weekend baking sessions.

The introduction of Parents and Mini Chefs provides a social and hands-on experience for pre-school children to interact and learn baking and cooking skills. There are themed birthday parties available and Sue also works with schools, for example teaching a visiting class to make a Chinese New Year lunch.

Junior Kitchen also provides baking opportunities for Cubs, Guides and Brownies, and adult Dine and Demo nights are proving popular.

Sue explains: "The aim is to get children cooking and interested in food, where it comes from, how it's prepared, understanding about measuring and weighing ingredients, a bit of the science behind the nutrition. Above all, it's about making it fun so that they enjoy it and maybe then they'll go home and want to cook for themselves and their families. We can deal with food allergies and intolerances and work with parents to achieve this and ensure that the children’s and parents’ needs are met. All staff are DBS checked.”

The Junior Kitchen premises have been let to Sue and Andrew by owner Nick Appleyard, who took the rare step of visiting the Leeds business to ensure the new building met their requirements.

"Nick has been incredibly helpful and this building meets our needs perfectly," says Sue. Nick adds: "Having previously been tenanted by Greggs, it already had many of the features Junior Kitchen needs but they have also done a great job of fitting it out with new ovens and counters so it’s really appealing and child-friendly. It's a great use of the property and the area and it's teaching children the values of good, home cooked food and nutrition."

Junior Kitchen has joined another new tenant in Northbeck House, Stage Darlington CIC, a theatre company for adults with learning disabilities that provides drama, dance and vocal coaching and performance opportunities.

Nick adds: "The two businesses complement each other really well, using their premises for creative activities that promote self-esteem and confidence. We have to feel comfortable with the tenants in our premises and we're really delighted with Stage Darlington and Junior Kitchen. We're happy to support the businesses in any way we can."

Kitchen 1: Rhianna Nicholson, 10, of Crook, and Owen Nixon, 8, of Crook, practise their preparation skills at Junior Kitchen, in Darlington

Kitchen 2: Owen Nixon, 8, of Crook, shows that cooking can be fun

Kitchen 10: Commercial property owner Nick Appleyard tries his hand at cake icing, watched by Misha Blackett (left) and Neve Mckidd

Kitchen 3: Sue Martin, owner of Junior Kitchen

Kitchen 13: Misha Blackett with her cupcakes