Our Recipe ~ About Us


As a toddler Samantha helped her mom, owner of
specialty cookware store, The Complacent Cook in
Bridgehampton, NY, measure and mix with
confidence and ease. Born into the culinary world,
her first word was “olive”, and some of her favorite
foods as a child were sushi, caviar, and smoked
salmon!

Throughout her education at Deerfield Academy
and Bowdoin College, Samantha had the pleasure
of eating at some of the top-rated dining halls in the
country. A passion for Italian food and culture took
root during a semester abroad in Florence, Italy,
and she later received her Professional Chef
Diploma. Samantha taught middle school outside of
Boston, MA for several years before moving to Los
Angeles, where she continued to teach.
Kitchen Kid, LLC  l  info@kitchenkid.com l  www.KitchenKid.com  l  310.450.3462

Kitchen Kid Founder and Culinary Coach, Samantha
Saffir Barnes is a creative cook and former middle
school educator. Fascinated by her students' love of TV
cooking shows and celebrity chefs, yet discouraged by
their unhealthy lunch choices in the cafeteria, Samantha
was determined to merge her two passions -- teaching
and cooking -- and teach kids to cook. Samantha
launched Kitchen Kid in 2006 with the hope of
empowering young people to jump into the kitchen and
get cooking! Realizing that the kitchen classroom is the
best place to learn, Samantha made Kitchen Kid her
full-time venture in the summer of 2007.  
Samantha shares genuine enthusiasm,
imagination, and patience while inspiring
kids of all ages to bake, boil, and braise in
the kitchen.  She enjoys writing about her
experiences on her blog, Growing Up
Gourmet, and in a bi-weekly column for the
Santa Monica Daily Press.  Through Kitchen
Kid, Samantha finds joy in teaching kids and
their families to prepare healthy and
delicious meals. She believes learning to
cook as a child inspires a lifelong pursuit of
healthful eating, and that meals made
together always taste better! As Kitchen
Kid’s Executive Culinary Coach, Samantha
encourages children to bite beyond typical
'kid food' and cook-up sophisticated family-
friendly fare.