This is what America's sad obsession with cooking reality shows hath wrought: a whole generation of kids who attend "culinary summer camps" (by choice). Are 13 year-olds not unbearable enough? Must they be foodies as well?

The WSJ reports that across this great nation, our youngsters are foregoing the chance to spend the summer playing baseball, hanging out by the 7-11, or just being horribly lonely in favor of attending some sort of cooking camp, which kids think is "cool," rather than a form of vocational training for a low-paying job. "I made kielbasa when I was two," boasts one 13 year-old.

"Smoking," kid. The line is "I been smoking since I was two." Smarten up.

Instead of teaching children that cooking is a chore to be fobbed off upon bitter wives or, if they're lucky, servants, these camps indoctrinate our youth into the preposterous belief that "culinary arts" are something of a luxury endeavor.

"Kids have become very demanding these days" Ms. Madhuit [a "camp advisor"] says. Anything from overly rustic accommodations to uninspiring activities can leave a child disappointed.

Campers come from around the world to Highgate Center, near the Canadian border, to hone their kitchen chops in Mr. Dietrich's one-week ($2,695) or two-week ($4,900) sessions.

Christ, kids, cooking is not a field to which one should aspire. The best possible hope for a child foodie is becoming the star of the most annoying column in the history of the New York Times Magazine. And it goes downhill from there. Twenty years from now, those of you still working in restaurants are just the ones who can safely be branded as past and/ or future Narcotics Anonymous members.

[WSJ. Pic via]