Olivia and Isabella Gerasole- age 9 and 12, respectively- are the youngest cooks ever to be recognized with the James Beard Foundation Award.

Nearly everything about Isabella and Olivia Gerasole's New Year's Eve family celebration is homemade -- from the confetti tossed up in the air at midnight to Papa's Pesto, tossed with a pound of pasta for a 7:30 dinner.

"New Year's Eve is my dad's birthday," said Olivia, who lives with her family in Evanston, Ill. "Usually, we invite another family over, or friends, and we make tons of confetti out of construction paper."

She and her sister also make big signs that say "Happy New Year" and "Happy Birthday." At midnight, they beat on pots and pans and throw confetti everywhere. Their dad toots on a goose-caller, wearing a birthday hat.

All sorts of food are part of the New Year's tradition. Besides pesto and pasta, they make snacks. "We make tons of dips for chips," said Olivia, whose nickname is Liv.

Unlike many kids, Liv and big sister Isabella, who is called Belle, don't let their parents do all the cooking.

The girls are already famous cooks at the ages of 9 and 12. They host an online cooking show for kids at http://www.spatulatta.com/ and have just published "The Spatulatta Cookbook" (Scholastic, $16.99).

Y-Press interviewed the sisters, asking them how they came to be young chefs. The team also asked them to provide simple New Year's Eve recipes that kids or adults could make.

Spatulatta began when Belle and Liv's neighbor, Gaylon Emerzian, was inspired to begin a cooking show taught by kids, for kids. A documentary filmmaker, Emerzian directed an educational TV program for National Geographic about youth and nutrition, and that sparked the idea.

Although the Gerasoles had just moved from Georgia and were newcomers to showbiz and the Chicago area, Emerzian thought that Belle and Liv would make wonderful hosts for the show because they are outgoing and love to cook. Emerzian, an Emmy-award winner, now produces the show, along with the girls' mother, Heidi Umbhau, a media trainer in Chicago and Emmy-winning former TV news anchor and reporter.

The young cook's Web site, http://www.spatulatta.com/, went public about two years ago, when Liv was 7 and Belle was 9.

While the site has more than 200 easily accessible recipes in its archives, the girls haven't exhausted themselves or had to quit school. In addition to inventing recipes and including traditional family recipes, the site features recipes sent in from kids all over the world.

Belle and Liv also benefit because of their parents' expertise in cooking and baking. Their father, Vince Gerasole, is a general assignment reporter for CBS 2 Chicago and host of the station's dining segment, "Table for 2."

He has helped his daughters develop their cooking skills and create recipes. Their mother is knowledgeable about arts and crafts and is an experienced cake decorator.

The girls are quick learners. So quick, in fact, that in 2006, they became the youngest recipients ever of a prestigious James Beard Foundation Award, which annually honors chefs, authors and others in the food business.

The awards dinner, at New York's Lincoln Center, was thrilling, the sisters said. It was their first trip to New York City.

"Ever since I was little, I always wanted to be the first or the youngest to win the . . . 'whatever,' " said Liv. "I daydreamed about it. . . . I'd make up awards for myself.

"But now knowing that I actually earned and won something, and I was the very youngest to win it, and how prestigious the award is . . . it feels really great."

The Web site has a black-and-white checkered background that may make viewers think of old-time pasta and pizza restaurants, which makes sense because of the family's Italian roots.

The site also emphasizes nutrition. They break down food into three categories: "Always Food" (fruits, vegetables, meat and dairy items), "Sometimes Food" (ice cream, french fries, pizza) and "Rare Food" (candy, other sweets and deep-fried items).

Recent recipes include: Caribbean Shrimp appetizer, Matt's Greens Galore and Fresh Fruit Napoleon.

The sisters explained that they try to make healthy foods look good.

"For the little kids who don't like to eat their fruits and vegetables so much, we have clever ways to disguise the foods for the parents so they can give it to their kids," said Belle.

A video showing the steps to making a dish accompanies each recipe. One of the two sisters hosts the program, and they sometimes have friends or family join them.

In addition to recipes, the Web site features help for kids who are just learning how to cook. For instance, they show how to crack an egg, chop an onion and arrange a Mother's Day tray. The site also has a section showing how to combine food with art.

The Web site and the girls' cookbook target fellow kids. Some of their recipes are even based on children's books. One, involving meatballs, is inspired by the picture book "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs," by Judi Barrett and illustrated by Ron Barrett.

And the girls don't try to act like grownups either. On their Web site, they have a special section for bloopers. They point out that making mistakes is part of learning to cook. And food fights are fun.

One of the things that the girls don't fling around are a couple of their favorite dishes -- Papa's Pesto and Tuscan Bean Dip. Both recipes are good for New Year's Eve, they said, because they're delicious and easy to make.

Here's the recipe for Tuscan Bean Dip:

• 1 15.5-ounce can of cannellini beans
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 peeled garlic cloves

Process the three ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Serve with vegetables, chips and crackers.

Whether it's cooking for New Year's or just making a snack for friends, the secret to becoming a good kid cook is to relax and be creative, Belle and Liv said.

 

For Indianapolis area kids inspired by Belle and Liv’s cooking story and Web site, here are cuisine-related classes and activities:

n         The Young Chefs Academy, 12955 Old Meridian St., Carmel, offers a variety of cooking classes for children beginning at age 4.

The business is the only one in Indiana, but is part of a national franchise.  It offers birthday parties, classes and mini-camps for youth. A  sample of some of the recipes that kids learn include: creamy basil soup, baked snowballs, homemade pasta, spinach salad and croissant bread pudding.

For more information, visit the business’ Web site at:

www.youngchefsacademy.com or call 317-571-0770.

n         It’s offered by the Junior League of Indianapolis.

The outreach program, in which League members visit schools, plans an event in 2008 at the Ruth Lilly Health Education Center. Kids in the Kitchen focuses on teaching children how to cook healthy foods and make healthy food choices.

For more information, call the Junior League at

(317) 925-4600.