Kids Culinary Camp, Castle Hayne

Chef and cooking show host Gailyn Gagliardi knows a thing or two about making dreams come true. After all, she spends most days bringing brides' and grooms' visions to life at Cafe Liardi Catering & Wedding Cakes, the catering company she runs in Burgaw. She and her team craft elaborate cakes and feasts to suit every wedding style, creating traditional, sumptuous dinners as well as sophisticated receptions with ice carvings, freshly shucked oysters, and caviar stations.

But brides and grooms aren't the only ones whose dreams Gagliardi brings to life. She also ignites children's imaginations—and their ambitions—through Kids Culinary Camp, an annual sleep-away camp held at WalkerWorld Organic Artist Retreat, a log cabin along the Northeast Cape Fear River. Drawing on a certification in child development, she teaches budding cooks how to craft handmade pastas, from-scratch pastries, and homemade breads. Children gather for these lessons in the picturesque kitchen of a sprawling log cabin, which is decked out in warm woodwork and vivid colors. Though cooking is the week's focus, it's not the only activity kids partake in; they also hike, work on arts and crafts projects, and search for gnomes lurking in the 10-acre property's organic garden.