How to cook up a storm with the children

UNLESS you’re happy for your children to survive on takeaways after they leave home, you need to teach them to cook.

But while new research shows more than 80% of parents think cooking is a valuable life skill, only 32% of parents do it with their children more than once a month.

A further 14% admit they never cook with their kids.

As such, the research by the Uncle Ben’s campaign — aptly named Ben’s Beginners, which aims to inspire families to cook together and increase their confidence in the kitchen — found nearly three-quarters of nine-year-olds don’t know how to boil an egg, and two-fifths are unsure how to peel a potato.

However, the Ben’s Beginners Kitchen Confidence study found there were several barriers to parent-child cookery instruction — 41% of parents said they wish they had more time to cook with their children, and 24% said they’d be more inclined to do so if it was less messy.

And as well as time and mess, a quarter of parents said they don’t cook with their kids simply because the children aren’t interested.

“We know the impact that cooking and eating as a family has on health, but we also know the challenges of today’s busy lifestyle and getting kids to be enthusiastic and engaged in the kitchen,” says Fiona Hamilton-Fairley, chief executive of The Kids’ Cookery School in London.

“Parents are time-poor, and a lot of them are frightened of the mess, the chaos and the out-of-control moments.

“And also, there’s a certain amount of danger, but the earlier kids start learning how to do it, the better.”

She gives the following advice to get children cooking:

START YOUNG — Parents should initially get young children measuring, touching and tasting.
FOOD ORIGINS — Understanding where food comes from is a key part of encouraging children to enjoy cooking.

“Many children don’t know where their food comes from, or that some of it, like pasta for instance, is actually made first,” adds Fiona.

“They need to understand that food’s not just from supermarkets.”

FOOD THEY LIKE — It’s important to start with food children are interested in, usually pizzas, rice, potatoes, etc.

“Making a pizza from scratch is very easy,” says Fiona. “Once they’ve made it, their pride is huge that they did it themselves, and they’ll start to experiment with different ingredients.”

KEEP IT SIMPLE — Some of the best recipes are the simplest, and favourites like spaghetti bolognese are always winners to make and eat with kids.
SAFETY FIRST — Obviously, much cooking involves using sharp implements, and knowing when a child is responsible enough to use a knife is a judgement parents have to make.

“They’re going to have to pick up a knife at some point, so it’s best you show them how to do it properly and safely,” Fiona says.

KEEP IT HEALTHY — “It’s very important for parents to teach not just the cooking, but the health implications,” stresses Fiona.
TASTY CHOICES — A lot of children are used to bland food and as they grow, their tastebuds change.

By learning to cook themselves, they can include flavours they like and are therefore more likely to eat what they’ve created.