Start them young: Cooking with littluns

I’m doing my very best to bring my two boys up to be useful men. I want them to cook and clean, to mend and sew, and to be as comfortable ironing a shirt as hanging a shelf. You’ll laugh when you hear that the eldest is only just four, but I think start as you mean to go on! He is already showing a real interest in cooking. Nothing keeps his attention for long, but ask him to help in the kitchen and he’s invested from start to finish.

Milk washing his Lancashire Chorley Cakes

We began with simple recipes that he could enjoy eating, like cheese straws, porridge bars (like a healthy flapjack) and scones. In the summer, he loved picking blackberries then making apple and blackberry crumble.

And then we discovered a brilliant programme on CBeebies called My World Kitchen. In it, young cooks celebrate their heritage by cooking very special recipes for their friends. So far we’ve made Harry’s Lithuanian kugelis, Akara’s Sri Lankan fish curry and Isaac’s Lancashire Chorley Cakes, and have quite a few more on the wish list.

Grinding the spices

Giving the curry sauce a stir

When we invited my parents for dinner one evening, I think they were expecting beans on toast. But as Archie met them at the door, he informed them that he’d made Sri Lankan fish curry. My dad’s face was a picture!

I think it’s really important for kids to connect the dots and learn about the whole process - from shopping or foraging to preparing, cooking and eating. It has certainly encouraged Archie to eat things he wouldn’t usually have tried, and learning about other cultures in the process is a bonus. The next thing he wants to make is Churros, so watch this space!