So here’s a few tips to get the kids in the kitchen
Start them young with simple, fun tasks. Let them do messy things, decorate and be artistic, begin their own recipe file of things they like to make and eat. To help them get started you may want to invest in a sturdy stool to raise them to a safe level when small.
Remember to include food safety lessons – the importance of washing hands, bacteria in uncooked foods, very hot surfaces and saucepans, handles should always be turned in, knives are sharp etc.
Get some colourful mixing bowls and utensils – child size if you can, and don’t forget an apron – every serious cook needs one!
Don’t try to avoid a mess otherwise you will become frustrated – just accept that they will make a mess and that it can be cleaned up easily afterwards!
Start with easy recipes and progress onto more advanced ones as their skills develop – don’t expect a three course meal on the first day of cooking with your kids.
Teach them to clean up as they go along, and to keep their work surface organised.
Patience is the order of the day, just take your time, guide them along the way, supervise weighing and measuring until you are sure they have got it right, and give them plenty of positive encouragement and praise no matter what the end product turns out like!
