The week in our kitchen

I just love that my two year old is a keen cook. I would like to take responsibility for this. He has, after all, literally grown up tugging at my apron strings, watching me make bread, cakes, passata pomodoro, roasts. He was indoctrinated to gastric adventure-seeking whilst in utero. He truly is a baby foodling. However, I think most kids, given the opportunity, love to have a play in the kitchen.

Firstly, it is something they regard as being particularly grown up, and therefore excessively desirable as an activity. But beyond this, it involves measuring, stirring, rolling, destruction (well, cracking eggs). It is child's play. Maybe that's why we like it so much? Maybe it appeals to the Big Kid jumping around inside of us?

The Pamela Druckerman book I mentioned a couple of weeks back, "French Children Don't Throw Food", explores the concept of patience. French children, Druckerman explains, engage in a ritual that sees them baking a yoghurt cake every Sunday morning, which they don't eat until that evening. It is a great national tradition, but also an exercise in patience, for children. What better way to gently introduce little people to the concept of delayed gratification than with baking- which, by its very nature, requires a period of clock watching and waiting?

Last week, we made a cake for my daughter's nine month birthday (no surprises- we are big celebrators in this snug) and last night, it was ravioli. Sure. He kept calling the pasta dough "play-doh" but he was fastidious in his rolling efforts and I love that he helped make the family's dinner. That he WANTED to help.

I think one of the greatest gifts we can give our kids is a good relationship with food, and by that, I mean good food. I want my kids to love flavour, to love texture, to seek quality, to question production techniques and ethics, and to see food and food preparations as cornerstones to a healthy and rich family and social life. Thankfully, I think they're already well on their way.