Feature: Kids in the Kitchen, Part 2
Kids in the Kitchen E X PA N D I N G H O R I Z O N S
Part Two of a Three-part Series on Cooking with Kids By Chef Perry P. Perkins
After years of teaching kids to cook for themselves and their families, I’ve learned that there are those who are happy with omelets, and chicken breasts, and mashed potatoes, but there are others who, once mastering the basics, quickly become bored with “regular food,” and need to branch out into new culinary adventures to keep their interest. If you’ve got one of those budding chefs in your home, even as young as age 5, try these steps to take them to the next level, all of which I’ve done with my own daughter (AKA Pickle). With a little flexibility and patience, it can be a fun exercise in life skills and making memories.
Before we get started . . . Chef’s Note: when it stops being fun, stop! You’re not teaching at Le Cordon Bleu, so tell your inner Iron Chef to lighten up! Forcing a kid to cook will only get you the opposite of what you’re shooting for—a lifetime peanut butter and ramen eater. Give them a little time to forget those burned brownies, or soggy rice, and their
Photos courtesy of the author.
Pickle making Joloff Rice at age 6 (left) and 10 (right).
natural curiosity will bring them back to the kitchen.
Read Part One of Chef Perry’s “Kids in the Kitchen” at
VancouverFamilyMagazine.com/ Also, don’t let your own bias become theirs! If they pick kids-in-the-kitchen-1 a recipe that calls for an ingredient that doesn’t appeal to you . . . suck it up! The whole idea here is to broaden their horizons (and I recommend searching under the it might not hurt to stretch ours a wee bit, “images” tab, and find a dish that kiddo as well!). likes the look of, before continuing to find a recipe. So, place your tongue firmly in your teeth, accept that the kitchen is going to be a 5. Search for the name of the recipe you’ve mess, and have some fun! chosen, say Jollof Rice (see sidebar on page 20). Pickle and I like to find out a Here we go . . . little about the history of our recipe in its native country, how it’s prepared there, Decide on a protein (chicken, steak, and any other interesting facts about the ground beef, salmon, pork roast, etc.). ingredients or techniques. Okay, it doesn’t have to be meat, but I’ve found that those recipes are easier to find in the following steps. You can certainly begin with a vegetarian/vegan main ingredient, as well.
Help junior jot down some notes. Here’s what I found on Jollof Rice:
2. Let kiddo pick a country. I have a huge map of the world* on our dining room wall, but a globe, atlas, or even an online map would work just as well.
Jollof Rice, also called ‘Benachin,’ meaning one pot in the Wolof language, is a popular dish all over West Africa. The dish consists of rice, tomatoes and tomato paste, onion, salt, and spices to which optional ingredients can be added such as vegetables, meats, and fish. (Wikipedia)
3. Google: “(name of country) (protein) Recipes.” EX: “Brazilian Chicken Recipes” (9,840,000 results). If you have other specific ingredients you want to use, like rice, or tomatoes, add them in the search, as well.
6. Together, collect the ingredients, discarding or replacing those that are too spicy, too expensive, or too obscure, and (together) prepare the dish. Try to keep the dish as authentic as possible, but it still needs to be something your child can eat.
4. Together, cull through the search results, until you find one that sounds good.
7. When the rest of the family or friends arrive, let kiddo give a short presentation of what we’re having for dinner, and then continued on page 20
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Vancouver Family Magazine • www.vancouverfamilymagazine.com • September 2019