KID'S KITCHEN by Fiona Bird and illustrated by Roberta Arenson	BOOK REVIEW

To order a copy of Kid's Kitchen <click here>
Review written by Hub-UK

"Fi Bird is the most enthusiastic teacher in the world and she's on a mission to get children cooking. No surprise then that her Kids' Kitchen recipe box is practical, affordable and never patronising. Every child should have one." ~ Prue Leith

Any adult who has tried feeding children will know how difficult it can be at times. Some children are worse than others but for most kids food is just boring adult stuff which interrupts far more important things.

If you could get kids interested in cooking would it make a difference? Difficult! If you could get them involved in preparing some of the food then you might be getting somewhere but for most of us it is just too much trouble.

Not any more. Fiona Bird has done all the hard work with her newly published Kid's Kitchen.

This is not a book! What you get is a box . . . to keep all your separate recipe cards in! I am getting ahead of myself. The box is about book size and contains a deck of cards - in this case 40 recipe cards all of which are targeted at children.

The recipe cards are split into five sections:

• Eggs 'n' Beans
  
  
• Fantastic Fruits
  
  
• Milk 'n' Dairy
  
  
• Spuds 'n' Grains
  
  
• Vital Vegetables

The idea being that the five sections cover the five main groups of grains, vegetables, fruits, milk and meat and beans. The aim is not only to get the kids actively preparing some of their own food but also to educate them in healthy eating, but not in a pushy way.

Anyone who has cooked using a recipe book will know what a nightmare trying to use a book in the kitchen can be for an adult, never mind a child. So the use of recipe cards makes life a whole lot easier for children to cook from. The cards are complete in themselves providing all the information in one place:

• How many it serves
  
  
• How long to make
  
  
• How long to cook
  
  
• Ingredients
  
  
• Equipment you will need
  
  
• Preparation and cooking instructions

. . . with a timely tip on the bottom of each card, "Wash your hands before you start". And if a few sticky fingers mark the card you can just wipe them with a damp cloth!

All kids should be encouraged to cook and this is a great way to get them started. The cards and their protective box are all beautifully illustrated and in colour schemes designed to catch the eye. The comprehensive and easy to follow cards mean that not only can the children work out what needs doing but the supervising adult can quickly get everything set up.

Once you get them started kids just love "messing" with food, which makes this a must for anyone who wants to get their youngsters interested in food and its preparation. A lot of thought has gone into how the cards are written, and the presentation, so full marks to Fiona for a wonderful idea and to Roberta Arenson for the illustrations.

PS I wanted a copy for my shelves just because it looks so good!

To order a copy of Kid's Kitchen <click here>

Published 04 August 2009

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