Pre-kids, when lie ins were a possibility and I seemed to have endless amounts of time, I used to watch every cookery programme I came across.

 

I started from an early age, watching the likes of Keith Floyd, Mary Berry and Delia Smith with my parents. Ready Steady Cook left me with a folder full of recipes to try once I left for uni and could cook ingredients I would never get at home. Then it was Jamie Oliver who opened up even more doors into the culinary world for me. And the obsession grew from there. 

 

I learned so much; gaining skills from watching chefs, discovering new ingredients and how to use them, exploring other countries and cultures, picking up tips on how to make a dish more satisfying. There was so much to study from the comfort of my sofa.

 

And now I rarely sit to watch on my own but am really enjoying how A is being inspired in a similar way through a cookery programme aimed at young children. It’s called My World Kitchen and is on CBeebies. It has really captured her imagination and inspired her to explore even more new foods. 

 

As a result of watching, she has been even more interested in developing her skills in the kitchen, has learned about some new ingredients and countries, been open to tasting some of the ingredients she has seen on there and asked for us to include some of the dishes in our meal plan.

 

There are so many ways in which we can support our children to develop a love of food, including through TV.