Mardi Michels (right) is a Australian-Canadian food writer; well known for her area of interest: children’s education and French cuisine (she once lived in France and still visits each year)
. Her cookbook In the French Kitchen with Kids combines child-friendly, parent-pleasing recipes in a way that isn’t at all dumbed down. I bought this book for my daughters when it was first published in 2018, but it has never been so well used as over the past months we’ve spent in quarantine.
Recently, I had a chat with Mardi on the importance of children’s food education. For years, she has been running an all-boys cooking class at the Toronto school where she teaches. She feels that, especially in times like these, learning to cook is much more than reading a recipe.
“Cooking is a great way to practice a lot of school subjects – even if the kids don’t realise it,” she says. “Following a recipe is reading comprehension, it’s maths, it’s problem solving and, at the end of the activity, it’s a delicious meal or snack. Time is the greatest factor that parents tell me is an issue when it comes to cooking with kids, but that’s something we’ve all got a lot more of, all of a sudden.”
Recommendations
Mardi has written many children’s cookbook reviews on her website, 
Eat Live Travel Write, before publishing her own book. Here are some others Mardi recommends:
A Grandfather’s Lessons: In the kitchen with Shorey (Jacques Pépin).The Soup Sisters Family Cookbook (Sharon Hapton).Kid Chef and Kid Chef Bakes (Melina Hammer; Lisa Huff).Baking Class (Deanna F Cook).The Complete Cookbook for Young Chefs (America’s Test Kitchen; kid-tested and approved recipes).*All of these books, including Mardi’s In the French
Kitchen with Kids, are available for online purchase.
Creme caramel, from In the French Kitchen with Kids. \ Kyla Zanardi
Crème caramel
Though this recipe does involve caramel making (that will need to be supervised by an adult), there is still plenty for younger children to do here. Teach younger cooks how to separate egg yolks from the whites. Have them catch the cracked egg in one hand and let the white seep through their fingers into a bowl so that they end up with just the yolk. Whisking sugar and egg yolks together is a good activity to keep little hands busy. Once the custards have cooked and cooled, the flipping process is absolutely kid-friendly – especially if you demonstrate one first. If they are cooked properly, the custards should easily flip so the caramel is on top.
Serves six
Prep time: 20 minutes
Bake time: 45 to 55 minutes
Chilling time: 4 hours or overnight
For the caramel:
100g granulated sugar
2 tablespoons water
For the custard:
3 large egg yolks
2 large eggs
100 g granulated sugar
250 ml milk
250 ml cream
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 Make the caramel: place the sugar and water in a pot, and swirl them around gently with your finger to make sure the water is absorbed. Place the pot over medium-high heat. Do not stir.2 Once the sugar has melted, cook for 4 to 5 minutes, swirling the pan occasionally, but never stirring, until the caramel is a deep golden color. If sugar goes up the side of the pot, use a pastry brush dipped in water to clean it.3 Pour the caramel directly into six 100ml ramekins, swirling to evenly coat the bottom of each one. Place the ramekins in a deep-sided baking dish or roasting pan.4 Make the custard: preheat the oven to 150°C. Fill a kettle with water and bring it to a boil.5 In a large, heatproof bowl, using handheld electric beaters, beat the egg yolks, eggs and sugar on high speed until pale; 2 to 3 minutes.6 Meanwhile, in a medium-sized pot, heat the milk, cream and vanilla extract over medium-high heat. Bring this to a simmer (do not boil) and immediately remove from the heat.7 Slowly pour about one-quarter of the hot cream into the egg mixture, whisking constantly so you don’t scramble your eggs. Once this is completely combined, add the rest of the hot cream and the vanilla, whisking constantly.8 Pour the custard into a large jug.9 Pour the mixture into the ramekins. Pour the boiling water from the kettle into the baking dish, being careful not to get any water in the custard, until it’s about halfway up the sides of the ramekins. This is called a bain-marie and it cooks the custard gently.10 Carefully place the baking dish in the oven and bake for 45 to 55 minutes. The outside of the custard should be cooked but the center of the custards might still be a little jiggly.11 Remove the dish from the oven and carefully remove the ramekins from the boiling water. Place them on a wire rack to come to room temperature.12 Cover each ramekin in plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, at least 4 hours or overnight (these will keep for a day or so in the fridge).13 When you are ready to serve, remove the ramekins from the fridge and, one by one, place each one in a dish of lukewarm water for a minute or so.14 Run the blade of a small knife around the edge of the custard, place a small plate on top of each ramekin and, holding tight, flip the plate. The custard should fall easily onto the plate but if not, you can shake the plate vertically until you hear it drop.
Excerpted from In the French Kitchen with Kids by Mardi Michels. Copyright © 2018 Mardi Michels. Photography © Kyla Zanardi. Published by Appetite by Random House®, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.
Mardi Michels (right) is a Australian-Canadian food writer; well known for her area of interest: children’s education and French cuisine (she once lived in France and still visits each year)
. Her cookbook In the French Kitchen with Kids combines child-friendly, parent-pleasing recipes in a way that isn’t at all dumbed down. I bought this book for my daughters when it was first published in 2018, but it has never been so well used as over the past months we’ve spent in quarantine.
Recently, I had a chat with Mardi on the importance of children’s food education. For years, she has been running an all-boys cooking class at the Toronto school where she teaches. She feels that, especially in times like these, learning to cook is much more than reading a recipe.
“Cooking is a great way to practice a lot of school subjects – even if the kids don’t realise it,” she says. “Following a recipe is reading comprehension, it’s maths, it’s problem solving and, at the end of the activity, it’s a delicious meal or snack. Time is the greatest factor that parents tell me is an issue when it comes to cooking with kids, but that’s something we’ve all got a lot more of, all of a sudden.”
Recommendations
Mardi has written many children’s cookbook reviews on her website,
Eat Live Travel Write, before publishing her own book. Here are some others Mardi recommends:
A Grandfather’s Lessons: In the kitchen with Shorey (Jacques Pépin).The Soup Sisters Family Cookbook (Sharon Hapton).Kid Chef and Kid Chef Bakes (Melina Hammer; Lisa Huff).Baking Class (Deanna F Cook).The Complete Cookbook for Young Chefs (America’s Test Kitchen; kid-tested and approved recipes).*All of these books, including Mardi’s In the French
Kitchen with Kids, are available for online purchase.
Creme caramel, from In the French Kitchen with Kids. \ Kyla Zanardi
Crème caramel
Though this recipe does involve caramel making (that will need to be supervised by an adult), there is still plenty for younger children to do here. Teach younger cooks how to separate egg yolks from the whites. Have them catch the cracked egg in one hand and let the white seep through their fingers into a bowl so that they end up with just the yolk. Whisking sugar and egg yolks together is a good activity to keep little hands busy. Once the custards have cooked and cooled, the flipping process is absolutely kid-friendly – especially if you demonstrate one first. If they are cooked properly, the custards should easily flip so the caramel is on top.
Serves six
Prep time: 20 minutes
Bake time: 45 to 55 minutes
Chilling time: 4 hours or overnight
For the caramel:
100g granulated sugar
2 tablespoons water
For the custard:
3 large egg yolks
2 large eggs
100 g granulated sugar
250 ml milk
250 ml cream
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 Make the caramel: place the sugar and water in a pot, and swirl them around gently with your finger to make sure the water is absorbed. Place the pot over medium-high heat. Do not stir.2 Once the sugar has melted, cook for 4 to 5 minutes, swirling the pan occasionally, but never stirring, until the caramel is a deep golden color. If sugar goes up the side of the pot, use a pastry brush dipped in water to clean it.3 Pour the caramel directly into six 100ml ramekins, swirling to evenly coat the bottom of each one. Place the ramekins in a deep-sided baking dish or roasting pan.4 Make the custard: preheat the oven to 150°C. Fill a kettle with water and bring it to a boil.5 In a large, heatproof bowl, using handheld electric beaters, beat the egg yolks, eggs and sugar on high speed until pale; 2 to 3 minutes.6 Meanwhile, in a medium-sized pot, heat the milk, cream and vanilla extract over medium-high heat. Bring this to a simmer (do not boil) and immediately remove from the heat.7 Slowly pour about one-quarter of the hot cream into the egg mixture, whisking constantly so you don’t scramble your eggs. Once this is completely combined, add the rest of the hot cream and the vanilla, whisking constantly.8 Pour the custard into a large jug.9 Pour the mixture into the ramekins. Pour the boiling water from the kettle into the baking dish, being careful not to get any water in the custard, until it’s about halfway up the sides of the ramekins. This is called a bain-marie and it cooks the custard gently.10 Carefully place the baking dish in the oven and bake for 45 to 55 minutes. The outside of the custard should be cooked but the center of the custards might still be a little jiggly.11 Remove the dish from the oven and carefully remove the ramekins from the boiling water. Place them on a wire rack to come to room temperature.12 Cover each ramekin in plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, at least 4 hours or overnight (these will keep for a day or so in the fridge).13 When you are ready to serve, remove the ramekins from the fridge and, one by one, place each one in a dish of lukewarm water for a minute or so.14 Run the blade of a small knife around the edge of the custard, place a small plate on top of each ramekin and, holding tight, flip the plate. The custard should fall easily onto the plate but if not, you can shake the plate vertically until you hear it drop.
Excerpted from In the French Kitchen with Kids by Mardi Michels. Copyright © 2018 Mardi Michels. Photography © Kyla Zanardi. Published by Appetite by Random House®, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.
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