Help Your Child Gain Kitchen Confidence with OwlKids Books Starting from Scratch by Sarah Elton-Giveaway

I started helping my parents in the kitchen when I was about five years old. From baking cookies with my mom to making pancakes with my dad, if there was something tasty getting made, I was there lending a hand. As soon as I learned to read, I started reading recipes and cooking on my own. And by the time I was about twelve years old I was making pies and fudge by myself. Now my oldest son is getting to the age that he can start working in the kitchen too and I can’t wait to help him learn how to cook his own culinary creations!

So when I was recently offered the chance to review a new cooking book for kids, Starting from Scratch: What You Should Know About Food and Cooking by Sarah Elton and published by OwlKids Books, the timing couldn’t have been better. This book is no simple compilation of kid-friendly recipes…it is a complete and incredibly detailed guide to cooking that breaks down the process piece by piece so that children can feel confident in the kitchen even without a recipe. I sat down to read through it before giving it to Zackary and I was so impressed by how much information the book contained.

The book starts off with a chapter on taste, followed by a chapter that explains different cuisines. From there, the book explores the science behind cooking, the math concepts needed for recipes and the preparation process. I loved the idea of broadening a child’s mind about what food can be through explanations that included a look at the science behind food as well as an exploration of food geography and basic health and safety concepts.

My personal favourite chapter was called How to Make a Meal, and looked at the step-by-step process of actually creating a meal from start to finish without using a recipe. By explaining the logic behind making a dish, it took kids beyond merely following step-by-step instructions so that they could get creative and inventive with food. It’s an aspect of cooking that most books for children don’t explore, but it’s a hugely important one in order to create a confident cook. Not every great meal needs to be created by following a recipe!

If you have a child that’s ready to gain some kitchen confidence, you’re in luck! OwlKids Books is very generously offering one lucky Mommy Kat and Kids reader their own copy of Starting from Scratch, a $20 value! To enter to win, just leave a blog comment about which junior chef would be getting this book if you won!

Zackary has been really enjoying reading through Starting from Scratch and as he’s always had a passion for science, he is especially interested in some of the more scientific aspects of cookery such as the use of yeast and baking powder in baking and the concept of starches converting to sugars during toasting. I love that he’s getting a solid knowledge of cooking instead of just following steps in a recipe! To help your child work in the kitchen with confidence, Starting from Scratch by Sarah Elton is a great choice. Check it out and help your child develop cooking skills that he’ll use his entire life!
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