Anya and sister Aria make desserts at their Mahalaxmi residence. Pic/Satyajit Desai

Australia-based chef Ajoy Joshi, who actually took to teaching kids Indian cooking on the insistence of his son Aniruddh, can think of many other benefits. “Cooking teaches focus and concentration,” he says, adding, “As kids grow up, being involved in the kitchen teaches them organisation and cleanliness. Besides, they learn how to follow instructions, and cooking with family and friends is great to teach kids about teamwork, patience, perseverance and problem-solving.” u00a0Joshi also believes that kids learn resilience, “as your recipe won’t turn out perfect every time. So you learn to try again. Most importantly though, cooking teaches you how to appreciate the effort that goes into a project, not just to focus on the result.”u00a0Farzana Sheikh, who teaches kids aged 9 and above Italian cooking (Rs 3,000 onwards for 5 to 6 day workshops where each session is 3 hours long) at her Yari Road residence in Andheri (W), has also noticed, “Initially, kids want to learn to prepare foods they like, like pizzas and pastas, but their interest grows with successive classes and then they want to learn how to make dishes they’ve seen prepared on TV or dishes they’ve sampled at restaurants.” Sheikh therefore believes cooking classes translate into healthy eating over time, as kids grow interested in food, “and curious about different kinds of meat and vegetables.”

Too young to cook?
The culinary curiosity of Worli resident Lubaina Bandukwala’s daughters, Samina (6) and Khadija (9) was whetted by the Junior MasterChef series that aired on TV this summer, the girls tell us, and Bandukwala adds, “Now everything from play-dough to cooking turns into a mini MasterChef session at home.” On her way to speech and drama class, Samina eagerly tells us about the milk cakes she loves to prepare (and eat, she doesn’t mind admitting) and speaking of her newborn love for cooking, Khadija says, “I make my own scrambled eggs everyday now and sometimes, I use my mother’s recipe to make fried noodles with chicken.” But Khadija admits her mother supervises everything. “My mother turns on the gas but then I do everything else,”
she says.u00a0Joshi, who trained in Chennai and has set up Nilgiri’s, a thriving restaurant in Sydney (whose name has been bestowed to his kids cooking classes too), doesn’t think six is too young to cook. In fact, he says, “I believe kids as young as three should start cooking with their parents and grandparents.”

Knives no bar
At this age, he recommends, “Get them involved in the cooking process by asking them to shell peas, knead or roll dough for rotis or chappatis or pasta, and mix batters for cakes and biscuits.” He’s careful to stress that you don’t want your child around the stove, microwave or oven at this time though. At 8 or 9 years, Joshi believes, most kids are ready to take up a cooking class. He feels, “This is a good age to impress the importance of washing their hands upon them. Clean as you go, is a phrase I use often in my kitchen, as I believe it is important to teach kids about personal hygiene and to keep their workstations clean. I would start to teach knife skills when they are over the age of 15 or 16.”

Tarla Dalal’s classes
That recognised food writer and chef Tarla Dalal’s grandkids Anya (10) and Aria (5 ½) love to cook, comes as no surprise. “The girls always want to play MasterChef and plate their desserts,” shares their mother Mona. “They know how the pressure test is done and my older daughter records the show so she doesn’t miss a single episode — she goes through the entire gamut of emotions with the contestants — and they both love to pretend to be part of the contest,” she explains, adding that it’s not just her kids who are drawn to cooking, though. “I find that loads of kids from the age of 4 to 12 have taken an interest in MasterChef,” says Mona. She points out that while the show has certainly piqued the petite public’s interest, “Most kids have a natural inclination towards cooking. Sadly, they’re not as exposed to it here as they could be, because sports and music et cetera are higher up on the priority lists of most mothers.”

Mona tells us she had a chance to observe how much children appreciate cooking during Anya’s 10th birthday party, where games were based on the junior chefs TV show. “That my mother-in-law’s Gol Gappu storybooks, which lead kids from the age of 1 ½ to 5 through basic recipes have been selling well for the last 3 years, also supports the fact,” she adds. Determined to offer these enthused kids a platform to perfect their skills, the Dalal family now plans to initiate a 3-month kids cooking course (complete with a graduation certificate), “we’re still in the planning process, but the interest has been
tremendous.”

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Set the ball rolling
Stocking your kitchen with kid-friendly gadgets is one way to tempt your kids to try their hand at cooking. Here are some safe tools that kids would find easy to use:

Egg whisk: Available everywhere, this simple gadget works better than a fork as it allows for maximum aeration

Pastry brush: When your kids are younger, this is a simple way to get them interested in baking. For a crisp crust, have them brush egg whites onto puff pastry before you put it in the oven

Sifter: Whether you’re making cake batter or your daily chapattis, give your child a chhanni and entrust them with the task of sifting the flour

Spatulas and spoons: Bright coloured spatulas and small wooden spoons will lend your kitchen some cheer

Measuring spoons, cups and scales: If you want your child to feel like he or she is in charge, here’s a gadget that will do the trick. Let her or him look after the measurements completely

Mini aprons and gloves: You can get these made if you can’t find the right size, but arm your kids with chef’s hats, aprons and oven mitts and they won’t leave the kitchen in a hurryu00a0