My First Cook Book: Bake, Make and Learn to Cook

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Annabel Karmel, who we all recognise from those early weaning days, has created her own fantastic foody book for our young budding chefs. Have fun in the kitchen and learn new skills with one of the UK's top children's cookery authors. Annabel Karmel's Fun, Fast and Easy Children's Cookbook covers all the bases for the 5+ age range. The recipes are a lovely mix of both healthy dishes, with fresh fruit and vegetables added in creative and appealing ways, and twists on old favourites such as sunshine paella, vroom vroom bolognese and pesto pizzas.

Dimbleby eventually wrote ten titles for the Sainsbury’s series. “I never meant to write cookery books,” Dimbleby muses now. “I never trained as a cook. I just had this sort of food imagination, and it was a way to be creative while I had very young children. They were wonderful books. They were very thorough, and I’m sure that it was part of their success. They were also very personal.”

The earliest cookbooks found around the world give people today a fascinating look at not only what the people of the time ate but also their lifestyles, mainly of those from the upper class. From 1700 BC to 1390 AD, here are some of the world’s oldest cookbooks.

GBBO winner, former nurse and aid worker, David Atherton has created a superb recipe book in My First Cook Book. There is a gentle pace so that after surveying hygiene, kit, measurements and cookery terms, we begin. Naturally, we start with breakfast and something tasty, healthy and delicious in breakfast smoothies. Thereafter we build up to lunch and creating Snakey Bread and Veggie Hotdogs, for example. Measurement charts, conversion ratios, food substitutions, and a glossary of common culinary terms are useful additional content for kids and teens learning how to cook. " Kitchen Chemistry: A Food Science Cookbook" author Andrea Debbink agrees. “I think cookbooks for kids should teach kids real cooking skills that they can build on. There's definitely a place for novelty cookbooks, but I think a lot of kids who are interested in cooking want to be taken seriously in the kitchen and make the same recipes that adults make," she says. Well this got us thinking. What have been our fave cookery books for children over the years? Books old and new. Books to inspire our children into getting creative in the kitchen and having fun. And also educating them on having a healthy relationship with food.

Next would be another successful title, Cooking With Herbs and Spices (1979). “I was brought up a lot abroad, so I really like using herbs and spices in my food,” Dimbleby says. “At that point [Sainsbury’s] had one little drum of dried mixed herbs and one little drum of mixed dried spice.” She agreed to write the book, with the proviso that Sainsbury’s would ensure cooks were able to get their hands on the ingredients she wrote about – a decision that was a precursor of what would come to be known as the Delia effect. Capturing the spirit of the timesWith his parents and brother, Edinburgh-born Peter grew up feasting on his mum’s home cooking. But it was Bake Off that inspired him to start baking for himself – he has watched every series since the first and has been baking seriously since he was only 12 years old. In truth, there could have been better use of more evening meals and more original themes for foods which were a little less simple, but ultimately this serves as a really nice introduction to cooking and baking for children - and possibly for some adults too! Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family. Perfect for the under 7 Julia Donaldson fans we'd be remiss if we didn't mention the fabulous Gruffalo Crumble. Young cooks will love first to create and then to feast on delights such as Fox’s Sandwiches, Scrambled Snake and the awesome Gruffalo Cake. The twenty four recipes are easy to follow and are brought to life by Axel Scheffler’s brilliant and familiar illustrations. Perfect for new cooks – and their parents! The Complete Cookbook for Young Chefs" by America's Test Kitchen takes our top spot because of its wide range of kid-tested recipes and helpful visuals. If you and your little one are vegetarian, try " The Forest Feast for Kids." Both of you are sure to enjoy the beautiful watercolor images in addition to its fresh, fun recipes. What to Look for in Cookbooks for Kids Age Level

Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together. Mini fan clubs have formed around some of the Sainsbury’s authors. Suffolk-based food writer Janet Davies of the Pigeon Cottage blog has an affinity for the recipes and books of Patricia Lousada, her Pasta Italian Style in particular. “This particular one about pasta is still, in my view, the best one in my extensive collection even after all these years … I still use her exact recipe for her Spaghetti alla Siciliana and Spaghetti alla Puttanesca today.” Glynn Christian has had similar experiences. “Even now I get comments about recipes, he says. “I know the Pies, Pâtés and Terrines book has no competitor and has been used by many deli owners and caterers. Only recently a distinguished member of the Guild of Food Writers said my pâté recipe was her ‘go-to’. Nice after more than 30 years.” Nice indeed. What the fans say…

It’s a time Dimbleby remembers with fondness: “I feel very proud to have started the whole Sainsbury’s thing. It was such a success. It worked brilliantly for many years and it was a very happy, good part of my life, too.” David Atherton was the winner of Bake Off 2019 and is also intent on inspiring the next generation of chefs. My First Cook Book is David's first book for children, with a focus on fun and imaginative recipes that are sure to inspire the youngest of readers to get cooking. With warm illustrations, fun and healthy recipes and easy-to-follow steps to help readers master basic cookery techniques and get inspired about food, this is an essential introduction to cookery. So, why does Norman believe the books were rated so highly by the Glenfiddich judges? “Well, I think they were well conceived, they were written by people who knew what they were doing – and it was innovative. Sainsbury’s was the first supermarket who went in for a line of cookery books. They were small and inexpensive. I know when the first one came out, and I still working was at Penguin and we thought ‘Oooh, competition’.” If you want to give your kids a bit more control over the cooking process (still with supervision, of course) you may wonder where to start. Kid cookbooks, like the ones featured on this list, are a fantastic way to get kids excited to cook. They’re full of tasty kid-friendly recipes and simple-to-follow instructions, usually complete with pictures. There are also thousands of online tutorials for those who prefer visual and auditory learning.