Kids Cook French: Les Enfants Cuisinet a la Francaise
by Claudine Pépin, with Illustrations by Jacques Pépin
Published by: Quarry Books
ISBN-10: 159253953X
8.6 x 0.5 x 10 inches
$18.76 at Amazon
I really love making things in the kitchen with Chloe. Now that she's 7 years old, I thought it would be fun for her to go beyond the world of baking into real cooking. Chloe and I sometimes watch Jacques Pépin's cooking show on PBS. She loves it even more when his granddaughter Shorey is on. One night, Chloe was wondering how old Shorey was so I ended up googling Shorey and found that her mom, Claudine Pépin, daughter of the famed French chef had penned a children's French cookbook last year called Kids Cook French: Les Enfants Cuisinet a la Francaise. I immediately ordered it for Chloe and couldn't be happier with the amazing recipes that are inside. The book design is just beautiful but what makes it unique is that the book is bilingual and all the text and recipes in both English and French. For me this was a huge plus since my daughter is still learning how to read in French. Each page has words for kids to learn and I love the beautiful illustrations by Jacques Pépin himself. Claudine Pépin does a great job at sharing her experiences with her father and reminding us that even though it's a cookbook, to always feel free and experiment with the recipes as well.
What I love the most is that the recipes aren't dumbed down for kids. They are traditional homestyle French recipes like classic Ratatouille (a staple in our home) to entrees like Lamb Chops with Lemon Zest and Herbs of Provence. When we dine out at restaurants, I don't mind paying a full entree price to have her try a unique dish, rather than having her eat the typical fare places have for kids. Since Christmas vacation last month, Chloe and I have been making crepes each Sunday - a recipe we saw from one of Pépin's cooking shows with his granddaughter Shorey. (That recipe is also in this book.) The French have a love for food that starts with the home. I love that notion. Kids Cook French is helpign my daughter to become even more excited to cook as well as eat and try new foods (something that I had a problem with when she was much younger). I'm looking forward to making some yummy recipes from this book with Chloe soon.
Here are some photos of the interior of the book:
There are some recipes from the book on the Quarry Books blog that you can try out now.
Purchase Kids Cook French by Claudine Pépin at amazon.com.