Starting them young

  Yesterday I hosted my nephew (8 or 9, I think) for a little film appreciation and some light brainwashing. We had a splendid afternoon together and one of the subjects we discussed was planning his escape from his evil parents.

  He came to appreciate his situation a touch more so feels more at ease with the years he will have to wait before making a break from his captors. To make sure he was prepared for life on the run, I pointed out that part of his survival depended on being able to feed himself properly and this would involve learning to cook.

  I didn't impress upon him how much of a difference that this skill would have on his ability to snag a mate as this isn't on his radar quite yet, but he seemed to grasp that learning to cook could be fun as well as useful so seemed keen to explore the possibility.

  Cos he has such a lovely uncle, this evening I pushed aside more important and pressing tasks and spontaneously headed over to give him his first lesson. The subject of his first class? Dinner for the family. He is blessed with a razor sharp mind but this also means he has a shorter attention span than a gnat. Giving him loads to do kept him engaged, but what made it a real joy was finding out he was receptive to learning about a bit of food culture, science and history. I could be in the presence of a future star.

  We, or should I say he, cooked linguini with a sauce of roasted aubergine, courgette, red pepper, onion and tomato. I would have a picture of his creation but by the time we finally served it up, the arrival of his twin younger brothers had changed the focused atmosphere to frantic dervish so photos were the last think on my mind. Instead, you're looking at dessert; strawberries, banana, peach with a blob of ice cream and a sauce of fresh blackcurrants that we made together. Clean plates all round and student keen for more. Result.

Kirk out

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