Despite growing up in the restaurant business, I’ve never enjoyed cooking. Cooking to me is a chore, plain and simple. When I hear people on House Hunters say stupid things like, “I just love to entertain.” I want to be like,
“Oh, you love being a slave?”
Anyway, this isn’t a long post but something that had me laughing for 5 minutes straight upstairs. I turned on Masterchefs Junior with the adorable little kids competing with their cooking skills. Tonight’s challenge? To cook a dessert using all-natural ingredients such as honey, coconut, agave nectar, etc. When Gordon Ramsey announced their 60 minutes began, the tiny tykes got to work.
Now mind you, this show features 8-13-year-olds. One kid was doing some sort of banana falmbe. An adorable little girl was explaining how she would use the agave nectar along with fresh raspberries. A little boy announced he is Italian and was rolling canoli and placing them in a deep fryer machine.
Not gonna lie, I cringed as I saw these kids use machines that would intimidate me at 41. A mixer? A deep fryer machine? Live flames in the skillet? Hell, why stop there? Why don’t we deep fry a turkey or cook meth while we’re at it.
These kids were amazing. Where did they learn these skills? One little girl said her mother was a baker and her dish was dedicated to her. Did the parents bring the kids on as their apprentice? Were they cooking in the womb? It just blew me away. Then I began to laugh uncontrollably for like 5 minutes. Maybe you guys won’t even find this funny but it was hilarious to me. Here is the text I sent my son yesterday evening:
So while these kids are make creme brulee, I’m like, “do you know how to turn a switch?” I think tomorrow I’ll teach’em how to boil water.
Oh I hear you Sista! I am the same with mine…
Right! Everytime I think of it, I laugh!
?
My niece is 9 and didn’t know how to plug the sink to do dishes when she came to visit last year. I was gobsmacked. There’s life skills that are missed when you don’t give them chores. By the end of a week with me she was making us grilled cheese (with supervision, but still without me touching things) because it’s ok to build confidence but also healthy fear of stoves and ovens. Other appliances? Only if they love it, and want to learn. Your kid is great!
Yeah, I really need to get on it and teach them stuff because I think I learned how to boil water around 25. I just mastered making hard-boiled eggs a few years ago for Easter. Grilled cheese still doesn’t come out perfect everytime.
Check your local community leagues and stuff! They often have weekend classes and stuff where you learn together. My house I was responsible for making dinner at least one night a week from 10 on. It could be a crockpot meal I prepped the night before or spaghetti or shake and bake chicken and some veggies- it wasn’t complex but oh boy do I cherish that I am not dependant on take out. It is a life skill and saves money and would take some heat off mom and dad!
That is sooo true. It will be my fault if he doesn’t learn some cooking skills.
Then maybe you could teach them how to spread butter on bread? Or is that too advanced? These prodigies forever put ME to shame with their cooking skills. They could probably teach me a thing or two. Curious question- what do Americans think of Gordon Ramsey?
Sometimes my oldest makes himself cereal (makes, I know, funny) b/c he struggles with cutting pancakes. He can do it but I don’t think he wants to. Now to answer your question, I think we are scared of Gordon Ramsey. I think though deep down we must love him because he has like 10+ shows on tv that he is a part of. In fact, my family and I had a skype interview to be on one of his shows. I wrote about it. Nothing came of it.
That would’ve been amazing if you’d got on it! I think he is a tad scary, but I think he’s all right underneath it all. I always find it interesting which Brits take off in America and which ones don’t.
Well just know that if you are ever looking for a role as a spokesperson, come to America. Apparently, research must show that Americans are more likely to buy a product if the person talking about it is British. Swear to God, all infomercials here as well as game shows always seems to have a British actor. Perhaps it lends to more of an authority? IDK.
Haha. I love that! “Listen to me, I know what I’m talking about, I’m British” haha.
I think that is literally what the marketing geniuses are thinking. And sadly, I think they are right. I’m like, “well, she did say mobile instead of cell phone so she MUST know what she is talking about.” See, in America I think no matter if you sound like a chimney sweeper from 1901, if we hear your accent we automatically think prim, proper and well….authoritative I guess. Did you know that? Anyway, other Americans may disagree with me but that is how I feel.
That’s really interesting. I mean some of us over here are pretty low IQ, but I’m just going to go ahead and take it as a compliment ha x
That’s hilarious! Well even if there are low IQ’s for some and they have a British accent, we think…”aww…smart cookie!”
Haha excellent.
Yes, I laughed.
I laughed because it’s funny but I also laughed because I was doing the same thing (on only a slightly different scale) this last year before Offspring left home. Seriously, I asked my 17-year-old if he knew how to make a fried egg sandwich. His response? “You mean that thing I make myself all the time, that you’ve seen me eating after you didn’t make me one? Yeah, I can manage.”
Go ahead and put ’em to work in the kitchen, hon—unless you want to do more of the cooking!
That’s funny about Offspring and I’m glad you had a laugh!!! Well, I told the 13-year-old that once he turns 13 (which was yesterday), he will be making his breakfast before school. Normally, unless I text him from upstairs that I’m running late, he waits for me. I’m done though. It’s his time to make breakfast.
I feel like the kids I nanny are growing up without some of those basic skills. They always say they want to bake or cook with me but after about 10 minutes they all get bored and leave. And basically everything else is done for them so *shrugs* I don’t know. Growing up I always cooked and baked with my mom!
I never cooked with my mom b/c she hates to cook too. I agree with you, many kids aren’t getting these basic skills. I think it’s somewhat b/c now that a good chunk of women are working and maybe even came from a working mom, we are confused about when to teach these skills. I don’t know??? It’s like I want to show my boys I love them and 1 way I do it is doing stuff for them but then again, I need to cut the cord, especially with the 13-year-old with regards to the cooking stuff.
13 is a good age to start introducing things to him though! Have him get involved and make memories with him? Idk man Im not a parent haha
No, that really is good advice!!
🙂 OOOOOOOO okies totally going a little eeeppps right now – sign him up for a cooking class with you hehe
Lol! Happy Easter btw!
Samesies to you darling!
Loving them is them being capable of making a meal without you! Think of the why! 1) weekends you and hub get to go do things and he can feed himself (winning) 2) as he gets older and starts focusing on just the social world he is the awesome guy who invites girls over to make cupcakes? Suddenly you’re the amazing mom Who foresaw helping that happen…
I wouldn’t let them walk! I would make them clean up the half made stuff- if you don’t want to do it, I’m not doing your dishes kiddo! Consequences!
The stuff had to be baked any way. And doing their dishes is literally my job
The stuff didn’t have to be baked if the only reason it’s started is because of them! It’s your job to work with them, but not your job to be a slave! If they want to bake cookies, but abandon them… cookie dough disappearing and no cookies as a consequence would be a great lesson! (I would tell them I threw it out but take the batter home to the other house and bake it for the other peeps! You even have the advantage of a second kitchen!) it’s your job to make sure these kids don’t die first, learn to be as awesome as you second and third are fairly happy. Cookies not getting made because they are now trained that ‘I want to bake’ gets them cookies annnnnnd iPad time or whatever? That’s not sustainable as a grown up! (I’m such a hard#%%. No wonder I don’t have kids!)
LOL! All good…no actually, great advice. You’ll be proud of me, I made my 13-year-old make meatloaf with me last night. He protested a TON but I did not falter. I told him tonight he is going to learn how to brown meat for Taco Tuesday. Seriously, baby steps!!!
Tacos are an amazing meal to learn. Most of it is prepping. Aside from meat it’s just put it out and eat it. Mmmmm now I want tacos
Well duh, uou have to have tacos!!! IT’S TACO TUESDAY! Please stop what you are doing immediately and make yourself tacos. Then report back to me on how amazing they were. I’m going to attempt to cram 2 tacos in my mouth then race to get my hair did.
The first bit of ‘cooking’ I learned how to do was to make scrambled eggs when I was 8. From then on, when I was on summer vacation from school, I’d have a scrambled egg sandwich on toast for lunch.
…. And now I’m hungry. DAMN IT INTERMITTENT FASTING!
Damn intermittent fasting! Wow, you were only 8? That is so cool. My 8-year-old is a thousand times more independent then my 13-year-old but that is often what happens. You do EVERYTHING for the first then lighten up for the 2nd. If you have a 3rd, their upbringing is on par with being raised by wolves.
I’m a third and I confirm this.
Like seriously, put a food and water bowl out and they’ll be fine. I’m from a family of 3 girls and the only reason my youngest sister isn’t a knuckle dragger is b/c I was in charge of some of her upbringing. Now mind you, I was 8 when she was born.