To all my foodie friends Ive made along the way
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AABSOLUTE PRESS Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 50 Bedford Square, London, WC1B 3DP, UK This electronic edition published in 2018 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc BLOOMSBURY, ABSOLUTE PRESS and the Absolute Press logo are trademarks of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc First published in Great Britain in 2010 as
Funky Lunch and in 2012 as
Funky Party This edition published 2018 Text Mark Northeast, 2018 Edition Absolute Press, 2018 Illustrations Absolute Press, 2010 Illustrations Jason Ingram, 2012 Mark Northeast has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as Author of this work. All rights reserved
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join on FacebookINTRODUCTIONHappy Food: funky feasts and tasty treatsDont play with your food! was the response often given by my parents as I sat at the dinner table mindlessly pushing food around my plate. As a fussy eating child of the late seventies and early eighties there wasnt much in the way of distraction when it came to eating your greens.Fast-forward some 30 years and as a parent myself I continued to uphold those beliefs instilled in me back then, and was often heard saying: How do you know you dont like it, if you wont try it?The idea to get creative with food started as a bit of fun, a way to cheer up a grumpy four-year-old. I toyed with the option of not making him any lunch, as per his request, but a snap decision to create a simple rocket-shaped sandwich changed my outlook on a childs connection with food.As a creative person, a trait inherited from my mother my childhood years were spent watching her create an endless number of birthday and wedding cakes, each one intricately adorned with row upon row of identically iced flowers the fascination to craft new and exciting sandwich designs took over my everyday thinking and each one had to out do the last. However, one rule remained: it had to contain a number of healthy ingredients and it had to be eaten all of it.As my collection of sandwiches grew, so too did the interest from social media where I had been sharing my ideas. I created a website showcasing my work and I was soon inundated with requests, praise and, more importantly, thanks.
Unbelievable, parents from around the globe started to contact me to offer their thanks for my creations. They had been attempting my sandwich designs and found that their fussy eaters were open to change, were happy to experiment and wanted to try new foods. I was gobsmacked by the response.Not wanting this rollercoaster to stop, I embarked on a plan to develop a workshop based around children playing with healthy food, and with the help of my daughters teacher and her classroom full of friends, the first ever Funky Lunch workshop was born. School children carefully planned and designed their food creations before eagerly building their masterpiece from the wide array of fruits and vegetables I had supplied.The concept was a success and the response from teachers as the number of workshops increased was encouraging. They would watch in disbelief as the most fussy or quietest of children would fully engage with the task and stand in awe as they chopped and peeled their way through the ingredients, before hungrily devouring them.
My creative interest in food didnt stop at sandwiches and I soon had the opportunity to design a selection of party food treats for all occasions. Not such a straightforward task as I first thought and one that would provide me with many a sleepless night in the pursuit of excellence.
I mean how on earth do you go about trying to update party classics, or put a twist on childrens food favourites so ingrained in history and the source of memories from years gone by. This was made even harder by the vast number of hugely talented parents, all wanting to have fun with food, who were posting the most amazing creations online. However, with a little perseverance and some very late nights, the results were a delicious array of party treats.As my food journey continued, so did the requests for the more weird and wonderful. I was being asked by companies to create edible artwork and gifts to help promote their product, event or service. They went from the sublime to the ridiculous: from a simple photoshoot with apples and berries for a well-known drinks brand, to having over 1,000 pick n mix sweets delivered to my door for what turned into a three-and-a-half-day project creating a movie poster made entirely from the sweets! To this day there is nothing I wont attempt to create with food and I relish each challenge.While my own passion for cooking has continued to grow, developing new skills in the culinary world, I take great pleasure in watching my creativity rub off on my daughter as she bakes her way through her teenage years.But throughout this journey of mine there is one thing that has been a constant reminder of why I do this: getting children involved in food and cooking and letting them be creative with it not only builds their confidence, expands their skills and knowledge, but it broadens their taste buds, encourages better eating and feeds their imagination.Now I dont promise that it will work every time or cure your fussy eater for life, but every now and then we need to have some fun in the kitchen and what better way than with our next generation of chefs and creative artists.In this book you will find a collection of recipes to cater for all occasions, from a small gathering at home or a large group of classmates in the village hall to an idea for a rainy lunchtime activity.