Northeast - Fun food: funky feasts for happy children

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.