The ultimate cheesy gooey bean dish made with Boursin
Plus, why TikTok is brilliant platform for learning to cook. And my new (old) cook book for kids gets a new lease of life this week.
A gazillion years ago when my kids still called me mummy (not mum) we made a cookbook together. They were quite young and I put them through hell: cooking everyday after school for weeks, whipping up Christmas cookies at midnight and smiling for the camera until their little faces hurt.
But the result was The Kids Only Cook Book and it’s done really well over the past 10 years (!) much to the bafflement of my publisher, I think. In fact, the book has been so successful it’s about to be re-issued, with a smart new cover, fresh design and a slightly new name: The Seriously Good Kids’ Cookbook.
My kids are grown up now, and we drink cocktails together instead of ice cream spiders these days. But the contents of the book has stayed the same, and my take on getting kids interested in cooking hasn’t changed. Some people might look at the recipes in the book and tsk-tsk that quite a few of them aren’t very healthy. But the truth is that as much as we’d like our children to make virtuous salads and sugar-free wholemeal treats, young kids are interested in cooking what they want to eat. And for most of them, that ain’t lentils and spinach. Recipes have to appeal to their tastes and appetites if we want them to actually cook. There’s no point in designing a recipe for children based on adults’ wishful thinking.
I was pondering this the other day after reading an article about Gen Z and cooking - it was an interesting piece, but I strongly disagreed with its premise. The argument seemed to be that young people these days are learning to follow recipes on social media rather than actually learning to cook. Platforms like TikTok and Instagram are all about entertainment, the recipes full of ‘dazzle and delight’, rather than instruction, so the argument went. What Gen Z and Millenials need, apparently, is their own Delia Smith, to teach them how to cook ‘properly’.
Now, I ADORE Delia, and an entire section of my book shelf is devoted to her cook books. I refer to them constantly and there’s probably no food writer I trust more when it comes to techniques and timings. But I can’t say that Delia has ever brought me joy in the kitchen - for me, she’s all about getting it right and being reliable. And what young people want these days, not unreasonably, is to have fun when they cook. And they’re finding cookery fun on social media.
For what it’s worth, I think TikTok and Instagram are amazing platforms for learning to cook. Recipes are imparted in way that’s entertaining, certainly, but also inspiring and motivating and fun. They encourage kids and young adults to give cooking a go, and giving cooking a go is how you build confidence in the kitchen. What’s that if it’s not learning to cook?
My kids are now young adults no longer living at home, and social media is where they get their cooking mojo now. They’ve obviously learned a bit from me, because cooking is part of my job. But TikTok, and to a lesser extent Reels on Instagram, is where it’s at for them. In fact, they often send me tips, hacks and recipes they find on these platforms. And let me tell you, I’ve learned a thing or two from them.
In fact, today’s recipe is inspired by my daughter, who suggested using a whole Boursin in mac and cheese. I wasn’t quite ready, seasonally speaking, for such a hearty pasta dish, so I’ve used a jar of Bold Beans Queen Beans to make something that’s similarly creamy, cheesy and moreish. I popped the Boursin in the centre of the beans to cook because, well, I saw it on TikTok. Enjoy this one, it’s bloody delicious.