The Great British Chefs 30 Day Challenge: kids
Looking for ways to entertain the kids whilst they're off school? Our child-friendly thirty-day challenge has lots of inspiration for keeping them busy.
The Great British Chefs 30 Day Challenge: kids
Looking for ways to entertain the kids whilst they're off school? Our child-friendly thirty-day challenge has lots of inspiration for keeping them busy.
With many of us self-isolating over the course of the Coronavirus pandemic and schools closing across Great Britain and Ireland, suddenly we're faced with the prospect of having to keep ourselves – and our kids – occupied at home for the foreseeable future.
If you've exhausted all the board games and you're trying to keep a lid on your children's screen time, why not occupy them in the kitchen instead? There are loads of fun things you can be doing and who knows – you might discover that your child is a young chef prodigy!
We've devised a little thirty-day challenge to get you all excited about cooking whilst you're at home. It includes a range of activities, from learning to make things like gnocchi and fresh pasta to drawing funny faces on pizza! Give it a go and let us know how you get on.
Day 1: Make animal-shaped cookies
Kick things off with something easy and fun – these gingerbread biscuits are dead simple to make, and you can bake them in the shape of your favourite animals. Bonus points for snazzy icing!
Day 2: Try a new ingredient
Have a look through the cupboards and see if you can find something you've never tried before. We have loads of recipe collections for a whole host of different ingredients – find something simple and give it a go!
Day 3: Turn your dinner into a habitat
With a few easy ingredients, you can make these tasty salmon fishcakes. Even better, you can make them in the shape of a starfish, and nestle them in a little bed of greens! Feel free to mix and match the ingredients depending on what you have.
Day 4: Pancakes for dinner!
If there was ever a good excuse to have pancakes for dinner, this is surely it. Check out our collection of pancake recipes for loads of great ideas.
Day 5: Make chocolate truffle lollipops
Just four ingredients go into Colin McGurran's chocolate truffle lollipops – dark chocolate, double cream, ground cinnamon and sea salt. You could even make a double quantity and keep some in the freezer for later.
Day 6: Make meringues
Chances are you have some aquafaba (chickpea water) going spare at the moment – don't throw it away! Instead, use it to make these delicious meringues.
Day 7: Unusual food pairing day: strawberry and balsamic vinegar
Time to tickle those taste buds! Today's taste test is strawberry and balsamic vinegar; don't be put off – they're delicious together!
Day 8: Make a funny face out of your dinner!
In case you're not already in the habit of making your dinner into funny faces, this is the day to start!
Day 9: Learn how to make gnocchi
Making gnocchi is relatively easy and makes a fun family activity. Our how-to make gnocchi guide has some useful tips and an easy starter recipe for you to tackle, or you can find more inspiration in our gnocchi recipe collection.
Day 10: Make tomato sauce from scratch
A good tomato sauce goes a long way and you're bound to have all the ingredients necessary. Check out this in-depth guide as a starting point. Perhaps you could eat it with any leftover gnocchi you made yesterday!
Day 11: Make a multi-coloured cake
Frances Atkins used to make this cake as a child, and so the recipe is passed on to the next generation! All you need is a loaf tin and a blender – give it a go!
Day 12: Learn to chop an onion like a chef
An onion is the base of almost every good meal, so the sooner you learn to chop an onion the better! Remember though – always be careful around sharp knives and keep those fingers out of the way.
Day 13: Make your favourite animal out of bread
Andy Waters' recipe is a great starting point for this challenge – his favourite animal is a penguin (an excellent choice) but you can shape your cheesy bread as you see fit.
Day 14: Unusual food pairing day: apple and cheddar
Another unusual food pairing day – this time, try eating a bit of cheddar cheese with a slice of apple; you might be surprised!
Day 15: Make a cake using vegetables
Cake made with vegetables? We know – it sounds strange, but the extra moisture of the vegetables really helps keep the cake moist! If you're not convinced, give this carrot cake a go. If you want to go whole hog, try using something like courgette, or beetroot!
Day 16: Make a pizza face
We've loads of guides on how to make great pizza dough, as well as pizza recipes coming out of our ears! What you make is up to you, but it has to have a face on it!
Day 17: Play 'Guess the Spice'!
Time to get all those spices out of the rack! You might think this would be easy, but it's funny how difficult it is to identify flavours when we don't already know what they are!
Day 18: Make peanut butter fudge
Sally Abé's peanut butter fudge is incredible – so delicious and so easy to make. All you need to do is melt all the ingredients together, then set the fudge in the fridge!
Day 19: Make fresh pasta
If anything, fresh pasta is easier to make than gnocchi, and all you need is a couple of eggs and some flour! Our guide has all you need to know, and we have loads of great recipes for you to try afterwards.
Day 20: Draw a picture of your favourite meal
This is pretty self-explanatory – time to get the crayons out!
Day 21: Unusual food pairing day: orange and olive
A thoroughly Mediterranean combination makes up our final unusual food pairing!
Day 22: Go foraging for something edible
The British countryside is home to all manner of tasty treats. If you have the chance to get outside for some fresh air – whilst abiding by all government advice of course – keep an eye out for some of these! Remember – never eat anything unless it's clean and you know exactly what it is.
Day 23: Make chocolate cornflakes for Easter
This childhood favourite from Dominic Chapman is so easy to make – a perfect Easter treat!
Day 24: Eat four different vegetables for your dinner!
Four different vegetables in a single dinner! These tasty vegetable fritters get you brownie points for eating so many vegetables, meaning you'll almost certainly be allowed pudding.
Day 25: Make an Easter cake for Easter Sunday
A traditional Simnel cake uses lots of store cupboard ingredients, many of which you might find loitering at the back of your cupboards!
Day 26: Help make dinner for your family
Give your family a hand with dinner – perhaps you can help to chop some vegetables!
Day 27: Make mixed berry freezies
Colin McGurran's simple and delicious mixed berry lollies are the perfect treat for your hard work yesterday. You can use any frozen berries you like!
Day 28: Unusual food pairing day: chocolate and chilli flakes
Our last adventure into unusual food pairings is chocolate and chilli flakes – a classic Mexican combination!
Day 29: Play 'Guess the Spice' again!
Time to get those spices back out and see if you've learned anything from the first time around! If you get a better score than the first time, well done – you've earned yourself a lolly.
Day 30: Make a leaning tower of biscuits!
To build a tower of biscuits you first have to make the biscuits! Check out our collection of biscuit recipes, find something you like, then get baking!
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