Treasure trove of recipes

EVER had trouble getting your children to eat? Perhaps the answer for tea-time battle-weary parents is to rustle up something the kids have concocted themselves!

And, just to see whether it works more than 200 students have helped create their very own recipe book of mouth-watering, healthy meal options.

Pupils at St Christopher’s School joined forces with Jamie Wilkins, head of design and technology, to create an international cookbook to show off their creativity. They have put together a collection of 78 favourite family recipes, 235 illustrations of food and 60 photographs and several hundred copies of the book have already been snapped up.

The school boasts more than 2,000 students from around 60 nations and is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.

Head of Junior School, Wendy Bataineh, said: “We are thrilled with the publication – this is a book to treasure. Students from all parts of the school – infant, junior and senior – were invited to contribute and this has resulted in a truly international collection of tried-and-tested recipes.

“My favourite section is ‘kids treats’ with it’s opening quote from Charles Dickens “There is nothing better than a friend, unless it’s a friend with chocolate!”

Mr Wilkins put the book together ably assisted by a team of children who also helped to colourfully illustrate it and provided kitchen tips and cooking snippets.

It is divided into five different sections; breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner and, of course, the treats.

Mr Wilkins said: “We thought making a cookbook for our 50th anniversary would be a really nice way to show all the kids’ different backgrounds by getting their favourite recipes from home.

“Students from nursery right up to Year 12 submitted recipes from their home country or something they enjoyed making themselves.

“Some children put recipes in and some put art work, some even put both. There has been a lot of help from families and it turned into a much bigger project than we initially planned.”

Last year a room was fitted at the Saar campus for food technology, which has generated immense interest from pupils. Every year the students get to partake in a term where they focus on healthy food and cooking.

Pupil Aaliah Al Shahry, nine, from Saar, contributed works of art to the project as well as a recipe. “I put in a recipe for peppermint creams. I love making them, my great-grandmother used to make them a lot for me, so that’s why I chose it,” she explained. “When I’m older I want to be a vet, an artist or a cook. I love cooking. My mum loves cooking too. She cooks every meal of the day.”

Art lover Zoe Lascelles Lloyd, 11, said: “I enjoyed taking part; it was a lot of fun. My dad’s a designer so I enjoyed drawing and colouring and showing him what I could do. I put in the croque-monsieur recipe and a lot of my drawings are in the book as well. It’s something I make at home and it’s one of my favourite dishes.”

The cookbook is targeted towards both parents and children, with recipes that the children can make on their own, as well as recipes they can help make with their parents in the kitchen.

“There’s a good combination of food, from pancakes to sweet-and-sour chicken. There’s something for everyone,” said Mr Wilkins.

There is also a page in the book dedicated to the school’s opening where children provided illustrations of food items typically found in pantries or cupboards during the early 1960s. In contrast, a page devoted to the present time demonstrates how people’s tastes have developed over the years.

The BD6 cookbook can be purchased at St Christopher’s Schools as well as Jashanmal Bookshop in Seef Mall and Bahrain City Centre.