TV chef Graham Tinsley has issued a plea to parents - follow your children’s example in the kitchen.
Graham, manager of the Welsh Culinary Team and star of ITV’s Taste the Nation, believes that today’s children are getting the culinary message - but he’s not too sure about some of the parents.
He is preparing for his celebrity chef demonstrations at Llangollen Food and Drink Festival on Saturday and Sunday, October 16 and 17.
Graham will also judge the children’s competition and believes youngsters are getting the food education some of their parents may have missed out on.
“In general I think we are getting the message home, there are far more cookery programmes on TV and food is the new rock ’n’ roll. Everywhere you look, there is a chef on TV at some time of the day,” said Graham.
“The children are getting instruction about diet and food, but it may be a case of educating the parents.
“There’s a generation who missed out on domestic science and food technology lessons and it’s perhaps them we need to get to.”
Up to 150 schoolchildren, from eight primaries in the Llangollen and Corwen area, have been invited to the new children’s food festival at the event.
Four finalists will have had their menus scrutinised and been shortlisted to compete on stage on Saturday under Graham’s supervision, to prepare their recipes from lists they were given of seasonal local produce, two cooking main courses and two preparing desserts.
The schools include Gwernant, Bryn Collen, Carrog, Caer Derwyn, Glyndyfrdwy, Llandrillo, Maes Hyfryd and Dyffryn Ial.
This year’s festival will feature over 100 exhibitors as well as a large kitchen demonstration theatre, Foodie Forums, a Beer Festival, ‘Grow Your Own’ area, and other entertainment including traditional cider pressing demonstrations.