If you caught the recent series of Gordon Ramsay’s Future Food Stars on BBC1, you will no doubt be familiar with Florence – usually Flo – Rebattet.
After searching in vain for cookery classes for her young son that would offer healthy options and make him as passionate about food as she was at his age, Rebattet decided to found her own cooking school for children and teenagers.
She was inspired by the time she spent with her Italian grandma during the school holidays. “I used to spend weeks at her home and cooking was our daily activity,” she says. “I still love to remember how long our spaghetti was and she always let me lick the spoons!”
For Rebattet, it’s fundamental to see the new generations cooking from scratch with seasonal ingredients. “To add flavour to our meals, we used to go to the garden and pick the necessary aromatic herbs. We also had plenty of strawberries that we would pick in the morning before it became too hot.”
She decided to leave her nine-to-five job in HR and train as a chef in order to open her business, drawing on her experiences cooking with her son, who around 13 months old at the time.
“Because of the memories I have of creating and enjoying food with my family, my dream is to recreate some of that with my son and all the kids who come along my cooking school, En Cuisine.”
Here, she shares some recipes that are suitbale for children (with adult supervision if necessary) and are some of the many recipes she teaches at the school.
Gateau de Savoie
Savoy Cake dates back to 1358, when the Count of Savoy instructed his chef to make a cake as light as feather— (Florence Rebattet)
“I spent most of childhood in Biarritz, on the beach, with this cake stuffed in my mouth! I absolutely loved it and couldn’t get enough.”
Prep time: 60 minutes | Resting time: 10 minutes | Cooking time: 15-20 minutes
Ingredients:
75g sugar
3 eggs
50g flour
20g cornflour
2 drops vanilla extract
60g sugar
Utensils:
2 large bowls
Wooden spoon
Cake mould
Weighing scale
A whisk
Method:
1. In two large bowls, separate the egg whites and yolks.
2. Whisk the egg yolk until you reach a smooth texture. Then, add the sugar and keep whisking.
3. Whisk the egg whites until you get a stiff peak. Don’t forget to add a pinch of salt.
4. Add the egg whites to the egg yolk by folding the white into the yolks. Do not mix and always fold in the same way.
5. Add the vanilla, and the plain and corn flours into the mixture. Fold the flours into the egg mix.
6. Pour the mix in a mould and cook it for 30-40 minutes in a preheated oven at 170C.
Gratin dauphinois
Gratin dauphinois is regularly eaten over the winter in France— (Florence Rebattet)
“This is a typical dish from Savoie in France and is regularly eaten over the winter. The recipe below is from my mother-in-law who lives in Grenoble.”
Prep time: 40 minutes | Cooking time: 1 hour
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
1kg of potatoes
1 litre of double cream
5 garlic cloves
Salt and black pepper
1 tsp grated nutmeg
Utensils:
Chopping board
Big knife
Peeler
Grater
Method:
1. Wash the potatoes and peel them. Keep the skin in a separate bowl. (These can be fried later to avoid wasting them.)
2. With your knife slice your potatoes (1cm thickness), using the bridge technique.
3. Peel your garlic cloves. Chop them into small pieces and then crush them using the blade of your knife.
4. Put some crushed garlic in the bottom of your pot and rub it all around.
5. Pour some double cream into the pot, sprinkle in some salt, black pepper and grated nutmeg.
6. Lay the potatoes on the cream until covered then pour more cream and seasoning. Repeat until you don’t have any more sliced potatoes.
7. Put in the oven at 190C for 1 hour.
Little chef tips: The quality of the potatoes is very important. Don’t use jacket potatoes as the texture won’t be good when cooked. Instead use potatoes for frying. Belle de Fontenay and Desiree are the best varieties for the Gratin Dauphinois.
Lemon and chia seed muffin cakes
A fun bake to get the kids involved— (Florence Rebattet)
“One of my first sweet recipes when I started teaching children to cook at En Cuisine. This recipe can also be found in my cookbook Cook with Flo.”
Prep time: 20 minutes | Cooking time: 20 minutes
Makes: 6 muffins
100g of plain flour
80g of coconut sugar
80g of unsalted butter
½ lemon + zest
1 tablespoon of chia seeds
½ tablespoon of baking powder
2 eggs
Utensils:
Wooden spoon
Weighing scale
2 large bowls
Method:
1. Melt the butter and let it cool down on the side.
2. In a separate bowl, combine the eggs and the sugar until the mix is slightly white with bubbles on the top. Then, pour the flour into the mixture and stir.
3. Squeeze the lemon and add the zest. Pour the melted butter in the mix.
4. Add the chia seeds and the baking powder. Stir until you combine all the ingredients together.
5. Pour the mixture into the muffin tray and put it in the oven at 220C for 15 minutes.
Little chef tips: You can swap the chia seeds with poppy seeds for a different flavour.
Madeleines
Who doesn’t love madeleines?— (Florence Rebattet)
“This recipe for mouthwatering madeleines is from my recipe book Cook with Flo.”
Prep time: 20 minutes | Cooking time: 15 minutes
Makes: 20 madeleines
Ingredients:
120g of plain flour
120g of granulated white sugar
120g unsalted butter
3 medium eggs
Zest of one unwaxed lemon
1 lemon
1 teaspoon of baking powder
Utensils:
Madeleine tray
2 bowls
Wooden spoon
Grater
Scale
Method:
1. In a large bowl, mix the flour, the sugar and the baking powder.
2. Crack the eggs and separate the yolks from the whites. The yolk goes with the dry ingredients and the whites in a separate bowl.
3. Whisk the white with a fork until you get bubbles on the top. Add them to the flour and yolks mix and combine.
4. Melt the butter and wait until it cools down before pouring it on the mix.
5. Add the lemon juice and the zest. Stir well.
6. Pour into madeleine moulds and put them in the oven at 240C for 6 minutes and then 180C for 8 minutes. Your madeleines are ready when you see a little mountain on the top and a nice golden colour
Little chef tips: Swap the lemon for ½ an orange or rose water.
Roasted vegetable tray
These veggies go particularly well with gratin dauphinois— (Florence Rebattet)
“I really like mine with rose water and dry pieces of rose in the dough! A classic dish which will bring crunchiness and colour to any meal and is particularly delicious served with the gratin dauphinois.”
Prep time: 10 minutes | Cooking time: 1 hour
Serves: 4
1 butternut squash
6 carrots
2 onions
250g Brussels sprouts
4 potatoes
2 heads of garlic
Fresh thyme and rosemary
Utensils:
Chopping board
Big knife
Peeler
Method:
1. Wash your vegetables and preheat your oven at 150C.
2. Boil some salted water and cook the Brussels sprouts for 15 minutes.
3. Peel your butternut squash and chop it into big chunks. Do the same for the carrots, onions and potatoes. All the vegetables need to be the same size to cook evenly.
4. In a tray, drizzle some olive oil and add all the vegetables. Toss with some salt, black pepper, rosemary and thyme.
5. Put the tray in the oven for 40 minutes. Check if the vegetables are cooked before getting them out of the oven.
Little chef tips: You can play with the flavours by adding some spices. Smoked paprika and turmeric deserve a go for this recipe.
