A couple of weeks ago, Les Petits Chefs baking club worked with sweet shortcrust pastry – always a popular item to work with because “it’s just like Play Doh, only tastier” 😉 Lots of people are intimidated by pastry but it’s actually much easier than you think and kids, particularly, are fearless, so they just … Read more
On March 5th 2020, I posted the last in-person Petits Chefs recap (we made fresh rolls and potstickers with Chef Vanessa Yeung). A week or so later, school went online and clubs halted indefinitely. A month later, in April, I brought cooking club online and that’s where it’s stayed (we have a “community club” now … Read more
I started thinking about Bakewell Tarts when I saw them recently on The Great Canadian Baking Show. The challenge in the show was to make a full-sized tart and the bakers experienced varying degrees of success. I have to say, whilst a full-sized version of any dessert is always impressive to serve, I MUCH prefer … Read more
If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you’ll know that pastry and I were not really friends for a number of years. After I got past the fear, though (it’s literally JUST food, nothing to be afraid of) and embraced the idea of “rustic” beauty, I realised that pastry IS easy to make … Read more
This week the Petits Chefs made a mini version of one of my favourite recipes from In the French kitchen with kids: Tarte aux Fraises. Over the years, the boys in my clubs have learned that for our one-hour sessions together, minifying recipes is sometimes what’s needed in order to complete them in the time … Read more
This tomato tart is a French classic. Pastry, sharp Dijon mustard and tomatoes at the height of their season – three simple components that make for an exceptional dish that looks impressive yet couldn’t be simpler to assemble! We’ve been living on various versions of this all summer, both in Toronto and in France – … Read more