Tom Aikens
Tom Aikens is one of the UK’s most acclaimed British chefs. He became the youngest British chef ever to be awarded 2 Michelin stars, has opened restaurants all over the world and written 3 books.
Tom’s Mixed Berry Compote Parfaits
Tom Aikens
Featuring:
Effort:
Complexity:
Cost:
In season now
Serves: 4
Prep time: 5 mins
Cook time: 15 mins (or 30 with granola)
Ingredients:
200g raspberries
200g blackberries or blueberries
200g strawberries
Half a cinnamon stick
60g caster sugar
A fresh vanilla pod, split and scraped
Parfait assembly:
Greek yogurt
Fresh granola (see below)
Fresh granola:
200g of ready made granola
Little extra cinnamon
Little veg oil
1 tbsp of soft brown sugar
Little (maldon) salt
Extra maple syrup (about 1 tbsp)
A few extra nuts & seeds like pumpkin & sunflower, walnut etc
Method:
Make the compote:
Place the berries into a pan with the cinnamon stick, Sprinkle in the caster sugar with the vanilla pod. Cover with a lid and cook on a low heat for 10 minutes until the berries are becoming slightly soft and the juices are coming out.
If making the granola:
Mix altogether and then place into the oven on parchment paper and bake for 15-20 mins.
To assemble:
Layer the compote with yogurt and granola.
Engaging Kids
Kids who engage regularly with veg through veg-themed activities, such as arts and crafts, sensory experiences, growing and cooking are shown to be more likely to eat the veg they engage with. Encouraging kids to engage and play with veg is the handy first step to them developing a good relationship with veg and life-long healthy eating.
Kids in the kitchen
The eventual aim, if possible, is to get kids in the kitchen. Don’t worry, this doesn’t have to mean they are with you from start-to-end creating mess and rising stress levels! It can be as simple as giving them one small job (stirring, measuring, pouring, grating, chopping…) ideally involving veg. They can come in to do their little bit, and have fun with you for a few minutes. Getting them involved, making it playful and praising them plenty for their involvement, perhaps even serving it as dinner they “made”, makes it much more likely they will eat the food offered, not to mention teaching them important life skills. Find ideas, safety tips, videos and even a free chart in our Kids in the Kitchen section here.
Activities
While getting kids to interact with veggies for real and using their senses to explore them is best, encouraging hands off activities like arts & crafts, puzzles & games or at-home science experiments can be a great start, particularly for those who are fussier eaters or struggle with anything too sensory. Use these veg-themed activities as a stepping stone to interacting with the veg themselves. We have loads of crafty downloads here, puzzles here, and quirky science with veg here.
Sensory
Once you feel your child is ready to engage a little more, you can show them how to explore the veg you have on hand with their senses, coming up with playful silly descriptions of how a veg smells, feels, looks, sounds and perhaps even tastes. Find ideas, videos and some simple sensory education session ideas to get you started here.
Serving
The moments before food is offered can be a perfect opportunity for engagement that can help make it more likely a child will eat it! Giving children a sense of ownership in the meal can make a big difference to their feelings going into it and the pride they take in it. You know your child best, but if you aren’t sure where to start, we have some fun and simple ideas for easy roles you can give them in the serving process over here.
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