The Littlest Celebrity Chef

Even though I have three boys, my kids have a super cute and totally kosher toy kitchen. What happened was that last year the twins told both the grandparents and several uncles that they wanted a toy kitchen for their birthdays. They even told them which one - after looking through countless ads they found one that was not expensive at all and had a good price/value ratio - and they both happaned to get one. Instead of taking one back to exchange it, they were quickly divided into "meat" and "dairy" kitchens. Since then any extra kitchen appliences have to come in twos. The kids love playing with them, and, when given the chance, they love doing the washing up in a cute, bright yellow washbasin, using home made dish soap. They also love to "play" in the kitchen: they do help a lot, and they cook their own creations at least weekly.

Now that Matthew was home with the flu, he was "cooking" for his collection of stuffed animals, all the while explaining to an imaginary audience what he was doing and why, all the while imitating all the facial expressions, if not the lisp, of Jamie Oliver. A little bit later I heard him have a little cooking competition with his teddy bear Gordon Ramsay style. It only took another day before a slightly misspelt "River Cotedge" sign appeared on their door. When I asked him what he was serving to the toys, I was told the menu contained risotto, filet mignon and chocolate mousse. The neyt day saw some Vietnamese specialities added, including cobra meat.

On Friday Matthew brought me a notebook. It had his scribbling and photos cut out of a ladies' magazine or various foods. I asked him what it was, and he said, "This is my first cookbook! Based on my TV show!"