At 13, the son of industry legend Jamie Oliver isn’t exactly a new face in the world of food. His YouTube channel, Cooking Buddies, has a mammoth 135k subscribers and has seen him whipping up meals on camera for as long as three years ago – with friends and, of course, his famous father.

According to the budding foodie, there are plenty of reasons for kids to get into cooking – namely that you can “tweak and adjust things to make them exactly how you like them”, so you’ll “always want to eat it”.

And then when you’ve mastered the skills, Oliver says: “It’s good not always having to rely on grown-ups when you’re hungry.”


Fish finger sarnies with sweet potato chips

Ingredients:

(Serves 4)

4 sweet potatoes (800g total)

1tsp smoked paprika

Olive oil

25g plain flour

1 large free-range egg

1–2 thick slices of wholemeal bread (roughly 80g)

Optional: 15g Cheddar or Parmesan cheese

4 x 120g white fish or salmon fillets, skin off, pin-boned, from sustainable sources

2tbsp tomato ketchup

4 heaped tbsp natural yoghurt

1 little gem lettuce

4 submarine rolls


Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Scrub the sweet potatoes clean, slice each one into chunky chips (use a crinkle-cut knife, if you’ve got one), then tip them on to a large baking tray.

2. Season lightly with sea salt, black pepper and the smoked paprika, then drizzle over one tablespoon of olive oil and toss to coat. Spread out in a single layer on the tray and bake for 35 minutes, or until golden and cooked through.

3. Sprinkle the flour on to a plate and beat the egg in a shallow bowl. Whiz the bread in a food processor with the cheese (if using), two tablespoons of olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper until fine, then tip on to a baking tray. Line a second tray with greaseproof paper.

4. Carefully slice each fish fillet in half lengthways (it doesn’t matter if they’re slightly different shapes). Turn each one in the flour until evenly coated, dip into the egg, letting any excess drip off, then turn in the breadcrumbs until well-coated all over.

5. Transfer to the lined tray (at this stage you can freeze the fish fingers, so feel free to double up and have some extras for another day).

6. When the chips have 15 minutes to go, add the tray of fish fingers to the oven until golden and cooked through (cook them for 20 minutes if cooking straight from frozen).

7. Mix the ketchup and yoghurt together to make a kinda Marie Rose sauce, trim and finely shred the lettuce, and slice the rolls in half.

8. Load up the bases of the rolls with a spoonful of the sauce and a handful of shredded lettuce, then place two fish fingers on each one, and pop the lids on. Serve the sweet potato chips alongside.


Buddy’s bolognese

Ingredients:

(Serves 6)

2 pork sausages

Olive oil

500g lean minced beef

2 onions

2 cloves of garlic

1 large carrot

1 celery stick

1 courgette

2tbsp thick balsamic vinegar

2 x 400g tins of plum tomatoes

1 heaped tsp tomato purée

450g your favourite dried pasta

Parmesan cheese, to serve

Credits: PA;

Method:

1. Place a large casserole pan on a medium-high heat to warm up.

2. Squeeze the sausagemeat out of the skins.

3. Drizzle one tablespoon of olive oil into the pan, add the minced beef and sausagemeat, breaking everything up with a spoon as you go, then cook for five minutes, stirring regularly.

4. Peel the onions and garlic, trim the carrot, celery and courgette, then coarsely grate all the vegetables on a box grater, finely grating the garlic. Scrape into the pan, then reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 10 minutes, or until soft and sweet, stirring occasionally.

5. Add the balsamic vinegar, then scrunch in the tomatoes (or tip in and break up with a spoon as you go). Half-fill each tin with water, swirl around to pick up the last bits of tomato and pour it into the pan.

6. Stir in the tomato purée and a pinch of black pepper, mash everything up with the spoon, then reduce the heat to low and leave to cook for one hour, or until thickened slightly.

7. About 15 minutes before you’re ready to serve, cook the pasta in a large pan of boiling salted water according to the packet instructions, then drain, reserving a mugful of starchy cooking water.

8. Carefully add the pasta to the sauce and stir well over the heat, loosening with a splash of pasta water, if needed. Divide between serving bowls, and finish with a good grating of Parmesan.



Rocky road with a white chocolate drizzle

Ingredients:

(Serves 16)

Olive oil, for greasing

100g dark chocolate (70%)

100g quality milk chocolate

125g unsalted butter

75g golden syrup

50g marshmallows

150g biscuits, such as ginger nuts, digestives

75g unsalted nuts, such as pistachios, toasted hazelnuts

75g chocolate-covered honeycomb

75g glacé cherries or dried fruit

50g quality white chocolate


Method:

1. Lightly oil a 25 centimetre x 30 centimetre roasting tray and line it with a sheet of damp greaseproof paper.

2. Sit a heatproof bowl on top of a pan of lightly simmering water, snap in the dark and milk chocolate, add the butter and golden syrup, and stir occasionally until melted.

3. Halve the marshmallows, snap up the biscuits, roughly chop or bash up the nuts, bash up the honeycomb and halve the cherries or dried fruit (if needed), then stir them into the chocolate mixture.

4. Pour into the lined tray and chill in the fridge for at least four hours, then carefully turn out.

5. Snap the white chocolate into a clean heatproof bowl and melt as described in step two (or melt in the microwave, if easier). Drizzle the melted chocolate over the rocky road, leave to set in the fridge, then slice up and serve.


Let’s Cook: Fun, Easy Recipes For Kids by Buddy Oliver is published by Penguin Michael Joseph