Getting the kids involved in cooking has never been easier.

SOPHIE BROWNSON talks to Monmouthshire’s celebrity chef Matt Tebbutt, about how parents can engage their children with food.

Celebrity chef Matt Tebbutt, is the man behind the food at The Foxhunter pub in Nantyderry, Monmouthshire.

The award winning chef who has a daughter Jessie, 11 and a son Henry, aged nine, believes that communication is the key to getting children involved in food.

“Sitting down together without the TV or any -thing Apple related switched on and eating together is the key,” Mr Tebbutt said.

The 39 year-old from Monmouthshire , who returned to Wales with his wife, Lisa, in 2001, after training in London with many of the UK’s leading chefs such as, Marco Pierre White, Alistair Little and Sally Clarke, believes that parents need to act to get children interested in cooking with them.

“I got into food through my parents who were very encouraging and who used to take me to eat out in restaurants, but that is not something which everyone does,” he added.

“Eating out is something that we do on the continent so that children get more appreciation for food.

“It starts with the adults taking the time to cook with their kids from a young age.”

With awards that include the AA Notable Wine List 2012, the Perfect Pub Awards: Best Food 2007 and the Wales the True Taste (Cymru y Gwir Flas); Mr Tebbutt knows what he is talking about.

“I agree with Jamie Oliver- it is not about lack of money.

“You can eat very well on a budget if you know what to look for.”

Knowing where your food comes from is also an important part in the process of cooking with your kids.

“I know that everyone is time short but it is important that kids know where food comes from,” he said.

“In the last 13 years since I have run this restaurant I think it all comes down to one thing- food should be a social gathering.

“It is what our parents have grown up with and it is lost ion this generation due to lack of time.”

The chef recommends getting the kids involved in cooking this weekend’s Sunday roast is the best way to get the kids involved.

“Sunday is the one day of the week that the majority of people don’t work and so families should sit down and spend a few hours cooking and chatting and eating together.

“A lot of people are uptight about cooking and worry about it going wrong but there is always going to be mistakes and you can correct them.”

Crumble is another favourite to cook with the kids.

“It is so easy to make a pudding with the kids or get them involved in the Sunday roast-get them making the bread source, or peeling the veg and waving some four and sugar around.”

Mr Tebbutt has written two cook books-Cooks Country in 2009 and his latest book Guilty Pleasures, released in July this summer.

“Guilty Pleasures is all about the food that is not exactly good for you but what is good for the soul.

“Chefs go on about being organic, which is fine, but you need to enjoy yourself sometimes,” he said.

Having trained with many of the UK's leading chefs, from Marco Pierre White, to Alistair Little and Sally Clarke; Mr Tebbutt believes cooking is an important life skill to be learned from an early age.

“Nearly every kid goes to uni now because they are geniuses- but they can’t even boil an egg.

“They need to be able to cook.”

Private or group cookery lessons with Mr Tebbutt in The Foxhunter kitchen are available.

Prices from £60 per person for three hours.

For more information about the Foxhunter email info@thefoxhunter.com or call 01873 881101.