We had the absolute pleasure recently of talking to Peter Sawkins, the winner of the Great British Bake Off 2020, as part of our LoveReading LitFest. He's an absolute gem, and we adored his book Peter's Baking Party. As our LoveReading expert Lindsay Quayle said after reading the book: "If I could choose anyone to man the kitchen at my next tea party or bake sale, Great British Bake-Off winner Peter Sawkins would be close to top of the list!" Check out the event here.

Well this got us thinking. What have been our fave cookery books for children over the years? Books old and new. Books to inspire our children into getting creative in the kitchen and having fun. And also educating them on having a healthy relationship with food.

With his parents and brother, Edinburgh-born Peter grew up feasting on his mum’s home cooking. But it was Bake Off that inspired him to start baking for himself – he has watched every series since the first and has been baking seriously since he was only 12 years old. 

David Atherton was the winner of Bake Off 2019 and is also intent on inspiring the next generation of chefs. My First Cook Book is David's first book for children, with a focus on fun and imaginative recipes that are sure to inspire the youngest of readers to get cooking. With warm illustrations, fun and healthy recipes and easy-to-follow steps to help readers master basic cookery techniques and get inspired about food, this is an essential introduction to cookery.

Continuing the Bake Off theme, you must check out Nadiya's Bake Me A Story. We should all try and take Nadiya's lead:  “I bake with my children and I grew up with parents who are big cooks. My Dad always said that kids shouldn’t be scared of the kitchen. We forget that it’s a life skill, to be able to go into the kitchen and make something to eat.” Lots of recipes, sweet illustrations, photos of the food and Nadiya and her children, it's an absolute treat!

Perfect for the under 7 Julia Donaldson fans we'd be remiss if we didn't mention the fabulous Gruffalo Crumble. Young cooks will love first to create and then to feast on delights such as Fox’s Sandwiches, Scrambled Snake and the awesome Gruffalo Cake. The twenty four recipes are easy to follow and are brought to life by Axel Scheffler’s brilliant and familiar illustrations. Perfect for new cooks – and their parents!

Annabel Karmel, who we all recognise from those early weaning days, has created her own fantastic foody book for our young budding chefs. Have fun in the kitchen and learn new skills with one of the UK's top children's cookery authors. Annabel Karmel's Fun, Fast and Easy Children's Cookbook covers all the bases for the 5+ age range. The recipes are a lovely mix of both healthy dishes, with fresh fruit and vegetables added in creative and appealing ways, and twists on old favourites such as sunshine paella, vroom vroom bolognese and pesto pizzas.

Amongst the recipes there are informative double-spreads on essential food groups and nutrition plus useful rules to keep kids safe in the kitchen. There are also ideas for cooking for those with food allergies and dietary requirements, with suggestions of simple ingredient-swaps to turn the recipe into a vegetarian or vegan meal. This sturdy, colourful hardback makes a great gift, giving hours of entertainment and teaching an essential skill in a fun way. 

If your 7+ aged children have been inspired by Bake Off or Masterchef but don’t know where to start, Collins have created a handy book as part of their YOU CAN series. YOU CAN cook tasty food is full of recipes kids can create easily. It explains techniques and runs through a safety checklist, then encourages kids to get cooking. Written by qualified nutritionist and founder of Little Cooks Co., creators of easy, fun and healthy cooking kits for kids it's an informative and inspirational book with plenty of activities to make it fun and scribble their own notes along the way.

For the older wannabe chefs, you must check out Cool Kids Cook which is an informative, fun and stylish first cookbook for the pre-teen market. Aimed at 7-14 year olds this is an empowering read with no rice crispy cakes in sight! The 50 easy-to-follow recipies in this guide will teach basic skills and be the springboard for a live-long love of real food.

Now talking about being inspired, here's a kid who really has taken the biscuit. Omari McQueen is the youngest vegan chef and restauranteur in the world and an award-winning TV chef. From the star of TV's What's Cooking, Omari? comes Omari McQueen's Best Bites Cookbook, a book full of delicious vegan recipes. Learn how to make over 35 plant-based recipes from pizza to pasta, snacks to smoothies.

Now, one of the best things we can do for our teens is to set them off into the world knowing how to cook. I wish I had been able to do more than heat up some supernoodles when I went off to University. Cooking Up a Storm: The Teen Survival Cookbook is the perfect companion - written by a teenager, for teenagers! You'll find the full whack of food in here. From snacks through to some full-on dishes that you can serve up to your family or friends. Also check out Sam Stern's Student Cookbook.

And finally, for a totally different experience, we have to recommend Foraging with Kids. Nature, history, folklore and cookery come together seamlessly in this gorgeous guide to the edible and medicinal delights that grow wild around us. This practical book can be dipped in and out of as the seasons change or our mealtimes demand something a little different. And with the cost of food forever rocketing, it feels like this timely meditation on our natural larder couldn’t have come at a better time.

If you have a budding Nadiya, Peter, David, Sam or Omari in your household, browse and buy the perfect reads below to keep them inspired, and eating well.