LESLIE HOTTIAUX
CHEF & CO-OWNER WITH HUSBAND MO OF APERO, AND MUM TO MAX (1)
“New Zealand is different to France where from the age of three kids get hot school lunches in the canteen. I remember having to eat things I didn’t like; otherwise I’d go hungry. My parents always cooked at home, nothing was fancy but it was all made from scratch. I do the same for Max, cooking at home and avoiding pre-made foods.
“Mondays and Tuesdays are the nights we’re able to eat together and it’s always at home because now Max is walking he just wants to get up and go all the time which makes eating out tricky. Max eats almost anything for now, so having a child hasn’t really affected what we eat. He’s still eating some purees which I make in big batches, but otherwise, he eats the same as Mo and me. Tonight it’s roast chicken and I’ll just chop it all up for him. He’s really into strong flavours – he loves things like oysters and kina. Quinoa is the only thing he just won’t eat; I’m guessing it’s the texture he finds unpleasant. If he refuses something, I just keep trying over several days until he learns to like it. I want him to eat all foods – it’s a battle he just won’t win against me! If he doesn’t finish his plate he won’t get to go and play.
“Mo and I don’t have lunch and we don’t really eat breakfast either, so dinner is important. It’s always at the table, the food in the middle so we just help ourselves. I’m really against having a screen in front of kids when they’re eating; I see it in the restaurant a lot. We put phones away when we’re eating – you can have them the rest of the day so forget about them for a while. Our favourite meals together are pretty simple things: lasagne, chicken soup, shepherd’s pie. Or my Apero sausage, with mashed potato and carrot. Max loved my sausage the first time he tried it which made me so happy.
“For something sweet we love a simple chocolate cream – it’s easy as and you can portion it into individual pots to use when you want. Not too heavy on the sugar as well which is always better when feeding kids.”