with the whole family getting round the table, cooking and afterwards doing the washing up. mealtimes were very much the centre of when the family got together to celebrate.So everybody helped out?Yeah, no choice there, you ate what you were given and you did

arrived in England and found out how huge Christmas is. As a child, my family didn’t celebrate Christmas, although as Algeria is a former French colony, we had holidays from school. 

Sauerkraut is what we usually eat on Christmas Day. We spend

, because I think it’s what they’re so used to. But they always have an opinion on the food they eat – they are mini critics in the making. .There’s a real celebrity scene among chefs these days. Do you meet up often with fellow fathers, Gordon Ramsay

and lots of food. My grandfather had a farm and grew lots of fruit trees, spices and herbs.I was sous chef for my grandmother. She sent me out to collect stuff from the garden. I’d dig deep for the yams and pick green bananas from the trees. The doctor bird

meal together, you are creating a closer society. A closer family first then a closer society.ResourcesLa Petite Ecole children’s cookery school runs one-day non-residential courses between August 14–17 and costs £195 per child. For details, tel: 01844