Convinced that the pleasure of eating can be learned from an early age, the Uncle Ben’s® teams have decided to get involved with the “Ben’s Beginners” program to raise awareness among families of the importance of passing on culinary knowledge.
30% of children can’t recognize a leek or zucchini, 50% an artichoke and 90% a beet…
In our country of gastronomic culture, whose meals have been listed as a Unesco intangible heritage site since 2010, these observations deserve to be taken into consideration
.
While the French food model tends to hold up well, it is undergoing changes. Faced with the demands of professional life, it’s not always easy
to make time for good family meals, varied cooking and awakening children to the pleasures of taste from an early age. And yet, the transmission of culinary knowledge, as an integral part of the family identity, is a fundamental concern.
Sharing meals with friends or family is a key point when it comes to a balanced diet.
Restoring the taste for culinary transmission, sharing by involving children in the preparation of meals, having fun while learning a skill that, in the end, will become an integral part of everyday life, is a major challenge!
The mission of the “Ben’s Beginners” program
To give families a renewed taste for cooking together, with simple, balanced and convivial meals… To show that sharing good food can be a great source of pleasure. In short, to create an emulation of family cooking, based on sharing and conviviality.
We were able to preview the program and meet Jean Sulpice, the famous Michelin-starred chef, and had a great time.
The idea is also to remind people that rice is an easy-to-cook starch that can bring young and old together around balanced family dishes. With Jean Sulpice as patron, the “Ben’s Beginners” program will kick off in August with a major family cooking competition. And
is just the beginning, so get ready for the start of the new school year!
The “Ben’s Beginners” mission:
Restore families’ taste for cooking together, simply and easily.
Over the past few years, the pleasure of cooking has been back in the spotlight. But while 7 out of 10 people say they prefer to cook with others, particularly their families2, and 71%3 of French people want to learn how to eat a balanced diet, it’s not always easy to “get down to business”, either for lack of time or ideas. Convinced that taste awakening, palate development and good culinary practices are acquired early on, from childhood onwards, the Uncle Ben’s® teams decided to create the “Ben’s Beginners” program to help families rediscover the pleasure of cooking together at home… and to show
that it’s not that complicated!
This is thanks in particular to rice, a starchy food that can be both simple and fun to cook with, and whose properties make it easy to create delicious, balanced recipes
.
Cooking, sharing, passing on…
Twice Michelin-starred chef Jean Sulpice has been committed to awakening children’s taste buds ever since his son was born.
Born into a family of restaurateurs, he wants to pass on the treasure he has inherited: a taste for convivial cuisine cooked with fresh produce.
Convinced that eating well is essential to the healthy development of children, and later adults, the chef is fully committed to
promoting culinary transmission based on sharing, conviviality and eating well.
And he didn’t hesitate to get down to practical work: this young father prepares the daily meals for the Val Thorens crèche where he lives. Every day, in his restaurant
, he concocts dishes that gradually introduce children to a wide variety of flavors. His aim: to raise awareness, educate and pass on the quality of food to children. A unique case in France!
And today, Jean Sulpice has chosen to support Uncle Ben’s® in its efforts to encourage children to cook with their parents, thanks in particular
to the creation of easy and original rice-based recipes. It is a natural extension of the “Ben’s Beginners” program, designed to raise awareness among families of the importance of passing on culinary knowledge.
“The role of a Michelin-starred chef is not only to defend the profession, but also to feed children intelligently. Learning to recognize tastes, to cook, to eat well, is as important as learning to read or write. Today, it is vital to make families
aware of the importance of these moments of sharing, at the heart of family well-being and the health of all. Being a two-star chef doesn’t prevent me from
cooking simple, gourmet dishes for my family and friends. Rice is an accessible, easy-to-cook, convivial ingredient that allows
children to play a full part in meal preparation.”
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