Easy chill. Easy grill.

Harry Albel is a trained confectioner, experienced food designer and passionate dad. His very personal mission is not only to skilfully stage food, but also to make the whole variety of dishes exciting for children – always with the spirited participation of his five-year-old son Moritz. Because what you have cut, kneaded, or stirred yourself just tastes that much better when you are young. And it’s good for the brain, too! Because cooking improves motor skills, children learn to work independently, take on their own preparation steps and grow with their tasks. And of course, cooking together is a lot of fun. A little chaos in the middle? That is surely allowed, it should be, it must be! After all, all the senses are stimulated when working in the kitchen. 

The single father, who also creates all kinds of delicacies in his workshop, from syrup to chutney to spirits, allows children the freedom of choice. His most important precept: “You should never force them to taste.” Taste preferences change all the time.

The joy of exploring and discovering grows even more readily the more one can sow and harvest from an early age, but also consciously buy and prepare. Moritz, at any rate, has always been right in the middle of the kitchen action from the very beginning.

The signature dish of the two: Mashed potatoes. Because the preparation method is unique. Cooked potatoes are wrapped in aluminium foil with herbs and olive oil, then a board is placed on top – and finally Moritz is placed on top of the board. Since he was two years old, he has been expertly mashing the tasty mash. Incidentally, this perfect dish also goes with every embarked upon barbecue adventure. Now it’s called: It’s BBQ time!

Curry Chicken Fingers with a duet of corn lollipops, grilled pineapple and mango curry sauce 4 people

• Mango Curry Sauce  150 g yoghurt, 50 g crème fraîche, 1 tsp madras curry, ½ mango ripe/soft, salt, pepper, fresh coriander, black sesame seeds or black cumin, green onion. Peel the mango and cut into small pieces. Place in a bowl with the madras curry and mash finely with the help of a fork. Add the yoghurt & crème fraîche and mix well. Season with salt, pepper and fresh coriander. Finally, garnish with black sesame seeds and thinly sliced green onions.

• Grilled pineapple½ Pineapple. Peel the pineapple and remove the stalk. Cut into nice chunks and prepare for the grill.

• Curry Chicken Fingers 16 pcs.  of chicken fillets, 1 tsp curry powder, 1 tsp maple syrup, 1 tsp olive oil, salt, pepper.Mix the curry powder with the olive oil and maple syrup. Thread the chicken fillets onto wooden skewers and marinate well with the curry mixture. Season the skewers with salt and pepper on all sides.

• A duo of sweet corn lollipops250 g instant polenta, 1 l water, 2 tbsp browned butter, 80 g grated Parmesan, salt, pepper.Boil water with salt and pepper and stir in the instant polenta. Let it come to a boil briefly (about 1 minute). Remove from the heat and thoroughly stir in the grated Parmesan and browned butter. Form rolls using cling film and chill in the fridge. When cool, cut into slices about 2 cm thick and place on wooden skewers.

Original German translated to English by Familux