Bucks &amp; Oxon


<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1065" height="1600" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/10/LAURIE.jpg" alt="Laurie Gear chef patron of Artichoke restaurant Amersham" class="wp-image-197409" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/10/LAURIE.jpg 1065w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/10/LAURIE-533x800.jpg 533w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/10/LAURIE-666x1000.jpg 666w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/10/LAURIE-266x400.jpg 266w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/10/LAURIE-1022x1536.jpg 1022w" sizes="(max-width: 1065px) 100vw, 1065px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Michelin-starred chef Laurie Gear in Artichoke kitchen</figcaption></figure>



<p>Laurie Gear is the self-taught Proprietor-Chef at <a href="https://artichoke.co.uk"><strong>Artichoke</strong></a>, the Michelin-starred modern British restaurant in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, that counts <a href="https://berkshire.muddystilettos.co.uk/life/people/chef-raymond-blanc-interview/">Raymond Blanc</a> as one if its biggest fans. No surprise that all things food is a passion project for him, but what you might not know is that he has a long-time involvement judging a hard-fought cooking competition at local Prep school <a href="https://bucksoxon.muddystilettos.co.uk/kids/school-reviews/the-beacon-school-amersham-review/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Beacon</a>. </p>



<p>Here children aged 9-12 years old cook up a three-course meal (like, <em>wow</em>) to vie for the crown of Junior Master Cook &#8211; and the added bonus of a meal at Artichoke. With his own daughter also nine, Gear clearly cares about the next generation&#8217;s relationship with food &#8211; but if you&#8217;re a parent you&#8217;ll know how hard it is to encourage cooking over gaming, or family meals over lap suppers. So what&#8217;s the answer? We&#8217;ve caught up the renowned chef to find out. </p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-junior-master-cook-sounds-fun-laurie-but-can-those-kids-really-cook"><strong>Junior Master Cook sounds fun Laurie, but can those kids really cook?</strong></h4>



<p>Honesty, the standard is really high, its beggars belief. The kids were rolling out fresh pasta and making things like beef Wellington! This year we had an Indian lad who made a chicken curry with jasmine tea in the ingredients, another did a Surf and Turf burger and made his own mayonnaise with triple cooked chips. You’d be happy to have them as a meal! It’s such a great life skill, and it’s been sadly lost in a lot of schools and families.</p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-did-you-cook-much-as-a-child"><strong>Did you cook much as a child?</strong></h4>



<p>We had no money at home in Dorset, but we always had freshly cooked food – my mum was a school cook, and I used to help out. There were also cooking lessons at our Junior School. I remember making a sausage casserole with a can of tomatoes, parsley, two Walls sausages and baked beans. The defining moment for me, though, was the inclusion of bay leaves. My late father was a general knowledge master and knew bay leaves grew by the sea – we picked some, and I remember that herbal aroma as if I was seeing the first tiger. It really ignited my interest in cooking.</p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-s-happened-to-the-family-dinner-since-you-were-a-child"><strong>What’s happened to the family dinner since you were a child?</strong></h4>



<p>My late father and mother worked 18 hours a day and I hardly saw my dad, but Sunday was the one morning that he didn’t work, and as a real treat we would sit down as family and have a roast lunch, most often a roast chicken. I still cook that meal on a Sunday as it’s so close to my heart. Families are now so busy and meals on laps is becoming the norm, but Sunday is a great reason not to have the television on and eat together and the more you do it the more you’ll get into the routine of it.</p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-do-you-encourage-your-daughter-to-cook"><strong>How do you encourage your daughter to cook?</strong></h4>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1238" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/10/LAURIE-AND-EMILIA-Artichoke-2.jpg" alt="Laurie Gear with his daughter at ome cooking " class="wp-image-197503" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/10/LAURIE-AND-EMILIA-Artichoke-2.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/10/LAURIE-AND-EMILIA-Artichoke-2-646x800.jpg 646w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/10/LAURIE-AND-EMILIA-Artichoke-2-808x1000.jpg 808w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/10/LAURIE-AND-EMILIA-Artichoke-2-323x400.jpg 323w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Laurie with his daughter in the kitchen at home</figcaption></figure>



<p>I think one of the key things for all children in the kitchen, including mine, is to let them take ownership. Ask them what they fancy eating that day, try to mix things up between meat, fish, vegetarian and also think about the diversity – when I was young we never had Indian or Mexican or Chinese food on the menu, but nowadays kids love fajitas or stir fry. Ask them to come back to you with what they’d like to eat, ask which country they’d like to ‘visit’ at dinner today or even taken inspiration from your family holidays. You’ve perhaps been to Spain, France or Italy and can introduce a theme they’ll enjoy. </p>



<p>Use ingredients that your kids have grown in the garden too, which will help them to see where their food comes from; simple peas, radishes, and lettuces are quick wins. I remember growing mustard and cress for an egg sandwich, dead easy to do. Also, I’d encourage parents to do the food prep with their children. At my house we lay the table and sort the veg together and I have a fond memory of my own dad at the sink on a Sunday with a woodbine in his mouth, peeling potatoes!</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">
<p>For teens you have to make cooking seem cool and trendy and encourage them to have a crack at it </p>
</blockquote>



<p><strong>What if your child is still reluctant?</strong></p>



<p>I think you need to think of it as a creative pursuit – it’s play at the end of the day so try to make it fun. The more you let them do things themselves safely, the more they’re like “Wow”. We bought an air frier recently, so we’ve been making little chocolate pots and fondants in there. With my daughter we put music on as we cook, and make it feel relaxed, so she gets in the zone and enjoys herself.</p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-any-inspiration-for-winter-cooking-as-a-family"><strong>Any inspiration for winter cooking as a family?</strong></h4>



<p>I found my late mothers’ fondue from the &#8217;70s not long ago, so we reinvented the fondue in our family and my daughter loves that – we make it together and it’s such a social thing with the dipping. The prep is dead simple and it’s ideal for winter. Obviously now as the weather cools, casseroles and slow cooking are an easy win option. I make suet dumplings with my daughter as cannonballs! We pop them in at the end, but I show her the various stages, and we taste together – “Do you think it needs a bit more salt?” If she feels she’s not being talked at and told what to do, then the shoulders come down and its fun.</p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-do-you-plan-your-family-s-meals-for-the-week"><strong>Do you plan your family’s meals for the week?</strong></h4>



<p>Sort of but I do involve my daughter. So, on the weekend we talk about planning for Monday and what would she like to eat? On Wednesday I might tell her that her mum’s bought such and such for shopping and shall we make a pudding to go with that?</p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-younger-children-are-easier-to-manage-but-how-do-you-keep-a-teen-interested-in-cooking"><strong>Younger children are easier to manage, but how do you keep a teen interested in cooking?</strong></h4>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1200" height="800" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/03/artichoke_initial_edits-41.jpg" alt="dessert at artichoke amersham restaurant " class="wp-image-186713" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/03/artichoke_initial_edits-41.jpg 1200w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/03/artichoke_initial_edits-41-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/03/artichoke_initial_edits-41-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/03/artichoke_initial_edits-41-400x267.jpg 400w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption"> Dessert, Artichoke style</figcaption></figure>



<p>I think you have to try and make cooking seem trendy and interesting. Few teenagers are going to be keen on pulling out plants from the garden at 16, but they might be interested in a course or a competition. If you can, take your children out to different restaurants, open them up to experiencing different foods and encourage them have a crack themselves – either for you, or maybe just for a friend. This is one of the most important life skills for your children’s health, socialisation, and also the planet. Don’t give up!</p>



<p><em><a href="https://www.artichokerestaurant.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Artichoke</a>, 9 Market Square, Amersham HP7 0DF. </em></p>



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-in-the-mood-for-more">IN THE MOOD FOR MORE?</h2>



<ul>
<li><a href="https://bucksoxon.muddystilettos.co.uk/things-to-do/latest-news/culture-food-news-michelin-oxfordshire-buckinghamshire-october-2025/">Hot gossip! Michelin wins and Fortnum &amp; Mason’s landed at Bicester Village</a></li>



<li><a href="https://bucksoxon.muddystilettos.co.uk/eat-out/restaurants/review-michelin-star-artichoke-restaurant-amersham-buckighamshire/">Muddy reviews The Artichoke in Amersham </a></li>



<li><a href="https://bucksoxon.muddystilettos.co.uk/life/people/sourdough-elaine-boddy/">Muddy meets sourdough queen Elaine Boddy</a></li>
</ul>


‘Cooking is play for kids, you need to make it fun’

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