Holland Park local Rosemary Doyle has worked at World of Learning Holland Park West as a Cook for more than seven years and knows that the way to a child’s heart is through their stomach.

Mother of two, Rosemary has learnt many different ways over the years to ensure children eat their food, as she cooks nutritious meals for 75 children and 20 team members each week.

“Many parents at the centre kept asking me for my recipes so we created a cookbook which includes almost 20 recipes of all the meals that their children love to eat at World of Learning Holland Park West. The cookbook has been so well received,” said Rosemary. 

“I know a lot of the children go home at night and rave to their parents about the food they’re given in the centre. So much so, that it was a child’s birthday a few weeks ago, his mum asked him what he wanted to eat for his birthday dinner, and he replied with Miss Roro’s Spaghetti Bolognese. She even offered him McDonald’s as a special birthday treat but he had his heart set on my spaghetti. Unfortunately for his mum, he told her he didn’t like the spaghetti that she cooks, so she had to pretend to pick it up from me in the centre, but really she cooked the recipe in the cookbook and he ate it all at home.

“I feel really chuffed when I hear that the children are happy to eat my meals, but that they’re also asking their parents for those same meals at home as well.

“We have a few children here who eat three, four or five bowls of their lunch, and then will go home and tell their parents that they’re too full so they don’t want to eat their dinner. 

“Parents are surprised because their child may not eat that much at home.

“As long as they’re consuming a healthy amount of all five food groups, they burn it all off when they’re running around with their friends in the playground.

“I often will hide vegetables in the meals I make. The hidden vegetables could be pumpkin, sweet potato, carrot, zucchini, capsicum or spinach. 

“Everything the children eat here meets national nutritional guidelines. Some of the children’s favourite meals are: spaghetti bolognese, nachos, sandwiches, chicken and mushrooms, butter chicken and fried rice. Some of their favourite snacks are cauliflower muffins, beetroot balls and zucchini muffins.

“Other ways I’ve found that helps encourage some of the more fussy eaters are to sit with them and ask them to try it for me, or other children will say to them “Eat this – it’s delicious,” so that encouragement from their peers can often help too.

“Another way to encourage children to eat a wider variety of foods is to get them involved in grocery shopping whether that’s online or in store, or asking them to help with cooking or preparing food, so that could be washing vegetables, making sandwiches or helping to bake muffins.

“I’ve found that by getting children involved in preparing food, they are more likely to try to eat it. If they change their mind, that’s fine as you can blitz the vegetables and incorporate it into the meal.

“Cooking healthy nutritious meals gives the children energy throughout the day, it strengthens bones, supports brain and cognitive development and it can improve their immune systems. Feeding healthy meals to children while they’re young also creates good eating habits, so they’re less likely to be exposed to junk food.

“It’s not just the children I feed, I provide meals to the educators too. All of the team love the recipes as well.”

The theme for this year’s National Nutrition Week is ‘love what you eat’. When asked how Rosemary ensures the children at World of Learning Holland Park West love what they eat, she replied with, “When I get a chance, I go into the rooms or the playground and ask what the children actually want to eat. They tell me what they like and don’t like. I will often walk into the rooms during lunch and ask them if today’s lunch is a hit, they’ll tell me yes or no. They’re pretty good with their meals here. Not a lot of food comes back to my kitchen.”

Rosemary’s tricks to encourage children to eat nutritious meals

• Hide vegetables in meals and snacks
• Eating around others can encourage children to eat more and try new dishes – whether that’s with the family or their friends at their childcare centre
• Involve children in grocery shopping and child-appropriate cooking tasks like washing vegetables or getting pasta from the cupboard
• Ask your child what they want to eat
• Read books about eating meals and dinnertime
• Grow a herb or vegetable garden at home.

Miss Roro’s Hidden Veggie Bolognese Recipe

1TBS Vegetable Oil                        1 Cup Grated Zucchini

700g Beef Mince                             1tsp dried Oregano

1tsp Crushed Garlic                     2 Bay leaves

2TBS Tomato Paste                       50g Butter (unsalted)

400g Tomato Passata                  1 Packet spaghetti

1 Cup Grated Carrot                     Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Place a large frying pan on medium/high heat, add oil to pan then add the beef mince and break up using a spatula. Add oregano, salt and pepper to mince, mix through and cook for around 5mins or until or browned.
2. Add onion and garlic to the beef, sauté for 1-2 minutes. Add tomato paste and mix through the beef mixture, then mix through the carrot, zucchini and then passata. Add the bay leaves and butter. Place a lid over the pan and turn the heat down to low/medium and let simmer for 15-20 minutes. Stirring occasionally.
3. Meanwhile cook the spaghetti and lightly salted water.
4. Once pasta is cooked al dente, mix through the bolognaise and serve with a sprinkling of parmesan cheese.

Find more about World of Learning Holland Park West or book a tour here.