au pair

Recipes and cooking ideas

⏱ Reading time: 3 min.
Besides taking care of your Host Kids, cooking will be one of your main responsibilities as an Au Pair. 

In this article we will clarify which duties the Au Pair will have in the kitchen and how you can get wonderful ideas for tasty recipes!
recipe ideas
As an Au Pair you will have to face different responsibilities related to child care.You will be taking care of the children, teaching and playing with them, you will be helping and looking after them when the parents are away. Among these duties, cooking is a very important one. Be sure that children will fall in love with your recipes and with the cooking process!

This can be a challenge, especially if the Host Family follows a healthy diet. First of all, we want to clarify which duties the Au Pair has in the kitchen and what she is not supposed to do as well.

Does the Au Pair have to cook for the Host Family?

An Au Pair should be able to prepare tasty and healthy meals for themself and for the Host Kids. The majority of Host Families expect the Au Pair to prepare sandwiches that the children can take to school and to provide them with a good meal after school. Each family has a different approach, though: some parents rely completely on the Au Pair, others like to cook, while the Au Pair only has to warm up the meal. Especially in case of allergies and food intolerances, the Au Pair must be well informed so that she does not accidentally use the wrong ingredients!
 
However, the Host Family cannot require the Au Pair to cook for the whole family. Some Au Pairs are happy to introduce their local cuisine to the Host Family. Even if you are homesick, eating your favourite food can be comforting. In any case, an Au Pair is not obliged to cook for the whole family unless there was a specific agreement on the contract. Both sides should talk about the requirement before starting the experience in order to avoid misunderstandings. 

Can the au pair involve the children in the cooking?

Of course it can! But the right question would be, can the Au Pair make cooking a new interesting activity for children?

In the first place, since having children around while cooking may be not that easy, we recommend you to invite them to participate by helping you. Children usually enjoy being of help  and allowing them to mix the ingredients or check the time may be a lot of fun for them! Also, they are really curious and love learning new things so it is important for you to keep them involved, explain the steps you both are following (don't forget that they are a big part of the team!) and ensure that they are going to be curious enough to try new meals out.

By following our tips, cooking may become your favourite activity!


Share your recipes!

Are you a great chef who never runs out for good cooking ideas? Do you have a blog for cooking or baking is your passion? Do not hesitate to share your ideas with us!

In order to provide our big Au Pair community with new cool and easy ideas, just leave a comment below. Help those Au Pairs who don't have a passion for cooking and find it hard to create new meals as well as to give those passionate cooks new challenges and tasty meals to try out. From sweet to salty, from breakfast to dinner, all your recipes are welcome!




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