How to feed your family: the tips and tricks professional chefs use

Back to school chaos is upon us and even the professionals are feeling the heat. Here are meals and lunchbox plans that chefs put in place to make midweek mealtimes a doddle

Here's how to survive family mealtimes this month.

The children are back to school, and for many of families, that means a return to routine. Regular mealtimes sandwiched between school drops and extra-curricular activities can put a strain on even the most organised cooks. We asked the professionals how they manage the lunchbox rotation and manage to feed their families every night, when they've spent a whole day feeding customers at work. 

Choose food to stay fuller longer

Becky English is a pastry chef at the Imperial Hotel, Cork. She packs lunches that include food that she knows her kids will eat but that will also sustain them through the day. 

Cubed cheese with mini crackers, grapes, cherry tomatoes, and homemade blueberry muffins are always well received. Another option may be a wrap filled with a lick of Ballymaloe relish, slices of chicken, grated cheese, tomatoes, with orange slices, raspberries or blueberries, and a granola bar for something sweet to snack on. 

On the days when the kids feel like they might want something warm for lunch, she will prepare tomato and basil pasta or soup with small bread rolls and add some pepper and apple slices and maybe a slice of homemade banana bread. The food is kept warm in a small thermos flask. 

Plan ahead for ease 

In the evenings, Becky might make a simple pasta bake which can double as dinner and lunch for another day. She mixes pasta shells with diced vegetables (broccoli, sweetcorn and carrots) which have been boiled until tender then drained and she might add cooked chicken or bacon to the mix, depending on what is in the fridge. This is then topped with a cheesy sauce with some grated cheese on top for extra comfort. Becky bakes the pasta for about 25 minutes or until golden in a 150°C (pre-heated) oven.

Becky English makes pasta bake with her children.

Make a list and stick to it

Meghan Schiassi is a part time pastry chef at Circa, a popular restaurant in Dublin, which was awarded a Bib Gourmand within a few months of its opening. Her children’s lunchboxes are packed with a rotation of items from a list. 

She says that keeping a list helps with shopping, cooking and time management. Lists give you head space and they will also help you keep costs down by allowing you to shop according to your plan, shopping without one is a bit of a gamble at the best of times, suggests the chef. 

Meghan's list is organised in four parts: mains, sides, fruit and vegetables. Her mains include spinach, onion, sausage and Cheddar quiche; ham and spinach pesto in multigrain tortilla; mortadella on wholegrain bread; corn and courgette fritters; macaroni, corn, garden peas, boiled eggs, and tuna in a mayonnaise , lemon, salt and pepper dressing. Sides are vegetables or lentil crisps and she can also include vegetable sticks with hummus and apples with honey dip. 

She is just as organised with dinners, and a family favourite is pearl couscous with sweet potato curry. This dish, which she says her kids love is made by frying some diced onions, with grated carrots and garlic, adding some some mild curry powder, sweet paprika and cumin and topping it up with some vegetable stock, and finally adding the cubed sweet potato and letting it cook for 10 or 15 minutes until everything is tender. At the very end, she will add a little bit of coconut milk and some chickpeas.

Cook as a family 

Chad Byrne is the Executive Chef at the Brehon Hotel in Killarney and owner of the popular Hungry Donkey food truck. On Sunday, Chad likes to cook with his daughters, it allows him to pass on his skills and prepare for the week while having fun with them. Together they make broccoli and Cheddar muffins which will be eaten for lunches during the week.

Cheddar and broccoli muffins

These muffins are filled with goodness and are an ideal lunchbox filler

Servings

12

Preparation Time

 5 mins

Cooking Time

 15 mins

Total Time

 20 mins

Course

 Baking

Ingredients

• I head broccoli, grated

• ½ onion, grated

• 225g Cheddar

• 200g plain flour

• Pinch salt

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 40ml rapeseed oil

• 20 ml milk

Method

1. Sieve the dry ingredients into a large bowl, add the grated vegetables, separately, whisk all the wet ingredients together and then add them to the dry mixture.

2. Mix everything together well and bake in a muffin tray for fifteen minutes or until golden.

3. The muffins can be frozen once cool.

For more family recipes, check out our collection of midweek meals.