Prue Leith wants to encourage children to bake.
The 78-year-old ‘Great British Bake Off’ judge says that she wants the show to aim more recipes at children because she wants to encourage youngsters to enjoy cooking nutritious food.
She exclusively told Bang Showbiz at the National Book Awards (20.11.18) where she was nominated for the Food and Drink book of the year: "I would like to see something about children’s baking. I don’t want it to be, like, a Junior Bake Off but I’d like it to be aimed at recipes that are aimed at children."
Prue – who has written 12 cookery books including ‘Leith’s Cookery Bible’ and seven novels – trained at the Cordon Bleu Cookery School and then began a catering business.
Following her success she opened a Michelin starred restaurant in Notting Hill which she sold in 1995 and then founded Leith’s School of Food and Wine which trains amateur cooks.
While running her business, she became a food columnist for the Daily Mail, Sunday Express, The Guardian and the Daily Mirror.
The business woman acknowledged that judging on the popular BBC show has broadened her fanbase to a young audience who weren’t even born when she was writing cook books before and establishing herself as a famous food critic.
She said: "I’m 78, and there is this whole new lease of life and a young audience who have never heard of me.
"They weren’t alive when I was writing cookbooks before.
"So it’s been really stimulating, and a lot of fun."
Adam Kay also appeared at the awards show and scooped three prizes for his Sunday Times Bestseller ‘This Is Going To Hurt’ – which is made up of diary entries written when he was working on wards.
Other winners included novelist Philip Pullman who was crowned Author Of The Year.