Book excerpt: The 50 Fantastic Ideas series is packed full of fun, original, skills-based activities for Early Years practitioners to use with children aged 0-5. Each activity features step-by-step guidance, a list of resources, and a detailed explanation of the skills children will learn. Creative, simple, and highly effective, this series is a must-have for every Early Years setting. Children have a natural curiosity towards real life procedures and being involved in cooking and all of its preparation activities has proven to stimulate young minds throughout history. By preparing simple meals together from scratch, children will naturally develop the love of good, healthy food, whilst it can also tackle the issue of fussy eaters, who are far more likely to try something they've prepared themselves. Based on Judit's sound practice as a qualified teacher and baker, having taken part in local and national conferences, she has gathered together a varied collection of activity ideas around cooking and baking from different cultures, with some added simple recipes too.