Gourmet grub for foodie babies

Britain's growing obsession with food has moved into the nursery. A new generation of foodie parents are fostering a trend towards "enfant cuisine".

Hip cooking for the hip metropolitan baby is coming, and it includes dishes such as tomatoes with fennel and basil, and salmon and vegetable tagliatelle.

Enthusiasts not only want their very young children to enjoy fresh food that isn't packed with additives - they think palate training should come even before potty training, and to this end believe that babies should be introduced to interesting herbs and spices, such as cumin and coriander.

An unprecedented series of ready-made gourmet dishes for babes in arms is now being created by one of London's top chefs, Mark Hix, who masterminds the menus at Le Caprice and The Ivy.

Belinda Mitchell, co-founder with her husband Keith of The Original Fresh Babyfood Company, which is distributing the new recipes, believes that only the best is good enough for baby. "Why shouldn't babies have the same variety of choice that adults do?" she said.

Full story, page 5