London larder: child-friendly recipes for the whole family from around the world London has become, in recent years, a destination for people serious about food. We have a diverse range of restaurants inspired by some of the most exciting cuisines of the world. We have some of the greatest writers on foods of the world - Sam and Sam Clark, Claudia Roden and Fuchsia Dunlop are my personal favourites, but there are many. Fresh, affordable, quality produce is more widely available than ever. So why are we so conservative in our approach to introducing our children to the joys of eating? Many parents underestimate the potential of children to enjoy decent food. And this is a relatively recent development. Traditionally in most cultures, children are weaned on simple foods that suit their developing stomachs, but quickly begin to try the food the rest of the family is eating. There was a bit of buzz about this when French children don't throw food was published. But our Gallic friends do not have a monopoly on the simple concept that children will enjoy their food if it comes as part of a family meal. When my daughter was young, I dutifully read the Annabel Karmel books by which many British mothers swear. If they worked for you, great. I found the recipes stodgy and boring. I bought a "baby-led weaning" book, which was just a variation on the theme of "take something stodgy and smother in cheese." The River Cottage Baby and Toddler Cookbook was by far the best British recipe book I found - the fish cakes are great, though I recommend substituting sweet potato for baked potato (more nutritious) and replacing the cornichons with some freshly grated ginger (tastier). But my daughter quickly tired of the same old bland food. When she was aged 7-12 months, I had quite a few restaurant reviews to write. Hiring a babysitter would have made writing the reviews a net loss, so I brought Antonia along. I tend to specialise in Chinese restaurants, and I quickly learned that she was far more interested in the dim sum I was eating than in any Ella's Kitchen nonsense. She tended, from an early age, to favour a fragrant spiced lamb curry that I invented over cauliflower cheese. I live in an ethnically and culturally diverse part of London. One of the great joys of maternity leave was that, while Londoners tend to be fairly reserved, people are almost always friendly to a lady with a pretty baby. Sometimes they are overly friendly: I got a lot of unsolicited advice while walking the streets of south London with a child who wouldn't sleep. But I also had the great pleasure of meeting mothers and fathers hailing from Japan, Germany, Italy, Estonia, China, the US, Australia, New Zealand, Nigeria, South Sudan, Malaysia, Spain, and plenty of other places I can't remember. Even when there is a slight language barrier, food is a common bond, and feeding a finicky child can lead to a great meeting of minds. I started asking my foreign friends, people I met on the bus, my mortgage broker (he's from Nepal, has young children, and is apparently a great cook - look out for his dish soon!) for recipes to excite a young palate. I've talked to parents about weaning philosophy - when? with what? where are the instructions you follow from? - and about what to feed a hungry toddler. While the recipes, and even ideas of nutrition, vary, there is one common thread: families that eat together enjoy their food together. Adapting adult meals for children is the best way to get children enthusiastic about what's for dinner. Each week, I'll be publishing one recipe, which should suit young tastebuds (think age 1ish onwards) but will also appeal to each child's fellow diners. My aim, inspired by Danny Goldfield's beautiful project, in which he photographed one child from every country on earth now living in New York, is to find a recipe from an immigrant from every country in the world now living in London. If you have foreign recipes to share, please email sally.peck@telegraph.co.uk. Bon appétit