A third of British primary school children failed to identify a raw, unpeeled potato, according to new research released today by potato brand AlbertBartlett.co.uk. The study surveyed 1,000 UK parents and their children aged 4–13.
The findings point to a wider gap in basic kitchen knowledge and confidence. While 80% of pre-teens said they could feed themselves alone, 62% of parents said they did not trust their child with a vegetable peeler by age 10 and instead took over all the knife work themselves. In practice, 74% of those self-made meals are reheated ready meals rather than food cooked from scratch.
Fewer than half of 8–13-year-olds could turn a potato into basic mash, a skill the research suggests children could be building by age five. Meanwhile, 62% of children would not know where to start boiling an egg, although 72% can operate an air fryer unsupervised.
The gap extends to understanding food costs. Some 73% of 5–10-year-olds think a 2.5kg bag of potatoes, one of the cheapest staple foods in the supermarket at around £2, costs more than £10.
Uber Eats has also launched a dedicated UK ordering service for under-16s, “Eats for Teens”, meaning children are now more likely to know how to order dinner through an app than what the ingredients actually cost.
Fewer than 1 in 10 children aged 11–13 helps plan the weekly shop, despite meal planning being listed as an achievable milestone for 11-year-olds.
Cooking milestones for children
To help close the gap, consumer expert Kate Hardcastle MBE, “The Customer Whisperer™”, has worked with Albert Bartlett to create a Cooking Milestone Map. Hardcastle is a familiar face on ITV1’s Eat Shop Save, Rip Off Britain, and Watchdog, and a recent contributor to Netflix’s Big Chicken documentary.
The age-by-age blueprint sets out kitchen skills children could be building towards with support from their families. It was developed with input from Hardcastle, a mum of three, who has spent close to 30 years advising brands including Disney, AMEX, and Marks & Spencer on consumer behaviour.
18 months – 2 years old
- Tearing lettuce and herbs
- Scrubbing potatoes and washing vegetables in the sink
- Sprinkling toppings
3 years old
- Washing soft fruit in a sieve
- Mixing using either a spoon or hands to blend together ingredients
- Pouring pre measured ingredients
4 years old
- Cutting soft ingredients such as butter or strawberries using a strong plastic knife
- Using measuring spoons to scoop dry ingredients into bowls
- Spreading icing or butter with a plastic knife
5 years old
- Making mash with a fork or potato masher
- Rolling, shaping, and cutting dough
- Cracking eggs into a mixing bowl
6 years old
- Preparing fresh produce such as picking tomatoes or grapes off the vine or podding peas
- Setting the table
- Rubbing in flour and butter with fingertips as used in many recipes
7 years old
- Greasing and lining a cake tin or tray
- Peeling oranges or hard boiled eggs
- Folding, combining light and airy mixtures and batters with a whisk
8 years old
- Reading basic recipes
- Grating cheese, carrots and other ingredients, and preparing a simple salad
- Peeling potatoes and carrots with a peeler
9 years old
- Using the toaster under adult supervision
- Finding ingredients in the cupboards and fridge
- Making scrambled eggs
10 years old
- Opening cans
- Writing shopping lists
- Food hygiene, handwashing, cleaning utensils, and other basic practices
11 years old
- Meal planning and working out best value in the supermarket
- Dicing and chopping vegetables
- Making scrambled eggs
12 years old
- Baking potatoes
- Stovetop cooking such as boiling eggs or pasta
- Dicing and chopping meat
13+ years old
- Confidently using the stove, oven, blender, and microwave
- Following recipes to create a finished dish
- Using the dishwasher and putting away cutlery and crockery
Hardcastle MBE said: “Most parents I speak to are already juggling cost, time, work, and the seemingly endless question of what everyone is going to eat next. What I think we can do is make food feel a little less complicated. Food literacy starts with very ordinary things, knowing what an ingredient is, what you can do with it, and having enough confidence to have a go.”
“That doesn’t mean there won’t be takeaways, shortcuts, or nights when convenience wins, of course there will. This is about adding another option, not taking one away. If a child grows up knowing how to turn a handful of affordable ingredients into something they enjoy eating, that’s not just cooking. That’s confidence, independence, and a life skill they can carry with them.”
Food historian Dr Polly Russell agrees the skills gap has been building for years: “Children and teenagers, as we know, are skilled at using a console or navigating screens. It’s a different matter when it comes to the kitchen. Traditional ‘home economics’ is on the decline, with less cooking knowledge being passed down, and youngsters don’t have the skills to cook from scratch.”
The research also found that children who cook more than three times a week are more confident cooking from scratch from age 10 onwards. This suggests that giving children more opportunities to cook can help them build confidence and practical kitchen skills.