Recipes for Balance: Manon Lagrève’s Approach to Food and Family

Manon is a London-based chef focused on bringing French cuisine to the world. She has amassed global followership online since the Great British Bake Off, the tv-show she participated in seven years ago. A mom of two, she is known for her “what I eat in a day as a French girl in London” reels, featuring healthy recipes, and for content about joint baking and cooking projects with her toddler, Fleur.

Can you tell me a little bit about how your culinary roots shaped you and how this translates into cooking for your family and in more professional settings?

‘I grew up on the farm of my parents in Brittany, France. It gave me a natural connection to nature and food production that I think only farmer people have. Our family reunions were spent sitting at a table for six hours, just eating delicious food. Food is our love language. When I moved to London, I realized what an incredible upbringing my family gave me. I’ve spent the past six years trying to keep that connection to food and nature. One of the huge keys to health is food and what we put in our bodies. Especially in modern societies, with the rise of processed foods, we’ve not been fueling our bodies with the greatest things, resulting in poor health, the rise of obesity, diabetes and so much more. I was earning very little when I first moved to London but managed to still eat well because I knew what to buy and cook. It’s what I’d like to teach my kids – so they can be comfortable eating homemade, unprocessed food that doesn’t cost the world.’

What advice would you give parents who want to involve their toddlers in meal prep and more and why do you believe that’s important?

‘Our children are a reflection of who we are. If they see you in the kitchen, they want to get involved. Childhood is about becoming an adult, and kids copy not what you say but what you do. You don’t need anything expensive to get them involved, especially at the age when they’re starting school. Just a little stool in the kitchen, so then they can rise up to you or a child safe knife to let them experiment with cutting something soft, like a pear. We need to trust our children – they can do it! And you know what? If it’s messy, life is messy, cooking is messy. That’s the beauty of it.’

What values or habits around food or cooking are most important for you to pass on to your children?

‘The number one is food is fuel to your body. You have to eat to be strong. My parents used to say, “eat your soup if you want to get tall”. It sounds silly, but it’s true. If they love Paw Patrol, say, “Marshall needs his energy”. Translating it into a kid’s world, saying vegetables are good for you. I don’t say chocolate is bad for you either, I just say chocolate is for le goûter. In France this is the 4pm moment where we sit down for a snack. It’s about purposeful eating. Fleur might not like it, she could snack all day. But I will make her wait until we sit down with a plate together so it’s a bit more mindful.’

How do you approach creating meaningful moments with your kids at the dinner table? Do you have any rituals or traditions?

‘Little things can make a huge difference to make a meal a positive thing. My daughter is into mermaids at the moment, so she has a shell plate that she loves. I have different types of spoons she can pick. It all adds to the excitement of going to eat. Screens are a big no-no at mealtimes because it’s about purposeful eating. Don’t make it too hard for yourself, especially on busy days. Even if you eat pasta pesto with carrots and peas with some hummus on the side. As long as they’ve had some sort of carbs, veggies and protein. And finally – don’t try new things at dinner! Save that for a holiday or for lunch. To avoid drama, stick to the basics of nutrition at dinner.’

How have you built your online business while also juggling the demands of being a mom?

‘It’s a lot of hard work. But I grew up seeing my mom breastfeeding my brother on the phone with clients. She never went on maternity leave. However, I’ve always promised myself I wanted to be there for my children more than my mom could. We were at the childminder at six weeks old. And I loved being there and never felt I needed to see my mom more, but still it’s not really what I wanted for my kids. My children go to nursery in the mornings, three or four days a week, and I get them the rest of the time. I work all the time, but it’s part-time. It’s a passion job, which is very different to going to the office but also means that you can’t cut it off. Social media is relentless, you have to feed the beast. But I will sometimes take breaks from it. At Christmas, I was like, you know what? I’m just going to not share anything.’

What strategies or tips have helped you navigate the balance between your family life and professional calling? How do you make it all work?

‘Even if it’s the hardest thing for working mothers, it really is about carving out time for yourself and getting your partner to do that with you. Because let’s be honest, men are very good at taking time for themselves. Women are not. My children have this golden hour where they’re napping at the same time. During that hour, I’m not doing any chores or working. I’m just going to sit on the sofa with my nice herbal tea and maybe watch some crap tv. And stop feeling guilty about taking time for yourself! It’s so easy to feel guilty about leaving your children with someone else to take time for yourself. Luckily, my kids love it there. For us, the nursery is our village. I’ve created good relationships with the carers there because they are so important for my children’s life.’

Are there specific routines, practices, or moments that you carve out to nurture yourself and recharge?

‘I’ve just started to get back into running after not having exercised in three and a half years. This year, that’s what I’m going to do, get back into exercise. I’m still breastfeeding and I love it, but I’m not getting the most sleep. Exercise gives me a bit more energy and lifts my mood, which is mainly why I do it. The other thing I do to recharge is talking to friends, voice noting my best friends and listening to their voice notes or speaking to them. I’m a very social person and feeling the connection with my friends, hearing their voices, facetiming them, makes me really happy.’

Artwork by Joséphine Klerks