#bakingwithchildren

By Akan Peter Nsek

There’s something wonderful—almost magical—about watching children interact with food. They’re curious, messy, fearless. Give a child a bowl of flour and a spoon, and they’ll likely create something wild, maybe even edible. And in that moment, they’re not just playing—they’re learning, experimenting, expressing themselves.

That’s exactly why we organized a baking event for Children’s Day this year at Amel International Services Limited, here in Nigeria. It wasn’t elaborate. It wasn’t corporate. It was just kids, flour, cocoa, custard, and a whole lot of laughter.

What began as a modest idea turned into one of the most heartwarming days we’ve had in a long time.

Why a Baking Event?

Well, why not?

At Amel International Services Limited, our Amel Susan products are made for families. That includes children. But often, kids are left out of the conversation around food—not just eating it, but making it.

So we thought: let’s invite them into the kitchen. Let them measure, stir, sprinkle, pour. Let them be part of the process, not just the end result.

Baking, after all, teaches more than cooking. It teaches patience, teamwork, sensory awareness. Plus, it’s just plain fun.

The Setup

We kept it simple.

The kids were split into small groups and given aprons, mixing bowls, and ingredients. We used a mix of Amel Susan products—banana and vanilla custard, cocoa powder, corn flour, baking soda, and of course, honey for the finishing touch.

The day’s mission? Bake cocoa cupcakes, make no-cook custard parfaits, and decorate corn flour cookies. Ambitious? Maybe. But we believed in them.

With gentle guidance from our in-house team (and a few parents), they got right to it. Some poured too much water. Others forgot the sugar. One boy added cocoa powder twice—but his batch turned out surprisingly delicious.

What We Saw

We saw confidence. Determination. Joy.

One girl, maybe 9 years old, declared, “I’m going to open my own bakery—after school, though.” Another proudly held up a very wobbly custard parfait and said, “This is for my grandma.”

There was cocoa on cheeks, flour in the air, and a few icing-covered shirts. But also pride. The kind that says, I made this. I did it myself.

We encouraged mistakes. Laughed with them, not at them. The end products? Honestly? Not perfect. But perfect enough.

What It Meant to Us

For our team at Amel International Services Limited, this wasn’t just a photo op. It reminded us of why we started in 2014—to make products that fit into real lives. That nourish, support, and bring people together.

Watching children confidently use our ingredients—the same ones their parents trust—was one of the most honest validations of our work.

Perhaps this is part of why we were nominated for the 2025 Go Global Awards, hosted by the International Trade Council in London this November. That recognition isn’t just about exports or packaging lines. It’s about values. Impact. The willingness to do things that don’t always scale, but still matter.

Being part of a global dialogue—where businesses gather not just to celebrate, but to collaborate and envision a better future—feels right. And we’re proud to represent Nigeria in that space.

What’s Next?

We’re planning more events. Maybe smaller workshops in schools. Maybe baking kits kids can use at home. The goal is simple: keep the joy going. Keep the learning going.

Because children don’t forget these moments. And neither do we.

Final Thought

Children’s Day reminded us that baking is more than a task—it’s an invitation. To imagine. To connect. To create something (and then eat it, of course).

However  I’ve been trying my best to not show Haribo so we’ve been doing lots of things to keep us busy in the house and again making most of the beautiful weather that we’ve been lucky enough to have in April, I’ve been drawing on inspiration from other ideas that I’ve seen on Instagram and also going back to my knowledge of working within the early years sector.

I don’t know if anyone else’s little ones have started to show signs of it bothering them but when we go out on our daily walk or a rainbow hunt as Haribo calls it, he can’t wait to get back home which isn’t usually like him, he usually loves exploring but he’s turned quite clingy which I really hope changes when we are allowed to get back to normal as he was such an outgoing and confident little boy.

I’ve set up some obstacle courses in the garden for him to explore and play with his outdoor toys. I also froze some of his toys in ice for him to explore playing with ice, cutting and chopping, using lots of fine motor skills, this also turned into a little roleplay activity so it just shows that you can expect it an activity to be used for one thing but they can take it a whole other way.

We also did one of Haribo’s favourite activties which is baking, we are doing so much baking during lockdown, I have to keep trying to encourage Haribo to eat it all otherwise I’m going to end up putting on a lot of weight because freshly baked biscuits and cakes are so hard to resist!

On the days we didn’t fancy going outside with played with Gelli bath, this was something that I came into contact with my training and it’s a lot of fun, Haribo had this kit for his 2nd birthday but he wasn’t really a big fan but I thought we’d try it again and this time he really enjoyed it.

I’m hoping next week will be better as I’m back to work and hopefully a little bit of normality will return but we shall see.