Food Network Canada star Roger Mooking talks about food, family and raising his three little girls.

My earliest food memory is standing on a chair folding wontons, my dad teaching me. That and asking for dumplings every day.

My dad would make curried crab and dumplings for occassions, which were my favourite. We would line the kitchen table with newspapers and drop a bowl full of crab in the centre and an empty bowl in the middle next to it for the eaten shells. The dumplings would be fished out and served to each of us in the family.

My grandmother would cook late lunch for us when we got home from school. She demanded there bea hot meal for when we came home, so she would do it herself. Bless her.

My entire family inspired me to be a chef. I come from a line of chefs, restauranteurs, caterers and food-obsessed people, past and present. Damn proud of it too.

Have you ever negotiated with a four year old? I would rather go head to head with a criminal lawyer. My baby is only two months old, and my middle daughter, now three, will eat anything put in front of her, including tripe, but my eldest daughter is quite a challenge. It's a chore getting her to eat much unless it's sweet. We do what we can and negotiate with her regularly. I cut deals like, "If you eat this much of the rest of your dinner, I will let you pick a bedtime story."

My girls snack on flavoured tofu, berries, dried mango, hard boiled eggs and granola. They always ask for for pancakes, oatmeal, smoked salmon and scrambled eggs and tuna wraps. I like to cook a new thing every single day, and I try to keep up that experimentation for their sake as much as mine.

Food is love. And that's the lesson I want to pass on to my girls.
 

Roger Mooking's Quinoa Salad

Roger Mooking's Spiced Ground Beef with Grilled Japanese Eggplant and Maple Syrup Sauce

Catch Roger on his show, Everyday Exotic, on Food Network Canada Tuesday’s at 7 pm ET.