Creating a feast for fussy eaters; Want to know how to get your child to eat seared salmon with soy honey-lime sauce? Failing that, just some sprouts? Dedicated foodie Matthew Yeomans saw no reason to abandon adventurous eating once he had kids. So with his friend Hugh Garvey he published a cookbook to help raise fearless, unfussy eaters. Matthew invites Josh Farrington into his Cardiff kitchen.

WHEN you're busy running a thriving company and travelling all over the country, it can be hard to feed yourself properly - let alone a young family.

But Matthew Yeomans, from Pontcanna, Cardiff, not only finds the time to help create tasty, healthy meals - he's also found the time to write a whole book about it.

Together with friend Hugh Garvey, Matthew is the man behind The Gastrokid Cookbook, a new book that aims to turn fussy eaters into children willing to try anything.

Starting out as a blog in 2006, Matthew and Hugh have collaborated across the Atlantic to produce more than 70 recipes that take in everything from breakfast to dessert, including seared salmon with soy honey-lime sauce, japonaise chicken nuggets, and green zebra pizza.

So how does a globe-spanning cookbook suddenly come about? Matthew, who was born and raised in Cardiff, spent several years working as a journalist in New York before setting up his company that advises businesses on using social media.

"Years ago, I worked for a newspaper in New York called the Village Voice," says Matthew, 43.

"When I was there, I met my good friend Hugh Garvey.

"In the evenings, we both used to go out and enjoy New York's nightlife, and go to some fantastic restaurants.

"But then he moved away and I moved back to UK, and we both had children.

"We would lament how we couldn't get to go to eat in good restaurants any more."

If necessity is the mother of invention, then she certainly stepped in here.

"We couldn't go out to restaurants all the time, but we thought we shouldn't have to compromise on eating good, healthy, tasty food.

"So, in LA three years ago, we decided to start a blog to share with each other ideas for cooking for the family.

"We came up with the name 'Gastrokid' on the spot.

"He would put up his recipes and I would put up mine, and it grew from there."

Matthew says he hasn't always been a whiz in the kitchen, but his children Dylan, six, and Zelda, three, forced him to change.

"I can't say I was an excellent chef in my university years," he laughs, "but after I had a family I started to get into cooking a bit more."

Now he and his wife, Jowa, both share culinary duties - as well as roping in the youngsters.

"The kids really like baking, which I have to say is not my forte - it's a little too meticulous for my scattered brain.

"But they love helping out and making up their own desserts.

"Omelettes are good too - in fact there's a big passion in my house for breaking eggs.

"It's great to have them involved and experiencing food first hand, like tearing up basil.

"Though we don't want them running around with hot pans flying left, right and centre just yet."

Matthew is sure that this approach can get kids to enjoy food and be open minded about trying new things.

"Who would have thought that children would really like green beans?" says Matthew.

"But if you cook them up in a little garlic and olive oil, and mix in some tomatoes, you'll be surprised."

Matthew has even tackled that most hated of childhood vegetables - brussels sprouts.

"I think the reason most people don't like brussels sprouts is that the British tend to boil them to within an inch of their lives so they end up smelling like rotten socks. f "But if you parboil them, then saute them in a little olive oil and garlic, you can make brussels sprouts that even I'd want to eat."

Family food doesn't just start in the kitchen though.

"I think shopping for food is a really important part of the process. y "We do some of our shopping in supermarkets, but we use the excellent butchers in Pontcanna, DJ Driscoll & Sons, for our meat. We also go to the farmers' market in Riverside to pick up good, seasonal produce."

And good food doesn't have to be expensive, as long as you know what to buy, he says.

"I often think it's worth spending a bit more on meat.

"A good cut will really improve the quality of a dish, and will often give you leftovers for even more meals."

An even more important cost for many parents is time - but even that doesn't have to be a problem.

"These recipes are designed for people who are coming home from work, and might only have 30 minutes to put a meal together.

"Our recipes have been thought up with that in mind."

Some people may wonder how it is that a book can be written by two people from other sides of the world, from Cardiff to California.

"The truth is it's a very 21st-century collaboration," says Matthew.

"I don't think Hugh and I have seen each other in person for two years.

"But we talk on the phone twice a week and by e-mail, and update the blog together with our new ideas.

"I think it is what it is. We have different sensibilities and that works well.

"It's all about two friends sharing their thoughts.

"Publishing a book that has developed through a blog is a very new idea, but it's been a great process."

Matthew says that the message of the book would be to keep an open mind.

"Children's tastes do develop and they do go through phases, but we just want them to try new things.

"If they turn their nose up, that's OK.

"And a lot of children at school experience peer pressure, so if their friends don't eat something, they might pick up those habits."

But Matthew thinks a key is families eating together.

"It's an ideal. Obviously it's impossible to eat together every night. "But if you are eating together, then the chances are the kids will want to eat what mum and dad are eating.

"And I think that's good for families in general."

Matthew is unsure what the future holds for Gastrokid, but says he's having fun doing it.

The blog reveals more ambitious plans though: saving the world, "one home-cooked family meal at a time".

The Gastrokid Cookbook is published by John Wiley &Sons, pounds 15.99

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Matthew Yeomans from Cardiff has co-written a book of recipes for children called The Gastrokid Cookbook