They’ve been busy perfecting their cooking skills ahead of this month’s Maitland Show and will soon be putting their work on display for all to see.

The school holidays provided the opportunity for the six Scott children to hone their skills. Four-year-old Elijah was happy to get involved as well, but he’s a bit too young to make his debut at this year’s event.

Vanessa and Nathan’s eldest child, 13-year-old Abigail, has embraced the challenge and is entering more than 20 categories.

Hannah, 11, has mainly focused on the craft section and will enter her painting and drawing works. Jonathan, 10, is also pairing his cooking entries with an entry in the woodwork section. 

Meanwhile, it’s all about dogs for Miriam, 8, who has learnt to sew a dog pattern. 

Tabitha, 6, is the youngest Scott family member to participate and has taught herself how to knit so she can enter the craft section. She will also enter a slice in the cooking contest. 

Mrs Scott said the children entered the 2018 show and enjoyed it so much they wanted to do it again on a larger scale.

The family lives in Charlestown and chooses to enter the Maitland Show because of the variety of sections, particularly for children. 

“It makes the show so much more interesting as well to walk into the pavilions and see your own work on display. Then they look at everyone else’s work and say I’d like to have a go at that next year,” Mrs Scott said.

“I hope that they keep doing these kind of sections because it gives children the opportunity to display what is usually only ever shown to the grandparents who pat them on the head and say that’s nice deary. With this their work is out there for everyone to see, and sometimes they might have spent hours doing something that otherwise wouldn’t have left the house.

“They’ve learn new skills, they gain self-confidence, they improve their cooking to a presentable level, the youngest ones are reading a recipe and improving their reading skills.”