I, for one, learnt the trick and began serving choice dishes like "monkey brains, toxic waste, spider pie."

The more innovatively stomach-turning the dish was marketed, the more attractive it was to my son and his friends, which lead to his cleaning up his plate most of the time.

Then came Ratatouille – instant hit and new marketing manoeuvre in the modern mom's arsenal!

The title of the film is inspired by a French dish, a version of which is served in the film, and was chosen because of the pun it plays out on the species of the main character (a rat named Remy).

In actuality Ratatouille is a traditional French dish of stewed vegetables from the region of Nice.

It is usually made from chunky vegetables, but the dish served in the movie was a more sophisticated version called Confit Biyaldi that Chef Thomas Keller, chef/owner of Napa Valley's critically acclaimed restaurant French Laundry came up with.

Served either as a side dish, or a meal in itself accompanied by rice, or bread, Ratatouille is rich in:

- vegetables,

- tomatoes,

- onions,

- zucchini,

- eggplant and

- bell peppers,

All these ingredients are sautéed lightly in olive oil and flavoured with garlic and the legendary French herb mix, Herbes de.

It is also as healthy as it can get!

The Ratatouille the cartoon rat-chef Remy dishes up for the cartoon food critic Ego, transports him back to his childhood!

Here is a link to the recipe for Remy's Ratatouille.

In the photograph: Calvin devouring his meal