WHEN Miranda Gardiner's mother Rosalind died from cancer in 2005, her father not only lost his soul mate of 40 years, but the metaphorical keys to their kitchen.

“The analogy that seemed most apt is that of a passenger in a car,” says chef Miranda of her father, Richard, 64, who has spent the last five years learning to cook from scratch.

“He’s always been a passenger and had the end product served up to him, but how it got there was a bit of a mystery.”

In her new book Teaching Dad To Cook Flapjack, Miranda reveals how her father began by living off beans on toast and then started ringing his daughter.

The recipe book charts her attempts to set him on the right track.

“The things he found the most difficult were all the peripheral stuff like sell-by dates, defrosting, and cooking techniques,” she explains.

Miranda adds that her mum would have been surprised by the developments.

“In the old days if I had rung up and dad answered, I’d have instantly been handed over to mum.

“Now he might phone me up three times a day, just to remark on something, because he hasn’t got anyone else there. We’ve grown closer in areas that we weren’t before.”

While Richard hasn’t entirely followed in his wife’s culinary footsteps, according to Miranda “he's done things in his own way and when he found the local farm shop he was off”. He does know one recipe which keeps his wife's memory alive.

“The flapjack is something mum used to make, so that was one of the few dishes I actually showed him how to make in person – partly because it was so easy.

“I knew he didn't have weighing scales, so I showed him using cups, and cutting the butter. It was nostalgic and reminded us both of mum.”

Pass on some of Miranda’s recipes to your family and try and get your Dad cooking too… Teaching Dad To Cook Flapjack by Miranda Gardiner is published by Hardie Grant Books, priced £20.