Alex Guarnaschelli, Ava Clark talk about 'Cook It Up'

Food Network star and acclaimed restaurant chef Alex Guarnaschelli credits her parents (her late mom was legendary cookbook editor Maria Guarnaschelli), for cultivating her sense of taste and her culinary skills early on. So it’s no surprise that as she has raised her own daughter, 16-year-old Ava Clark, the two have spent many hours enjoying food — and each others’ company — in the family kitchen.

The techniques they swear by — everything from a trick for evenly seasoning meatballs to amping up the flavor of garlic bread by adding sautéed shallots — are detailed in their book, Cook it Up: Bold Moves for Family Food (Clarkson Potter, $30), which comes out Tuesday. Guarnaschelli, who has a home in Bridgehampton, will also talk about the book with Newsday’s Erica Marcus at the paper’s Melville location on Sept. 14 in a Long Island LitFest and Newsday Live event.

Refreshingly, the mother-daughter duo focuses on the joy of cooking rather than Instagram-perfect results. They kindly elaborated on their low-key philosophy in a recent Q&A, taking turns explaining how they think about kids and parents together in the kitchen.

At what age is a child ready to start helping in the kitchen?

Do you remember the first dish you prepared all by yourself?

Ava, were you ever picky about anything your mom tried to feed you? 

Alex, do you have any advice for parents with picky kids? 

Ava, what are the best pro tips you’ve gotten from your mom? 

Alex, have any of Ava’s ideas and innovations made it onto your restaurant menus or tv shows?  

Can you each name a favorite recipe from the book and explain why it’s a favorite? 

So many of the recipes in your book are influenced by your parents’ and grandparents’ food. This book really honors their memory. Can each of you describe an ingredient, technique or recipe of theirs that you particularly cherish?

I know you two have spent time on the East End. Does your cooking change when you are on Long Island? What inspires you out here? What are some of your favorite summer-into-fall ingredients?