As a sous chef at a three-Michelin starred restaurant, Mr Bernard Lim prepared fine French cuisine.

Now the 34-year-old Singaporean is cooking dishes such as Japanese chicken curry, mee soto, fish korma and spaghetti with chicken bolognese for pre-school children - meals which have proven popular across the 143 My First Skool centres here.

NTUC First Campus, which runs the chain, yesterday released a set of 21 recipe cards - called Recipes With Love - in an effort to promote healthy meals for children.

Parents and members of the public can download the free recipes that will be available on the My First Skool website by the end of this month.

The recipe cards have been compiled by dietitians and nutritionists, and include profiles of My First Skool cooks as well as Health Promotion Board guidelines on healthy and hygienic food preparation.

Mr Lim, who is one of the 21 chefs and cooks featured, said some of his dishes have proven so popular that even "picky children have two to three servings".

He had worked at the now-closed Joel Robuchon Restaurant before becoming head chef at the My First Skool centre in Punggol Drive around 18 months ago.

"I wanted a new challenge," said the married father of two. "I also wanted to gain experience in cooking for children to help understand my own."

Another cook featured is Madam Sakunthla Chelladurai - one of My First Skool's longest-serving cooks, having worked at the Bukit Panjang centre for 16 years.

Known to the children as "Aunty Sakun", the 59-year-old recalled how one child liked her food so much that she wanted to eat her dishes, such as spaghetti, nasi lemak and cheesecake, during the school holidays.

Recipes With Love was launched at the Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre as part of the Learning and Sharing Festival 2019.

The three-day event, which ends tomorrow, is organised by My First Skool for educators and staff to share knowledge and resources on early childhood care and education.

"Besides our educators, many others in our pre-schools also play important roles," said Minister for Social and Family Development and Second Minister for National Development Desmond Lee, the guest of honour at the launch.

"You are the unsung heroes who work tirelessly to ensure a good experience for our children, with healthy meals, a clean environment and readily available learning resources," he said.

Madam Ng Mee Lan, a 62-year-old cook at the My First Skool centre in Jalan Sultan, said she spends time improving the nutritional content and taste of her dishes.

She also tries to make fruit and vegetables more appealing to children by carving them into flowers and slicing them thinly.

Interacting with children makes her feel younger, she said. "Talking to them makes me feel so lively that my friends have noticed I'm starting to grow black hair among the white again."

Nutrition was also on the agenda yesterday at a day-long annual training event for about 700 pre-school teachers and staff from different institutions under the Crestar Education Group.

Nutritionists conducted a refresher course on nutrition and food safety for kitchen staff, among other training topics.