When it comes to going out for dinner with kids, it’s easy to feel locked into only dining where there are chicken nuggets or plain buttered noodles. But if you like to eat, I dunno, literally anything else, that gets old fast. So, we asked food experts and chefs what they order for their kids at restaurants that allow them to eat where they want. It turns out that many restaurants can accommodate kids if you just think a little bit outside of the box. And better yet, these pros say that ignoring the kids’ menu — for the most part, anyway — can help your children feel empowered to eat new things.
Here’s what real chefs order (and how they order it) when they go out to eat with their kids. But first, let’s start with something comforting…
They go where there are chicken nuggets, just like us.
“My husband and I admittedly sometimes resort to restaurants who have nuggets out of ease, and we found the holy grail near our home in Palm Springs: a great Mexican restaurant that happens to have dino nuggets — hallelujah,” says Rachel Kirk, a food blogger at Laughing Spatula with a decade of recipe development experience, and mom to a 5-year-old son.
They don’t look at the kids’ menu.
Erin Fletter is a cookbook author, founder of children’s cooking school Sticky Fingers Cooking, and co-owner of the award-winning Barolo Grill in Denver. She has three daughters and has “navigated plenty of chicken-tender terrain.” But these days, she steers her kids toward new foods by saying no to the kids’ menu.
“When dining out, my strategy is simple: We rarely order from the kids’ menu. Instead, we embrace the magic of appetizers and sides. My girls have discovered they adore octopus thanks to a bold tapas order on a whim.”
They eat family style and let the kids order something for the table.
In her professional and personal experience, Fletter knows that getting kids involved in making food makes them more likely to eat it. The same concept applies at restaurants.
“If they order it, they will try it,” she says. “Encouraging kids to try things outside their comfort zone, having them choose one new thing for the family to share, like appetizers or sides, and praising kids for being adventurous without pressure is key.”
Chef Frank Bonanno, a father and owner of seven award-winning restaurants around Denver, says, “We’d order a few plates to share, which allowed them to sample small bites of many things without the burden of having to finish an entire plate. Some of my favorite memories were seeing them surprise themselves by realizing they liked calamari or risotto when no expectation was attached.”
They ask if “adult” dishes come in half portions.
“Ask if you could have a half-portion of something on the regular menu — you’re typically getting better food for the same price as chicken fingers. Pasta with plain marinara from the adult menu was always a hit,” Bonanno says.
They give them agency over their food.
Fletter has also learned that if her kids can taste-test a new sauce or spice on the side, they’re more likely to add it to the food on their plate and enjoy it versus wincing at a dish already sauced up. “I’ll ask the server to bring out a sauce or spice separately, letting my girls taste-test first. Giving kids agency makes them more willing to venture beyond the breadbasket,” she says.
“Let them be in charge and read the menu and choose. Dishes might be requested with sauce on the side, or parents can let them pick off the vegetables they don’t want,” says James Beard award-winning Chef Galen Zamarra.
They introduce new foods in low-pressure settings.
Kirk says her son is a picky eater, so instead of trying to give him a food education at the table — kind of a pressure cooker since there’s no escape or distraction from the new food — she and her husband stick to introducing new foods in low-pressure situations.
“Instead of sitting down at an intimidating restaurant waiting for them to take a bite of a new dish, take your kiddo to new places with less pressure to eat a plated meal. On a recent trip to Seattle, we roamed Pike Place Market, and my son tried all kinds of food that would normally be a no-go: beef and onion piroshki, beef jerky, hibiscus tea, smoked salmon, you name it. Look up local food halls, farmers markets, and street fairs. Let them explore new things on their own time and interest. Not only is it great for them, but most of the time samples are free, and kids love the experience.”
Zamarra also recommends you work food education into your daily life, not just at a restaurant table. “Take them shopping and let them pick the vegetables they will eat. Get them involved in cooking at home and growing food at home,” he says.
You’re probably just going to have to struggle through some chicken tender years, all of these experts agreed. But if you can put the structures in place to support adventurous eating, your kid will probably (eventually) surprise you.
Disclaimer: This content was automatically imported from a third-party source via RSS feed. The original source is: https://www.scarymommy.com/lifestyle/foods-chefs-order-at-restaurants-for-kids-to-try-new-foods. xn--babytilbehr-pgb.com does not claim ownership of this content. All rights remain with the original publisher.
