Children as Foodies

Our grandkids are getting older now, it's hard to believe that the two oldest will head off to college this fall. They all live out of state and we don't get to see them as much as we would like, especially now with a raging pandemic. 

It's fun to look back on visits and remember the good times we had, especially cooking up meals together. The first year we discovered what little foodies the three Boston kids were was when the girls, Emma then age 7 and Abby then 9, along with their little brother who was not quite 3, came to visit. The girls loved to cook and enjoyed watching food programs. I found it quite amazing that kids their ages were so interested in the preparation and sampling of food.

Chef Abby, Stirring Things Up

From the moment they walked in, both girls were very interested in what was going on in the kitchen. They wanted to pitch in and help make all the food. Over tired from not feeling well, a busy week and little sleep, I was messing up everywhere ... burning my mustard sauce for the salmon, almost pouring custard into the ice cream maker without having inserted the freezer bowl, etc. ...  I threw in the towel, but the girls were right on their game ... very willing to finish the ice cream for me (hmm, I wonder why).

Through the week we picked herbs and chopped them, made pizza dough and pizza sauce, cooked ribs and homemade barbecue sauce, wrapped up fajitas and egg rolls, made pasta, and shrimp Provençal … you name it, we did it, and we had a lot of fun in the process.

 Chef Emma, Doing Double Duty

I don’t think Emma and Abby were typical for their ages. I’ve seen a lot of fussy kids that have about three items in their “what they will eat” repertoire. These girls enjoyed the usual kid menu items ... chicken fingers, noodles, etc. (of course, don't we all like that stuff?) ... but they were taught to at least try a wide variety of food. They didn’t like every single thing we made, but they did taste it all.

And it wasn't just the girls. Their younger brother Gavin, twice had mussels for lunch ... yucky looking mussels! Thinking back to when I was young, although we ate a lot of seafood, I can't imagine that I would have eaten mussels ... I don't think I tried a mussel until I was well into adulthood.

Gavin, Champion Mussel Eater

It was nice to see young kids so interested in a wide range of foods ... happily munching on things like mussels, calamari and brie cheese (what kid prefers brie cheese over American??). At that age they had already developed palates more sophisticated than many adults.

Although I hate to endorse TV watching, the food programs the kids watched might have had a positive influence on them. They learned about different ingredients and culinary terms that they might not otherwise have been exposed to.

But, of course, the majority of the credit for raising good eaters goes to their parents. Their mom and dad are both excellent cooks that appreciate good food. They taught their children to do the same and to be adventurous ... and that, I think, is a great thing ... because good food should truly be appreciated and enjoyed, no matter one's age.