For some families, the requisite mac and cheese, pizza and chicken fingers and fries on a kids’ menu are a life saver.
But there’s a flip side to this, too. In a culturally diverse world, where flavours know no borders, why do we still make assumptions about which foods children are and aren’t familiar with? And why are kids’ menus often reduced to a short list of items we assume all children like? Maybe dining out can be an opportunity to broaden culinary horizons, rather than always falling back on the usual suspects.
“I’m not really a fan of kids’ menus,” says Scott Jonathan Iseroff, co-founder of Bernadette’s in Edmonton. “It’s kind of an insult to the child and holding them back instead of exploring what food is and can be.”
The Mushkego chef from Attawapiskat First Nation grew up in Timmins, Ont., and is in awe of the culinary diversity his five-year-old daughter has access to, whether it’s shawarma, sushi or bubble tea. “I hadn’t experienced that until I moved to Toronto. I think that’s amazing for her.”
Anna Chen, chef-owner of Michelin Bib-rated Alma in Toronto and mom to a four-year-old, has a similar view. “I think all cuisines are kid friendly. I spent a lot of years cooking in Italian restaurants. And, yes, kids love pasta and butter sauce, but if they are only presented with those things, they’d never learn to broaden their palate.”
Food was a key part of the journey when Nicole Gomes, chef and co-owner of Calgary’s Cluck N Cleaver, brought her adopted daughter home from Vietnam to Canada. For the first two-and-a-half years of her life, in the orphanage, her daughter ate baby formula, noodles and rice, she says. Before leaving Vietnam, Gomes and her sister spent nearly a month introducing her to foods from her own culture. “Once she felt comfortable, we took her into the night market. We ate on stools. We fed her sticky rice out of leaves and grilled meat on sticks.” They’ve been in Canada since January and Gomes still encourages her to try everything. “I make it really curious. If she doesn’t want it, I don’t force it,” she says.
For Hector Laguna, executive chef of Botanist in Vancouver, nurturing his kids’ love of food means bringing the world into their own kitchen. “Every Monday, we cook food from a different country,” he says. “While we cook, we listen to music and learn everything we can about the country, from places to visit to art to its favourite sport. Then, during dinner, we ask questions like, ‘what’s your favourite part?’ and ‘how do you like the music?’ We’ve done this for a couple of years now, and it has been fantastic.”
But ultimately every child is unique, as are their taste buds. Chris Pyne, executive chef at Lightfoot & Wolfville Vineyards in Nova Scotia, has twin boys: “They are raised the exact same – but are totally different in every way possible, from academics to sports to what they eat,” he explains. While one twin, Emrys, has a hard time with heat, the other, Everett, simply can’t get enough of it. “When we have Indian food, Everett is all about dipping naan in the curry, while Emrys is dipping it in raita,” Pyne adds, with a laugh.
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My kid’s favourite restaurant
Illustration by Justine Wong
Scott Jonathan Iserhoff, chef and co-founder of Bernadette’s
Yaroslava –age 5, Edmonton
“My daughter’s go-to breakfast spot is the Commodore, On weekends, we ask, ‘Where do you want to go?’ She’s like, ‘I want to go to my favourite restaurant.’ The Commodore is an Edmonton staple; it’s been open like forever. Yaroslava gets hotcakes all the time. It’s just the regular buttermilk pancakes with maple syrup and a side of crinkle-cut fries. Other days, she’ll want avocado sushi from Mikado. I think it’s also the experience: She loves watching how the chefs cook and prepare the food.”
Illustration by Justine Wong
Chris Pyne, executive chef of Lightfoot & Wolfville Vineyards
Emrys and Everett – age 8, Wolfville, N.S.
“My boys are obsessed with really briny foods – and any place that offers bread and dips! They get excited to go to Troy Restaurant & Grill in Wolfville for its Mediterranean flavours. One thing that’s always done well is when there’s a giant platter on the table and everyone is interacting, and there are options for them to choose their own adventure.
They also love salads – they would pick a salad over French fries. The last time we went to Kings Arms in Kentville, we ordered olives and feta to start, and then they both ordered off the kids’ menu. One got a grilled cheese with green salad and blue cheese dressing. The other got a cheeseburger – add bacon – with a Caesar salad, but he subbed Caesar dressing for blue cheese dressing. The server looked at them like, ‘Uh, okay.’”
Illustration by Justine Wong
Nicole Gomes, chef at Wander Kitchen + Bar and co-founder of Cluck N Cleaver
Anh – age 3, Calgary
“For Anh, noodles and soup are her comfort foods. Our favourite Vietnamese restaurant that’s close is Rau Bistro on Centre Street – it has a really diverse menu. She loves their beef pho and will eat the meatball, tripe, tendon, all of the cilantro in it and the onions. On days she might pick ingredients out, I just tell her to work around it.
She also loves bread! The banh mi baguette is her favourite – it has quite a lot of bread, so she’d eat the outside, which is perfect for me because I love the insides. We often share the original cold cut sub at Thi Thi Vietnamese Submarine. She eats up stuff like pâté and Vietnamese sausage.”
Illustration by Justine Wong
Anna Chen, chef-owner of Alma
Levi – age 4, Toronto
“I live and work in downtown Toronto’s West End. There’s this shop in Roncesvalles called Musoshin Ramen. We love going there, especially when it’s colder outside – their ramen is so delicious; the broth is so nice. My son, Levi, is always looking for rice, so he gets a dish called Chashu Don, which has everything he needs: rice, protein [a little bit of chashu pork] and some vegetables. If they were green vegetables, he would pick the green bits out like a lot of toddlers.
We call Sunday ‘family day’ because it is the only day my husband and I have the day off together. If we go out, sometimes we go to Keg Steakhouse & Bar. They have roast chicken, chicken fingers and fries – things that my toddler also loves.”
Illustration by Justine Wong
Hector Laguna, executive chef of Botanist
Lucas and Liam – ages 10 and 7, Vancouver
“My kids’ two favourite spots are Thai Basil and Tasty Indian Bistro. I’m Mexican, so they’re used to rich flavours. Thai Basil is a family-owned restaurant with a location five minutes from my house, so we are there fairly often. They love all the curries – red, yellow and green – some with chicken or shrimp, or vegetarian with tofu or eggplant. The only thing I request is to make them a little less spicy.
At Tasty Bistro, they’re a little more specific. They really enjoy tandoori chicken, for example. They also like lentils a lot. As a parent, I love that those options are healthier than your ‘typical’ kids’ food, like hot dogs, chicken fingers and pizza.”
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Five ways to approach meal time
Low-pressure stakes: “It’s not forcing her to eat something, but demonstrating. Our daughter will see how engaged we are with our food and be like, ‘Can I try some of that?’” – Scott Jonathan Iserhoff
Trial and error: “Children’s taste buds are changing – they’re strengthening, evolving and deepening. Even though Anh said she didn’t like asparagus, I just keep trying. We didn’t like blue cheese when we were kids, but now I love it.” – Nicole Gomes
Gradually build: “We’re Mexican; everything has to have heat. I can’t just cook the same way I cook for myself, but I do add a little bit. They’re pretty funny about it, they get very excited when they think they’ve levelled up their spiciness level.” – Hector Laguna
Share your meal: “I like to take my son to different restaurants that I want to try. I explain what I’m eating and ask if he wants to try it. That way, he’s open to trying all kinds of things, and then he can decide for himself.” – Anna Chen
Let them be hands-on: “For Christmas two years ago, we bought our kids those red-handled, rounded-tip chef’s knives. When they’re prepping the ingredients with us in the kitchen, then they’re more excited to eat it.” – Chris Pyne