Celebrity chef Curtis Stone has never been a softie when it comes to the food his kids put in their mouths.
Stone – who shares sons Emerson, 3, and Hudson, 6, with wife Lindsay Price – said in 2015: “Your kid is going to embrace whatever you expose them to, right, that’s just a fact of life.”
And the 43-year-old hasn’t changed his position since then. This week, he spoke to Mamamia about the importance of children’s diets – and how he approaches food with his own sons.
LISTEN: Sean Szeps talk about what it’s like to raise a girl in the modern world on this week’s episode of The Baby Bubble, Mamamia’s latest podcast for new parents:
Stone shared that whilst his sons like dining at his Los Angeles restaurant Maude, what his boys really love to eat differs somewhat from his offerings.
“They love coming into the restaurant,” he says.
“But my little guy, Emerson, loves Mexican food. No spice, but his favourite thing is chicken rice and beans. He knows it’s Mexican, and I think it will set him up for being more open-minded.”
And as for Hudson? “My big fella loves sushi. He’s an adventurous eater.”
It’s something Stone, along with 42-year-old Price, is very proud of.
“I think the best thing parents can do for their kids is give them variety. They need to at least try things, and consider different foods.
“As soon as you give kids the same thing day out, they get too used to it.”
Despite the kids’ wide exposure to different foods, when one of Stone’s boys are wary about trying something new, the chef stays firm.
“I tell them, that’s what you’re getting for dinner. And I will pack it in the lunch box again the next day,” he says.
“If you don’t repeat a food, the child will never get used to it.”
For Stone, familiarity is key to dealing with fussy eaters.
“Another thing I think really helps is that we grow a lot of our own produce, so the kids become familiar with the food that way.
“They know what a leek is, for example,” he adds. “So instead of thinking it’s something that sounds, and will taste, strange, they know what it is.”
The father-of-two acknowledges it’s not easy for parents, but strongly believes persistence will eventually pay off.
“The other thing is to not give them an option,” he advises.
“With us, when the kids get home from school, I always have a snack sitting out, like oranges. They’re hungry, so that’s what they will eat.”
Stone spoke to Mamamia at an event to launch the Coles Fresh Rainbow Challenge program, which is designed to encourage Aussie families to eat more fresh produce, and for which Stone has designed a series of recipes.
“This is why I was excited about creating the Rainbow Recipes. It just makes food really simple for parents, and interesting for kids,” he says.
“The Rainbow recipes are about kids eating a rainbow of different coloured fruit and veg without being scared by it. The recipes are fun for parents to prepare and the kids will love them.”
What did you think of Stone’s advice for children trying new foods? Tell us in the comments below.
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Top Comments
I recently had a couple come and stay with their 9yo son. The child would not eat anything the rest of us had and the mother was stressed out cooking separate meals every night. I suggested eating out to avoid the stress but the restaurants didn’t have anything on the menu the boy could eat. Something as simple as ordering a pizza delivery was a nightmare. Due to the fussy eater and the mother’s anxiety around meal times, I didn’t enjoy their visit. I get that it’s really difficult but expanding a child’s palate is important as eating a meal together is a massive part of our culture.
Cool that he's an expert on fussy eaters, with his experience of two.
It's great that his strategies work for his kids but statements like “your kid is going to embrace whatever you expose them to, right, that’s just a fact of life.” and "they're hungry, so that's what they'll eat" are not true for all children. He's just fortunate enough that his kids are not super picky. If they were, or if they had sensory issues related to food, it's unlikely he'd think it was so easy.
Yes exactly. I have 4 kids and they are all vastly different. One will try absolutely anything, loves salads and veggies, has tried snails etc his twin has autism and sensory processing disorder, he would starve rather than eat many things. Me and my husband are real foodies and love veggies, we have tried every single trick in the Book, hiding veggies, hiding meat etc and nothing works. Nothing has ever worked, we've worked with dieticians and autism specialists. We still try, but if he's eating fibre and a few veggies and a bit of meat we are happy and doing far better than when he was younger.