Taking the Kids: Rethinking holiday eats
That's also true in Boston. "Nights before and after holidays are packed with large parties as people get tired of hosting and need a night out," added Boston restaurant owner Kristin Canty, who with her partner has just opened her fourth New England restaurant, Woods Hill Pier 4.
A holiday restaurant meal, of course, can also be a way to encourage kids to try new dishes, especially if the meal is a large buffet like at the Broadmoor where the Christmas buffet -- typically serving 2,000 guests -- ranges from chilled seafood to charcuterie, a variety of cheeses (perhaps Blueberry Stilton?), a salad bar, omelet station, pancakes and French toast, chefs carving ham, prime rib, turkey, a variety of other dinner dishes (chicken scaloppini or filet mignon?) and all varieties of desserts from vegan chocolate mousse to plum streusel tarts, the list goes on and on (all starting at $85 for adults; $24 for kids 10 and under).
But how do you encourage kids to try new foods? "By combining things they like with others you want them to try," Chef Lopez said. "Lure them with beautiful colors and shapes and make it fun and interactive for them."
"As a chef, parent and now grandparent, I love to see kids enjoying fresh, made from scratch food and staying away from processed foods," said Executive Chef John Hart from the Palace Hotel. He suggests that something kids turned up their noses at a year ago might actually be something they now love.
"Just keep putting it in front of them," said Chef Mary O'Neill, executive chef at San Francisco's Parc 55 hotel. "Pressure doesn't really work. But making new foods available and recognizable encourages kids and all ages to try new things."
Bon Appetit!
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