{"id":119010,"date":"2016-10-27T15:50:15","date_gmt":"2016-10-27T15:50:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fourseasons.com\/magazine\/?p=119010"},"modified":"2025-06-03T10:43:15","modified_gmt":"2025-06-03T14:43:15","slug":"travel-with-kids-picky-eaters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fourseasons.com\/magazine\/kids-family\/travel-with-kids-picky-eaters\/","title":{"rendered":"Raising a Foodie: 7 Tips on Travelling with Picky Eaters"},"content":{"rendered":"
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One of our first family holidays was to an island in the Caribbean \u2014\u00a0an easy hop from New York City with plenty of kid-friendly beach activities and local spots serving up fish-of-the-day and curried r\u00f4tis<\/em>. Unfortunately, at the time we arrived, our toddler son was going through a culinary beige stage and rejecting any\u00a0new flavour. So instead of risking mealtime tantrums and eye-rolls from our fellow (generally honeymooning) diners, we\u2019d resigned ourselves to a drama-free menu of cereal, cheese sandwiches and cheese pasta.<\/p>\n

It was on a boat trip out to the cays that we had a breakthrough. While my son and I splashed around in the sea, my husband and our captain dived for conch, which we took to a deserted beach to prepare in the afternoon sun. When we\u2019d cleaned, prepped and chopped the catch into a citrusy ceviche, our captain handed a few pieces to my son, who ate them without ceremony.<\/p>\n

\u201cWas that nice?\u201d I asked, trying to hide my utter joy. \u201cMmm,\u201d he replied, then went back to building a sandcastle.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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A gourmet feast it wasn\u2019t, but I couldn\u2019t help feeling proud and relieved that he\u2019d at least tried something new<\/em>. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Novelty is one thing you\u2019re absolutely guaranteed to encounter on the road. I use it to lure my boy from his comfort zone on all our travels, along with a host of other tricks to encourage and foster adventurous eating. Read on for my seven best tips, from crafting culinary treasure hunts on city trips to perfecting the foodie sleight of hand wherever you are in the world.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Get a taste before you travel<\/h2>\n

Kids are creatures of habit, so take some of the surprise out of their vacation menu and introduce new dishes at a local restaurant before you travel. This is easy in cities like New York and London, where you can travel from Little Italy to Chinatown in a few blocks. But you can also set up a restaurant night at home and have the kids research ingredients, draw up a menu and help with some of the prep.<\/p>\n

With younger children, get them excited about weird and wonderful food in general and pick up a copy of food critic Joshua Daniel Stein\u2019s beautifully illustrated Can I Eat That<\/em><\/a>?, <\/em>which is stuffed full of foodie facts and addresses important questions like \u201cDo eggs grow on eggplants?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Visit local food markets<\/h2>\n<\/header>\n
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Photography courtesy Nibble+squeak<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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