While grown-ups might be eager to dive into piles of fresh grilled vegetables, kids might not share the same excitement, no matter how delicious those veggies might be.
Nicole Lee, a private chef and content creator with over 40,000 followers on TikTok, where she shares her recipes, doesn’t always believe in separating the adults’ and kids’ menus, she said, but she will dial back her grown-up dishes to make them more kid-friendly.
“Sometimes, I’ll just make the kids a version of what the parents are eating, but a kids’ style version of it, so it’s just a way more simplified version,” she said.
For example, if the grown-ups are having burgers with different condiments and toppings, the kids might be served simpler cheeseburgers, Lee said.
As well as allowing kids to make their own choices, burger bars with pre-cut toppings and condiments can be prepped ahead of time, Robinson noted.
“All those things can be done the day before, stored in a Ziploc bag or a Tupperware container, and then put out on a nice bowl or plate, and boom — you have a kid-friendly option that other people can eat, so you don’t waste any food,” he said.
And when in doubt, make it small, Dragon said. Whenever she creates private-event menus for clients’ kids, Dragon swears by serving mini sliders that kids can still personalize to their liking, while sticking to a smaller portion.
“Kids love things in mini form,” she said.
