The Small Chef
For families with young children
Children who cook, eat.
When small hands wash, tear, stir and taste, an unfamiliar food becomes a familiar one. The Small Chef helps families cook with children ages two to eight and helps a wide palate grow at home.
Three ways in
Learn, cook and gather
Learn
Why cooking shapes how children eat, and what helps a cautious eater. Short guides grounded in research and years of cooking with children.
Cook
Recipes written for small hands, with the jobs a child can take on at two, at four and at six.
Gather
Recipe cards to print, questions for the table, and where our food comes from.
A wide palate grows slowly
What helps a child try new foods
Many young children are cautious with foods they have not met before (food neophobia). It is a common part of growing up, and it softens with time and experience.
- Offer a new food many times. A food turned away today may be tasted next month (repeated exposure).
- Meet food with every sense first. Looking, touching and smelling are steps toward tasting.
- Eat together, and eat the same food. Children watch the adults and children around them (modeling).
- Keep pressure off the plate. Pushing a child to take a bite tends to make new foods harder to accept (pressure to eat).
- Let children serve themselves. Passing bowls and choosing how much gives children a say (family style meals).
- Cook together. A child who washed the kale is curious about how it tastes.
From farm to table
Where our food comes from
Cooking starts before the kitchen. A morning picking at a farm, a weekly produce box, a pot of herbs on a windowsill or the market on Saturday all show children where food grows and who grows it. Every recipe here names its season and the produce at its center.
Membership
Every recipe, guide and card set
Members open the full recipe library, every guide and every card set to print, with new recipes each season. Card sets can also be bought on their own.
$8 a month or $69 a year.