NO MORE BEIGE FOOD
COAXING KIDS INTO MULTICULTURAL MEALS, ONE DISH AT A TIME.
Last Spring, the National Post ran a story by called “Death to the chicken finger.” In it, writer Adam McDowell tracked the evolution of what he termed “a generation of picky eaters:” children who, by virtue of their parents’ dietary coddling, had grown up with palates (and temperaments) that would only accept french fries, grilled cheese sandwiches and, yes, chicken fingers — foods whose taste and colour profiles could be described using the same word: beige.
“( My children) have gone through stages when they refuse to eat certain foods for a while, and then they eat them,” says Canadian author and blogger Leanne Shirtliffe. “Our daughter loves sushi and has loved it since she was young. Our son can't stand sushi, but loves butter chicken and some other spicy foods. Their pallets like their bodies are constantly changing.”
Shirtliffe is the author of No More Beige Food ( illustrated by Tina Kugle and available now), a followup of sorts to her 2011 children’s book The Change Your Name Store, in which a young girl named Wilma Lee Wu travels around her neighbourhood, “trying on” names from different cultural backgrounds. In the new book, Wilma joins brother Hector in an attempt to circumvent the beige foods being served by their parents: the pair visit neighbours who teach the brother and sister to cook diverse, delicious dishes.
“What’s one of the best things about living in a multicultural country like Canada? Food!” Shirtliffe says. “So, a story of two adventurous kids learning to cook from their multicultural neighbours followed.”
Each of the dishes Hector and Wilma try out — pad Thai, Mexican quesadillas, Lebanese kibbe and French chocolate mousse — has some personal significance to Shirtliffe. She and her family — twins Vivian and William, now 11, and husband Chris — lived in Thailand (it's where the twins were born), and No More Beige Food character Khun Joe is based on a food stall owner they knew during their time there. Quesadillas are a family favourite. Monsieur Poutine, meanwhile, who teaches Wilma and Hector to make mousse, carries a “not-so-subtle nod to Canada” in his name. ( Wilma and Hector, too, are named for important real-life characters: Shirtliffe's grandparents.)
In her own home, Shirtliffe says her husband does most of the cooking. As for Chris and Vivian, she says it’s a work in progress. “Our daughter can make won ton soup and scrambled eggs, and our son is really adept with a cereal box,” she says. She hopes that No More Beige Food will inspire parents — and kids — to get a bit more adventurous with their dinnertimes, and is working with food and lifestyle bloggers on a short cookbook based on the foods that appear in the book.
In the meantime, we asked a few Canadian chefs to provide kid-friendly recipes to accompany the dishes No More Beige Foods. Try them below!