Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
‘He said my food tasted like dirt!’
Comedian Katherine Ryan is well practiced at cutting down the chaos of family dinnertimes, as she tells Prudence Wade
Katherine Ryan knows all too well how savage kids can be, particularly after her toddler said her food tastes like “dirt”. “He said, mummy’s cooking is disgusting. Her cooking tastes like dirt was a real blow,” the Canadian comedian recounts of her toddler, Fred. Katherine has three children – Violet, 14, from a previous relationship, Fred, two, and Fenna, 15 months, with her childhood sweetheart and partner Bobby Kootstra. Fred is her most difficult child at dinnertimes, and she’s gone to desperate lengths just to get him to try her food. “I’ve made a deal with him – I’ve said you can taste it and if you want to spit it out, you’re allowed and you won’t be in trouble. Just put it in your mouth and taste it and see if you like it.
“Then he’ll be like, OK, and he’ll allow himself to take a bite. And even if he spits it out, everyone in the kitchen goes, ‘Really well done, Fred. Wow! Great. Did you see how Fred tried that? That was really cool’.
“So basically, I’m raising a toxic male and rewarding him for absolutely nothing,” Katherine jokes. London-based Katherine had her first child when she was 25, and says having two more over a decade later was a completely different experience.
I’ve learned this time that every child is so different and you have to reserve your judgement.
“Violet just happened to be this wonderful, amenable, happy all the time and do whatever I said and eat whatever I fed her type of child. “And then my son came along and Fred is a tricky customer – he is such a fussy eater and such a highmaintenance guy in general, that I have had to pivot a bit as a parent, especially at mealtimes.” Katherine says Gousto’s new Bluey-inspired range of meal boxes helps cut through the chaos of dinnertime, engaging the little ones in what they’re eating – particularly as they’re superfans of the Cbeebies show.
“Involving [Fred] in the preparation of meals is what helps him feel safer about trying a variety of food,” Katherine explains – and some of the meals she’ll dress up for adults later, for example adding pine nuts to a cheesy asparagus and tomato orzo dish: “It means we don’t have to make dinner three separate times and dirty every pot in the entire kitchen.” Ultimately, her advice for parents is simple: keep as calm as possible.
“We’re all doing our best, especially when you’re juggling children and your relationship and your time for self-care and work.
“I am not under any delusions that my job is a job – I know people have it a lot harder than I do.”
“But if it doesn’t go your way, don’t stress if they’re not eating, because that will make them more stressed.
“If you have a meltdown – they’re definitely not going to want it the next time. My main advice to parents is to stay as calm as you can, as often as you can.”
Katherine’s Ryan new stand-up show, Battleaxe, is touring this autumn and will be in Tunbridge Wells on September 5