Gourmet food for toddlers?

Well, we all are very much aware about the reality show, MasterChef. But did you know that France, which takes its food very seriously, has a completion which about presenting and making food for toddlers at its day care centers!

Yes, some of the best chefs in the business are vying for that number one position and their aim is to please the toughest audience – small children. France serves four-course meals to some 33,000 children, all under the age of three at Paris’s day care centers. Mouth watering éclairs, cookies made with chocolate and lemon zest, cones filled with cream made from iron-enriched baby formula – these are just some of the samples which were presented at this on-going contest.

It’s a part of the education mission of these day care centers to teach children to appreciate various food, appreciate the presentation and cultivate a habit to eat a broad diet but at the same time, very balanced. Every year, the Education Ministry plays host to a "Week of Taste" in schools, where students meet with chefs and learn about different cuisines. These tiny tots are the world’s toughest critics and if they do not like something, irrespective of how it looks or smells, they will simply not eat. And to please and win such an audience is indeed an extraordinary task. Hope in India, we give our children at the day care centers, a balanced and nutritious meal if not a gourmet meal every day. But think about it – it’s a great concept of holding a contest for selecting the best cook for day care centers.