In honor of Father’s Day, we checked in with some of our favorite chef/restaurateur dads to see what they serve their discriminating kids when they’re not serving the discriminating masses. If their preferences are any indication, we’ll be seeing lots of snails and octopus on menus in about 2030.
Winer has two kids: Peri, 9, and Julian, 7. “I tried to feed them red-wine braised octopus. I told them it was sea chicken. This went over really well, until they saw a picture of a chicken at school and lit into me.”
Leviton’s daughter, Isadora, 8, is adventurous. “My daughter really loves snails. We’ve also tried oysters, clams, sea urchin, things like that. If it sticks, great. She has a pretty good lobster habit. But the raw shellfish didn’t work. Not that we expected it to.”
Childs has two daughters: Emily, 9, and Lucy, 8. “My youngest daughter would revel in shocking people. At
four, she had sushi raw, and octopus. Part of it was to impress grownups.
They’ve had snails, and a variety of sushi. They love fish and shellfish. And
they will try very stinky cheeses.”
Oringer has two kids: Verveine, 2, and newborn Luca. “When my daughter was very young, I’d cook for her every day and make her crazy stuff. She’s eaten baby octopus, blood
sausage. Now she’s getting older and smarter. All she wants is gnocchi and pasta. She is just basically, ‘Coppa? Can we go to
Coppa?’ But I’ve also told her that Daddy has eaten bugs. And they’re really yummy. As for Luca, unfortunately he’s on a milk diet.”
Maws is dad to Charlie, pictured here chowing down. “Charlie loves eating what [his parents] eat. His first bite of meat was boudin noir when he was six months old. This past holiday season, we went to Mexico, and he really liked the tacos de lengua. In New York this week, he was into sea urchin. You name it, and he’ll try it!”
Sewall has three kids, ranging in age from 10 to a three-week-old infant. “I’ve offered cash to my children to try a raw oyster,” he admits. “They eat quinoa a couple times a
week, lentils, things like that. They’re fantatics with grains and
homemade pasta.”
Murillo’s son, Joaquin, is a discriminating diner: “My son will eat anything, even sushi, but he’s insulted if we try to give him the same thing two days in a row!” His newborn
daughter, Lola, isn’t quite ready for solids yet.
