Children need to be persuaded that dining out is not all about chips and burgers

WE don’t exactly do a dedicated children’s menu in our restaurant. We decided a long time ago that we couldn’t appeal to everyone and that included youngsters who couldn’t eat cutdown versions of what their parents have.

That’s what we offer youngsters who come to the restaurant when their parents ask for our children’s menu.

I guess I’m a little biased because I’ve been lucky in that our children, while not automatically liking everything that’s been put in front of them, have always been easy to feed. They have continued to try foods they are not fond of, because they’ve been well aware that tastes change.

This has resulted in one daughter who’s favourite food is cabbage – which has the benefits of being both cheap and healthy – and now eats parsnips. Another daughter, without prompting, will still try a single Brussels sprout on Christmas Day. She still hates them though.

Of course, they’ve both craved pizzas and burgers over the years, but haven’t always been allowed them when they asked. They have been encouraged to eat as varied a diet as possible. It would also have been so easy to have given in every time they asked for sweets – so from day one they were frequently given alternatives.

In restaurants, if we’re offering reduced portions for children, we can offer the same to older people, whose metabolisms are a little slower than they might once have been and require a little less fuel.

So when making a policy about that, it starts a discussion about pricing. Should those having smaller portions be charged less? Surely not incrementally less as the price reflects not just the food, but the energy consumed within the building, wages, rents and all the taxes we directly or indirectly pay to our multi-layers of government.

Of course, it’s unlikely that children would come along on their own and generally have to be escorted by an adult who pays the bill and expects their little loved ones to be cheaper to feed. That is at odds with the budget most parents set aside at home to cover pizzas, burgers and chicken nuggets, not to mention the designer clothing and electronic games. However, we have to charge less for children’s meals.

It’s some unwritten law.

Naturally, elderly people generally manage to get to the restaurant without bringing their parents to pay and look after them. Should we charge less if an older person asks for a reduced size of a dish? The truth is that if you reduce the size of a plate of food by a third the actual price of the dish reduces by only ten per cent.

This is a discussion I’ve had with vegetarian friends of mine who ask why their dishes aren’t so much cheaper in restaurants as they’re not eating meat. In fact, if their food costs us half that of the meat eaters’ to buy, the ultimate selling price will be about 15 per cent less, which is reflected on the menus. It’s straight maths.

What I’d really like to do is to charge a fixed price for a starter with a similar idea for main dishes and desserts. There would be just the one price for coming in, being looked after and fed – because it’s not about the quantity of the food or the cost price of the ingredients. Going to a restaurant is about enjoying the experience because, after all, it’s hardly a necessity.

What I like to see most is young children coming in and asking for something like a plate of mussels or even something they’ve never heard of because they’d like to try it.

But so as not to damage their adventurism, we’ll just have to be careful that what they’ve chosen is not just Brussels sprouts under a posh name.