Opening a cafe

[dadslife]

I'm soon to open a cafe, exciting.

Anyway, I've taken my little girl into enough cafes to know that the food for kids is all too often fish fingers and chips. Just wondering what people like to see on the menu for their kids. thanks

[Acopyofacopy]

Small /half portions of adult meals!

[BrieAndChilli]

Are you doing snack type foods or proper meals??

Spag Bol
Lasagne
Tuna pasta
Jacket spuds
Pizza
Korma and rice
Chilli (mild)


Basically child sized portions of all the adult meals on the menu.

2 sizes of meals would be good too - toddler sized and child sized. 2 year old a don't eat as much as 8 year olds!

[ShatnersBassoon]

I agree, small servings of adult meals.

[LilySnape]

Lots of finger foods like chopped fruit and veggies and stuff like plain grilled chicken breast and little ham wraps try steer away from cheesy things and gluten as alot of kids have allergies and like plain foods offer lots of veggie options too and some vegan to cater for all tastes
The hot meals mentioned upthread are very messy and unhealthy to be serving in a cafe

[BikeRunSki]

My children will eat anything in a wrap, as long as it's not spicy.

As well as children's portions, could you do "toddler portions", sort of 1/3 -1/4 size.

[calzone]

Lily......how are they unhealthy?

What an odd thing to say.

[Shallishanti]

unhealthy? pasta/spuds/curry??

[PurpleDaisies]

The hot meals mentioned upthread are very messy and unhealthy to be serving in a cafe

Do you mean brie's list? What's unhealthy about most of those meals?! And a one off unhealthy meal as part of a balanced diet is absolutely fine.

[iklboo]

DS loves ribs

Otherwise smaller portions of adult meals, especially salmon, quiche etc

[LilySnape]

High in salt and no veg or salad mentioned in those meals and in a cafe they would most likely be made from jars and tins adding to the unhealthyness pizza is extremely unhealthy and gross. I prefer cafes that serve lots of salads and fruits and grilled meats, if your caught short for lunch and have to feed your child at a cafe you should have more healthy options than pizza and curry

[PurpleDaisies]

You've made a massive number of assumptions about how those meals would be prepared lily. Who says they wouldn't be served with s side salad or vegetables?

[Pinkheart5915]

Don't stay clear of cheese, many little ones bloody love cheese. Just have a choice so other children that don't eat cheese have choices too. Again you don't need to stay away from gulten just off a choice or two that's gultem free so children that can't eat gluten have a choice.

Just small portions of adult dishes. My 9 month old has a favourite of salmon, sweet potatoe mash and greens. He also enjoys tomartoe pasta.
You could do a lunch box for lighter children's lunches sandwich, fruit pot, yoghurt, juice or water

[Pinkheart5915]

Crikey Lilly you like to assume a lot don't you ?

[Spottyladybird]

I like places with flexibility for little ones. We have a cafe near us that does sandwiches (white or granary) then a choice of fillings:
Cheese
Ham
Sausage
Cheese and tomato
Marmite

All served with apple and cucumber slices on the side.

[Shallishanti]

Huh?
Pizza=bread and vegetables with some cheese on top

[Blondie1984]

Lily I'm not sure how much you know about cooking but Bolognaise sauce tends to contain, at minimum, onion and tomatoes - as do lasagne and chilli - so there are some veg right there and chilli also contains kidney beans which count towards one of your 5 a day

I feel really sad for your kids if you never let them have foods like that....

[Blondie1984]

Oh and gluten free doesn't necessarily mean healthier

[LilySnape]

Newflash .. Gluten is an allergy for some people it has nothing to do with been healthier

[LilySnape]

Spag bol is also swimming in fat and salt and a few boiled down onions and tomatoes are not one of your 5 a day some fresh veg and fruit is your 5 a day

[1frenchfoodie]

lily um no, cooked veg does count, though some vitamins are affected by cooking. No need for bolognese to be swimming in fat, I make with 5% fat mince and my chili is made with lean stewing steak.

Agree on small portions of adult food - though obviously from unseasoned batches as adukt salt cobtent is too highfor little ones. Fish or chicken goujons (baked) rather than their turkey twizzler equivalents.

[iklboo]

My spag bol isn't swimming in fat & salt. It also contains much more than 'a few boiled down tomatoes & onions'. Not sure how you make yours....

[expatinscotland]

If you want to stay in business you'd best not offer any of those or a special kids menu at all. You'll get mums and babies groups who come in with their prams so no one else can get a seat, then order a white coffee each, give their kids messy snacks brought from home and park up for hours.

'pizza is extremely unhealthy and gross. I prefer cafes that serve lots of salads and fruits and grilled meats, if your caught short for lunch and have to feed your child at a cafe you should have more healthy options than pizza and curry '

PSML! It's just fine, not at all unhealthy or gross. OP, you definitely want to steer clear of picky, fusspot, eating disordered 'customers' like this. The profit margin in fresh foods is narrower as they don't keep as long or as well.

[elfycat]

Tinned tomatoes count as one of your 5 a day...

And this is for a cafe, not for your everyday food. One meal out isn't going to kill a poor unsuspecting tike.

OP I agree with the smaller portions of your adult menu thing. My heart sinks when I see the 'orange' menu for children. DD1 is 7 and is heading adult menu with her tastes.

As an aside (for adults)
I think having one low-carb food would be a good idea as this is a popular diet choice. Not some thing only for low carbers, but find a recipe that doesn't have a carb-rich basis. Or have things like large (portabello if the budget runs to it) mushrooms that can be used instead of toast. Avoid chicken and bacon salad... I'm sooooo bored of them

[clairedunphy]

Re allergies and general fussiness, if it's not too much hassle it is great to be flexible. My DD is dairy allergic so I struggle where eg sandwiches are already made with butter.

Also agree with smaller versions of adult food (my spag bol is packed with veg and has zero added salt!), but along with a couple of really basic kids options too. My local cafe offers beans/egg/cheese/spaghetti on toast for about £1.50. It's great for toddlers who don't eat much.

[Osquito]

That's great, congratulations!

I'd like to see just smaller portions of what the adults are eating (it helps if you are generally making healthier meals i.e. low in sodium or substituting turkey mince for pork etc. Perhaps with a minisized side included on the plate, like a crunchy crudités mix, or a little pot of 3-bean and sweet corn. What PPs have mentioned about toddler vs child portions is also important, I don't bother with childrens menus (DS, 2, shares my food) because my son wastes too much of what is given. Also, the food is generally crap and boring - though I know most kids do love chicken nuggets/dippers and chips (mine included).

Good luck with your cafe!