To ask for help from parents of teens/tweens (re food)?

[COCKadoodledooo]

Am doing the catering for our youth group (40 kids, 11 - 16) weekend away, and I'd appreciate some comments from you/your kids as to whether they'd actually eat our proposed menu! All I got from the youth club kids are the usual shrugs, non-commital "whatevers", and the "I'm not fussy" which you just know is so untrue

Got most of it sorted (following a formula that's worked well in previous years - this is the first year I've done it though!). Saturday night is proving a bit tricky though. Tradition has it we have a themed supper, and this year it's "Brit Awards" stylee. Was thinking:

Starter: goats cheese/caramelised onion tarts + salad

Main: chicken smothered in pesto, wrapped in bacon and roasted (quorn fillets - obv sans bacon - for the veggies), with roasted veg and roasted new potatoes

Dessert: tiramisu-type thing (using orange juice && bourbon biscuits), or maybe an Eton mess type thing?

Does that sound ok as a sort of 'celebration' menu? And would your kids actually eat it??! Am open to other suggestions if you have any please!

Thanks in advance

Thank goodness she's not catering for you then zukie :o

No coffee in a dessert! lol!
McDonalds You may have already seen that suggestion somewhere

Gosh I must have been a bad mum My Tiramisu had tia maria and brandy as well as strong coffee obviously only made for special occasions and I don't remember ever stopping the dcs eating it even when they were toddlers .

Have just asked DCs now they are home

DS 15 said he would try the goats cheese but thought it wasn't a good idea because goats cheese is an acquired taste but everything else sounds really good (exception as I said above pesto and nut allergies)

DD 13 really didn't like the sound of the goats cheese but everything else ok

what about a bruschetta for starters

You're much too good a cook for this age group you know
Now I'd LOVE this, but sounds like too much effort and too adult, even for non-fussy kids. You need to keep it simple I think
How about tomato soup (they can eat bread if don't like soup), then spag bol/shepherds pie/macaroni cheese/pasta bake then CAKE, CAKE and more CAKE (though Eton mess would do very nice thankyou)
For teens, sampling caffeine is one of the substances I'm less worried about them sampling

I think coffee is a flavour a lot of kids might not like either
anyway, just my opinion

And frankly, if I were you I'd have oven chips, pizza and baked beans handy too

I keep trying to persuade my teens to drink tea or coffee because they never have a hot drink apart from occasional hot chocolate. Am I a really bad mother? I don't understand what's wrong with coffee?

Yes really obv they do eat other stuff but plain food alternative covers all angles for multitude of likes and dislikes from other kids.

Rushed through thread but in case no one has mentioned pesto isn't suitable for vegetarians, the parmesan in it isnt.

most veggies eat cheese, it's vegans that don't

The parmesan has animal rennet in it! Been a vegetarian for 12 years and no not all vegetarians eat cheese and a fair few have rennet in it. You'll need to make sure the goats cheese is suitable too

It's not hard to find parmesan that's suitable for vegetarians though, that's the only one I buy as DD1 and I are both vegetarian. We're not too strict on the cheese front though- just no meat (obviously) or gelatine!
The menu sounds good, my two eldest (12 and 8) would eat that for sure. :)

Yes I think sainsbury stock a vegetarian hard cheese, Tesco stopped selling one a while ago. I think if you are catering for vegetarians you do need to be strict and what is on the produce and/how it may have been processed and not take a "relaxed" approach to vegetarianism I.e. cheese with animal rennet, or soft drinks which aren't suitable I.e lilt

Is in produce meant to say