To season children’s foods?

[SoHighSchool]

Wondering if anyone can help decipher these scenarios! I’m a nanny for primary aged children which obviously includes cooking their meals in the evenings.

Most of the time after weekends their dad will say ‘oh the kids asked for X meal like you make, but they said it’s not the same. What do you to do make it’ and will always get a bit strange when I say how I’ve seasoned it and say he doesn’t ever season their food. Mind you, I do this from their EXTENSIVE herbs and spices collection with seasonings I’ve never even heard of and the parents often make curries, noodles etc full of them.

At first I thought it was to do with worrying about salt, but I only use a tiny bit if I’m cutting the sweetness down from passata for pasta. If he walks into the kitchen while I’m cooking he’ll make a comment about ‘oh are you putting that in the dinner’ about which ever seasoning I’m using. This isn’t anything wild, we’re talking about herbs on roast potatoes or mixed herbs in pasta sauces or paprika not chilli flakes or anything spicy.

I feel like I’m going crazy wondering what his aversion is and wondered if there’s some anti seasoning band of parents thing I’m not aware of 😂

He just wants to copy you so his kids eat on weekends without moaning! Take it as a compliment

He's just not a good cook 😭😭😭

Serve it bland if it offends him, the kids will soon tell him

Definitely isn’t this! Its said in a judgemental tone though doesn’t come across how I’ve written it !

Why didn't you ask him "why" when he mentioned it for the first time? This would have given you an idea.
I think it's likely that it has never occurred to them to season food as they assumed kids won't eat it. I doubt they have an ideological stance on seasoning but who knows...

I'd just ask for clarification tbh. I'd ask if Is he happy with the food being prepared. Is he ok with the spices and herbs and just to let you know if you need do anything differently.

I think you can politely ask and enquire. It's something I'd see as a really good quality in an employee and it puts you at ease knowing what the fuck he's going on about and why.

I absolutely load sons food with spices,herbs, garlic. It just tastes fantastic.

God, I’d feel really awkward to be honest 😂 he is a bit odd in general and I’d rather not open up a can of worms in which the children end up with bland food they won’t eat!

My guess is he doesn’t actually cook normally so finds it all a bit perplexing. I would just be more confident with your decisions, “yes, mixed herbs and a bit of cracked pepper is lovely on roast potatoes, contrasts nicely with the sweetness of the potatoes.”

I nannied for a family, the dad was Chinese and he had VERY rigid ideas about what spices, seasonings and foods that the children could eat.

Even when the children loved and ate the food in front of him, he couldn't reconcile that with what he thought.

He also danced around the topic in a confusing way lol.

If it was excessive use of salt, I would completely understand... But herbs and spices seemed to really wind him up, despite him and his wife using them liberally.

That’s exactly what this dad is like! But albeit a white man. He will often suggest salt and vinegar on chips if the kids say they’re still hungry but put some paprika in sauce infront of him and you may as well have microwaved the family rabbit.

He sounds like my parents. They think that I have a "flair" for cooking. I don't, I just season stuff. Nothing fancy, mainly salt & pepper and a few herbs, squeeze of lemon juice, the usual. Occasionally some chilli flakes or paprika 😱.