To think that this menu isn’t suitable for children?

[Mummyofabear]

A few months ago I booked to take my children to Matilda in Concert at the Royal Albert Hall this month (October), I had to book hospitality tickets because those were the only tickets left at the time of booking. And then today have been sent an email with the hospitality details and this is the menu! They don’t have a separate children’s menu either even though Matilda is a family event! AIBU to think this menu isn’t suitable for children? My children have autism and are very fussy so the only thing that they will eat on this menu will be the desserts but even then I don’t think there’s much on this menu that most neurotypical children would eat either? In my opinion it’s not suitable for families or children even though it’s supposed to be a family event!

I’ve copied and pasted the menu below incase the image doesn’t work:

Snacks (served pre-show):
Black garlic polenta crackers

Seaweed tapioca crackers

Canapés (served pre-show):
Glazed beef skewer, chimichurri

Parmesan churros, tomato and Parmesan sauce (V)

Cold Bowl (served pre-show):

Pumpkin seed houmous, maple-roast pumpkin, pomegranate, pickled pumpkin ribbons, mint oil

Sliders (served pre-show):
28-day dry-aged beef patty, crispy bacon, tarragon and chive aioli, confit garlic,
served with potato hash puffs, truffle mayo

Moroccan-Spiced lamb slider, grilled onions, sumac mayonnaise & pickled cucumber,
served with buffalo cauliflower

Dessert canapés (served during the interval):
Mango, passion fruit, coconut pavlova

Millionaire's chocolate mousse, salted caramel, vanilla sablé

Milk and Cookies

Drinks:

Trebbiano, Rubicone, Novità
Sangiovese, Rubicone, Novità
Estrella Galicia 4.7%
Ginger bitters (soft cocktail)
Sparkling mineral water
Still mineral water

‘Pretend sophisticated’ is perfect for kids then!

I will say my son is a very good eater, now a young adult, tucks into everything. Cooks for himself and friends, refuses effectively to cook for me as I am veggie!

When he was a child he WAS the kid that every parent wanted at their parties, because once he tucked in, the other children followed. He has special needs. Not autism but then so many needs are co-morbid.

I don't think genuinely he would have liked much on that menu (and yes he eats beef, houmous etc), and we have such a varied diet. And for me as a (very adult) veggie there is also very little choice. I noticed @Mummyofabear at the bottom of your photo there are contact details. I would contact the venue/catering and see how they can help. Perhaps simpler versions might be a good start. There are far too many conflicting sauces/dips with each bit of the menu. And I will say who serves their kids truffle mayo in real life - a bit wanky really.

But I hope you get there and have a great time.

But you know what they say - once you have met one autistic person, you have met one autistic person.

There is not one thing on that menu I would eat - either as a kid or now.

Apart from anything else, do people who eat that much garlic not know how bad it smells to some?

I don’t go out of my way to serve my kids truffle mayo in ‘real life’, but they’ve had it (in a pub) and liked it. I don’t think I was being particularly ‘wanky’, it just happened to be a component of a dish that they picked off the menu at the pub we were eating at.

Many people, esp if they have to be in the vicinity of other people the next day.

I like the taste of garlic in some things but wouldn’t actually eat it as I don’t think it’s fair to breathe it over people .

Mildly spicy food IS the work of the devil, to be fair. This includes anything with white or black pepper in it!

Nope - not even close to that description. They are going to taste a lot different to how you have described them.

I like crackers but like fuck would I eat the ones described on that menu!

My dentist once told me he never eats it when he is in work the next day and likewise if I am going to the dentist I avoid it.
Similarly I used to work in inpatient rehab in the NHS and a lot of what i did involved close bodily contact with people I thought it was unfair to breathe garlic over them so similarly I would only eat it on fridays and saturdays unless I was on leave.

You seem to be suggesting that because you don’t like the things on the menu, most kids won’t either? Why do you think most kids have the same palate as you?

People in shared offices should definitely avoid it during the week! Nothing worse than having some bellend invade your personal space and breathe garlic fumes over you!

I eat a lot of garlic. Before bed I always floss, brush then gargle with Listerine, which does the trick. Confirmed by neutral witnesses.

This “weaning with whatever food you eat” worked well with one of my children, who has always eaten anything and everything, and not with the other who is incredibly fussy! He’ll eat spicy food and things with flavours but he’s very different about certain textures and vegetables.

So I think there’s an element of lottery as well

Yes, it must be. One of mine would never eat fruit because they thought it was too bland, yet now he's 32 and eats an apple every day! Who knows.

Many ND children will have a limited diet. Also outside the rarified atmosphere of MN land, most adults won’t even have tried that kind of thing, let alone children.

Of course even the ND children on MN would have been eating this kind of thing since birth

My boss used to do the same apparently - it didn’t work.

You may be an exception but even neutral witnesses may hesitate to confirm that someone smells

Nope. It works for me. Tried and tested, even with my dentist. You don't believe me, fine, but I'm sensitive enough not to inflict it on others.
Not my vibe.

As I said, I have an autistic son who wouldn’t touch anything on that menu. He basically eats ryvita crackers, apples and fromage frais, and that’s all he’s eaten for 4 years.
The OP said the menu is ‘not suitable for children’. Not ‘not suitable for ND children’. There are many children who would eat those things, including my NT children. Just because you don’t like them, doesn’t mean my children, and other people’s children, won’t like them.
And regardless of whether you’d eat them or not, it’s a £250 VIP experience and therefore they’re not going to serve up chicken nuggets and chips.

I should think most adults would have tried it? There's pretentious language and "elevating", but much of it is very mainstream.

That’s because in real life, hardly anyone knows a child that will eat this stuff.

Pretty sure I’m a person in real life.

Yes.

That's why I said (vaguely).

In real life most children would eat it. It’s bloody burgers ffs.

What would you expect the Royal Albert Hall to serve on a VIP experience?

My child would've loved most of that menu. I'm usually far more horrified by the utter shite on children's menus.

My SEN kids would have a cookie and milk. What a ridiculous menu. A lot of adults wouldn't thank you for that.