Above L-R, Château executive chef Daniel Buss in the kitchen Sunday with pint-size patrons Tyler Wilson, 10, Kobe Villeneuve, 10, Alex Michel, 7, Jillian Ohnjec, 12, Sophia Michel, 11, Hannah Angioni, 8, Micah Sher, 9, and Claire Amirault.
MAR 27 12 – 12:01 AM — A dozen discerning diners — none older than 12 — invaded the kitchens Sunday at Ottawa’s venerable Fairmont Château Laurier to review the hotel’s new healthy kid’s menu that launches this week at Wilfrid’s restaurant.
And critique, they most certainly did as pint-sized patrons armed with happy-face scorecards sampled no fewer than 10 different items, most worthy of a kids’ version of Michelin stars for taste, creativity and presentation.
Check the cool video by the Citizen’s Wayne Cuddington at the foot of this blog, just before the recipes.
Not every dish was a runaway hit with every critic, however. Among them is Ayala Sher, 7, who pronounced the salad unsuitable to her because it contained, well, lots of tender greens. “There were too many leaves,” she opined.
And Tyler Wilson, 10, thought the house-made granola could use a little more fresh fruit for contrast. “It’s really good and all,” he says, “but there’s just too much of one flavour.”
But universal successes with kids were the banana and oat pancakes, and the low-sodium flavour-packed homemade chicken noodle soup with chickpeas. “I’m speechless,” says Kobe Villeneuve, 10.
“It’s delicious and definitely my favourite because all the ingredients complement each other.”
Adds Sophia Michel, 11: “The chicken is tender, it’s very good and it’s healthy.”
That’s exactly the feedback executive chef Daniel Buss and his crew were looking for as they put finishing touches to the 18-item healthy kids breakfast, lunch and dinner menu, part of a chain-wide Fairmont policy to purge kids’ meals of the usual deep-fried frozen chicken fingers, battered fish sticks and greasy potatoes most eateries serve because they think that’s what kids want.
L-R Hannah Angioni, Ayala Sher, 7, Micah Sher making healthy oat bran pancakes with sous-chef John Young.
Turns out, the old school is, well, outdated in these health-conscious times and concern about child obesity. While the château will still offer, say, hotdogs — a perennial kids’ favourite — the new version is all-natural without artificial nitrates, and comes on a whole-wheat bun with a side of fruit, not chips.
“The feedback is really great,” Buss says of his discriminating diners.
“There seems to be a lot of happy faces, and no one mentioned they want french fries. That’s good, right?”
Executive chef Daniel Buss serves discriminating diners samples of his new healthy kids menu — and not a french fry in sight.
The idea of asking kids what they like comes from château general manager Claude Sauvé. “You always get the truth from kids,” he says, “so we should be asking them for feedback on our new healthy menu.
“As a grandfather and long-standing hotelier, I know how knowledgeable our youth are but it’s our responsibility as adults to point them in the right direction by introducing them to healthier eating habits.”
Buss says the healthy menu isn’t about taking away foods that kids love. Rather, “it’s about adapting menus to more wholesome choices.
“I have two, soon to be three kids of my own so this is a subject that’s near and dear to me.
“We’ve had the traditional kid’s menu for years, but with concern about healthy eating in general this is a natural evolution. Two years ago we introduced healthy options in our Lifestyle Cuisine on the adult menu, with complete nutritional analysis available. For example, our traditional breakfast granola parfait is now made with healthier fats like cold-pressed coconut oil.
“Or, where we had Arctic char on the dinner menu with butter and cream sauce, now it’s served with slow-roasted tomato and olive oil sauce. All the cream is gone.
“So changing the kids menu for us was a natural progression. There are no longer french fries on the menu.”
Right, house-made granola with yogurt.
Instead of frozen chicken fingers and fish sticks, the improved version uses fresh poultry and fresh halibut — not the cheapest ingredients around, but incredibly toothsome dipped in egg whites, breaded with panko crumbs and baked.
“And when it comes to fats,” Buss says, “the key is using good fats in limited amounts like coconut oil, extra-virgin olive oil and cold-pressed grapeseed and canola oils that are not heat-processed. We’re using no hydrogenated oils so the trans fats are now only trace amounts found naturally in butter, which we still use a little for flavour.
“So I thought the day with kids was awesome,” Buss says.
“The kids enjoyed it, they had fun, and we got good feedback.”
Fish and Sticks
Serves 4
– 1 cup (250 mL) plain non-fat yogurt
– 1 lemon, zest and juice reserved separately
– 1 teaspoon (5 mL) fresh dill, chopped
– 11/2 teaspoons (7 mL) gherkins, chopped (or relish)
– Kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, to taste
– 21/2 cups (625 mL) panko breadcrumbs, or fine breadcrumbs
– 1 tablespoon (15 mL) flat-leaf parsely, chopped fine
– 8-ounce (225-g) fresh skinless, boneless halibut fillet, cut into 12 fingers
– 2 cups (500 mL) all-purpose flour, sifted
– 3 egg whites, whisked but not whipped
– 2 tablespoons (25 mL) olive oil
– 4 celery stalks, washed, peeled and cut into 12 three-inch (7.5-cm) sticks
– 2 large carrots, peeled and cut into 12 three-inch (7.5-cm) sticks
– 2 medium-size seedless English cucumbers, washed and cut into 12 three-inch (7.5-cm) sticks
– 1/2 cup (125 mL) hummus
1. Preheat oven to 375 F (190 C). Line bottom of baking dish or rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil large enough to hold fish fingers in a single layer.
2. In a small mixing bowl, make yogurt dip by combining yogurt, juice from 1 lemon, dill, chopped gherkins; mix well, then season to taste with salt, pepper.
3. In another bowl, combine panko, 11/2 teaspoons (7 mL) grated lemon zest, and parsley; mix well.
4. Pat fish dry with paper towels, then toss halibut in flour, then dip in whisked egg whites. One fillet at a time, coat each well in panko crumb mixture, pushing down slightly so the crumbs adhere well.
5. In a medium pan, heat olive oil and sauté breaded fish fingers over medium heat, turning once, 4 to 5 minutes to brown. Transfer fish to lined baking sheet and bake 7 to 8 minutes, then remove from oven when done.
6. To serve, place 3 fish fingers on each plate with vegetable sticks; serve with yogurt dip with a heaping tablespoon (20 mL) of hummus.
Source: Fairmont Château Laurier
Per serving: Calories 278; Carbohydrate 33.3 g; Total fat 13 g; Sodium 285 mg.
Oatmeal Pancakes
Serves 8
– 1/2 cup (125 mL) unbleached all-purpose flour
– 1/4 cup (50 mL) whole-wheat flour
– 1/2 cup (125 mL) oat bran cereal
– 1/4 cup (50 mL) rolled oats
– 2 teaspoons (10 mL) baking powder
– Pinch, salt
– 1 very ripe banana
– 1 cup (250 mL) milk
– 2 whole eggs
– Butter, to fry pancakes
Serve with:
– 8 fresh strawberries, sliced
– 24 raspberries
– 16 blackberries
– 2 bananas, sliced
– 1/4 cup (50 mL) maple syrup
1. Mix together dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, mash ripe banana well with a fork, then add milk and eggs and whisk to incorporate well. Mix dry ingredients into wet.
2. Preheat non-stick frypan, adding a little butter to melt. Pour 1/4 cup (50 mL) of pancake batter into pan and fry, flipping when golden brown to brown the other side.
3. Serve each portion with fresh fruit, 2 teaspoons (10 mL) maple syrup per serving.
Source: Fairmont Château Laurier
Per serving: Calories 93; Carbohydrate 15.7 g; Total fat 3.4 g; Sodium 24.2 mg.
Happy campers, one and all.
