Belfast’s food and hospitality sector is being invited to join a vital conversation around children’s food at Small Plates, BIG Flavours, an event bringing together chefs, restaurant owners, hospitality businesses and food professionals to explore what children want from menus, what families actually order and how businesses can create more varied and imaginative options for younger diners.
Taking place at The Academy Restaurant on Wednesday 28 October, the event forms part of Belfast Flavours’ wider School Food and Sustainability Pilot, which is bringing together schools, pupils, chefs, producers and food industry partners to explore children’s relationships with food and how their ideas could help shape children’s menus across Belfast.
The pilot, supported by Belfast City Council and the DAERA NI Regional Food Programme, launched at Cranmore Integrated Primary School earlier this month, with pupils taking part in a Discovery Day exploring local produce, meeting food producers and getting hands-on with food. Following a Sandwich Challenge on 19 October, Belfast Flavours will bring the conversation into the wider food and hospitality sector, creating an opportunity for businesses to hear directly about the project and consider what children’s ideas could mean for menus.
Leading the conversation at Small Plates, BIG Flavours will be Stephen Ferris, Development Chef at Mount Charles Group. Familiar to many from his time leading kitchens across Belfast’s restaurant scene, at restaurants including Margot, Rudi and Coppi, Stephen will share his perspective on menu development, working in hospitality and what makes a children’s menu work in a real-world restaurant environment.
He will be joined by Lynsey Hollywood from Ulster University, Caroline Wilson from Taste & Tour and Ciarán McLarnon from The Focacceria, with perspectives spanning education, food tourism, hospitality and the wider food sector.
Una Hollywood, Food Adviser, DAERA, said:
“The School Food and Sustainability Pilot from Belfast Flavours gives children the opportunity to explore local food, try new things and share their own ideas about what they enjoy eating – and in turn the industry gets the chance to listen to these children and understand their experiences.
“Small Plates, BIG Flavours is an important next step in that conversation, bringing those insights into the wider food and hospitality sector and creating a space for businesses to share their experience and consider how we can encourage greater variety, choice and enjoyment for children and families.
“It’s about starting a conversation, sharing what we’re seeing in our businesses and looking at how we can make eating out a great experience for younger diners.”
Stephen Ferris, Development Chef at Mount Charles Group, said:
“Kids’ menus are an important part of what many restaurants do, and it’s great to have the opportunity to bring people from across the industry together to talk about what families are looking for and what actually works in real kitchens.
“I’m looking forward to sharing my own experiences and to hearing from other people working across hospitality – to explore what those ideas could mean in practice. It’s a conversation that can only benefit from having as many different perspectives as possible around the table, and it’s exciting to think about the positive impact we can make for everyone involved.”
Andrew Dougan, Managing Director of Yellow Door Catering and Co-Chair of Belfast Flavours, said:
“Belfast has an incredibly diverse and exciting food scene, and we want children and families to be part of that. There is a real opportunity for Belfast to learn from other European cities that are putting more emphasis on helping children develop positive relationships with food, encouraging healthy and varied eating habits and making dining out an enjoyable experience for younger diners.
“At the same time, we want to help children understand where their food comes from and the importance of supporting local producers from an early age. That connection between local food, sustainability and the choices we make every day is an important part of what the School Food and Sustainability Pilot is exploring and we hope it will help shape a stronger food culture for the next generation in Belfast and beyond.”
Small Plates, BIG Flavours takes place from 9.30am–11am on Wednesday 28 October at The Academy Restaurant, Belfast. Attendance is free, but places are limited. Chefs, restaurant owners, hospitality businesses and food professionals are encouraged to register and join the conversation.
Register attendance at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/menuevent