This toddler eats better than you.
While most parents may stick to basics when feeding their toddlers, professional chef Jack Zhang, 31, was determined to make sure his son Levi was going to be an adventurous eater.
To ensure the now two-year-old was not going to grow up fussy, Zhang made sure to start feeding the baby dishes fit for the most refined palette as soon as could eat solid foods — and now has an appetite that could rival a grown adult’s.
Little Levi’s expansive menu already includes scallops, ratatouille, pork dumplings, cauliflower puree, quick pickled cucumbers, radish, microgreens and tobiko, his proud dad said.
“The mindset is for him to not to be always picky and to try a bunch of different foods,” the New York-based cook explained.
“I love to cook — that’s my passion. Now I have someone to cook for all the time.” he continued. “I love introducing him to all types of dishes, cuisine and cultures.”
Zhang is married to 28-year-old Emily, an English professor, saying his love of cooking comes from eating homemade meals growing up, which inspired him to do the same for his little boy.
“In the beginning, I would try to introduce him to protein like fish and meat,” he recalled. “I would make rice, salmon and peas and cook it all up and blend it into a baby food consistency.”
“He really enjoyed it,” Zhang gushed.
The food-loving-father said Levi loves avocado, seafood and fruit and is always up for developing his “curious palette,” and they love encouraging him. “We let him watch it first to get him excited,” he said. “We make food fun. They want to experience different textures.”
The foodie father admitted strangers are “shocked” to see a toddler try different foods.
“I think people are shocked to seeing someone eat different food so young,” he said. “People say ‘I’m 40 and I’ve not even tried that.'”
The couple are hoping to create a cookbook on some of Levi’s favorite dishes, hoping to give other parents ideas on how to coach their kids into trying different foods.
“His [Levi’s] palette is always changing,” Zhang quipped. “It’s never too early for kids to learn.”