Forming an Opportunity Blog

Life: Forming an Opportunity Belief


I believe that there is a big opportunity to improve in kids knowledge of different cultures foods from around the world. Growing up my mom would try to expose my sister and I to different cultures food at least once each week. She would either try and cook meals that were similar to that native dishes from a particular culture or at least teach us about them. These new culinary experiences gave us a much deeper understanding for the world not to mention a much broader pallet. This is something I would say most American children today are lacking, as most parents stick to the basics of chicken tenders, pizza and pasta. I would say more than 60% of kids today have never tried or tasted any dish that wasn't a classic American cuisine. There seems to be a large opportunity to include new food options into kids diet though school lunches to even food festivals.  By adding in more worldly knowledge to kids minds early on, the more likely they will be to try new things and understand cultures that are different from their own.

Customer #1: Mother who cooks dinners for two young children.

• How many nights a week to you cook dinner for your family? 
• On average, I cook about 4 nights a week. 
• What types of meals do you normally cook, what are your kids favorites? 
• I tend to stick to quick and easy meals so things like casseroles, burgers and hotdogs, and meat and potatoes. My kids always prefer the more rushed decisions liked buttered pasta and chicken tenders. 
• Have you ever tried or wanted to introduce to your kids to other cultures cuisines. If so, have they enjoyed. 
• We will occasionally have an Italian dinner or take them to an authentic Mexican restaurant. Both times they have surprisingly really enjoyed the food and overall experience. 
• If available would you take your kids to a food festival with different cuisines or even try cooking simple meals to allow exposure? 
• I would be very open to experimenting cooking different dishes as long as they were not to labor intensive and something I could do without having to buy many new ingredients. As far as taking them to a food festival, I think it would be a great family bonding experience and something fun and different to try!

Reflection: Overall I think this Mom is more than willing to introduce new cuisines and cultures to her kids as long as it didn't deviate to much from her families daily lifestyle. 

Customer #2: Single father of 1 Boy.

• How many nights a week to you cook dinner for your family? 
•  I cook about 3 nights a week. 
• What types of meals do you normally cook, what are your kids favorites? 
• My son loves steak and any red meat. The nights I do cook us dinner its normally on the grill. When I am not grilling or cooking at home we tend to rely on fast food in between his sports practices. 
• Have you ever tried or wanted to introduce to your kids to other cultures cuisines. If so, have they enjoyed. 
• Coming from a large Cuban family, my son will often eat authentic cuban food at our very frequent family gatherings. Other than cuban food though, we do not branch out too much. 
• If available would you take your kids to a food festival with different cuisines or even try cooking simple meals to allow exposure? 
• I would be interested in taking him to a food festival as I love new ways to get out of the house and try new things. Although when it comes to cooking I don't think I would be able to fit it into my skill set or sons timeline. 

Reflection: This father seems to place less importance on his sons overall food knowledge and more on his own traditions. He seems open to new experiences but only if they work with his busy life. 

Customer #3: Mother of 2 and restaurant owner.

• How many nights a week to you cook dinner for your family? 
•  I cook about 6 nights a week. I typically operate my return during the day and come home at night and cook dinner for my family. Normally I work as chef one night a week. 
• What types of meals do you normally cook, what are your kids favorites? 
• Being professionally trained in multiple cuisines, I try and never make the same meal more than 3 times. My kids have been exposed to many different foods, probably more than most adults, honestly. They love Beef Wellington, Yellow Currys and Pad Thai. 
• Have you ever tried or wanted to introduce to your kids to other cultures cuisines. If so, have they enjoyed. 
• As I mentioned earlier, I have already introduced my kids to variety of different cultures cuisines. They love trying the new dishes I make, especially when I go a little further and show them pictures of the region the food comes from or even make a dessert typical of that culture. 
• If available would you take your kids to a food festival with different cuisines or even try cooking simple meals to allow exposure? 
• I think my kids would really enjoy a food festival, I have made them little foodies and they always get excited when trying out a new, culturally diverse, restaurant.

Reflection: This mom has already set a great example of introducing her kids to more cultures and seems to think that more parents should do the same. For her kids she has already developed an appreciation for food that even some grown adults do not have. 

Summary: All things considered, it is still my personal opinion that most children today could benefit from of different cultures cuisines. After speaking to a few parents about the idea of introducing a more diverse array of food to their kids compared to what they typically eat, they all seemed on board with the idea. It is my guess that children's knowledge of different cultures and their foods could increase between 20-30% with a monthly introduction of diverse dishes. The only part about my original opportunity that may have to be modified would be having the parents learn to cook these new food. This is mainly because they already lead very busy lives and may not have the time or money to donate to this opportunity.