Ways to get kids to eat well

The sooner you introduce children to different tastes and textures, the more discerning their palates will be. Also, the children who behave best in restaurants are the ones who have been taken into dining rooms from the year dot.

Be adventurous yourself: Lead by example. Try things that you haven't tasted before. Taste the local produce.

Make the whole experience of food enjoyable: Turn eating out into a great social family thing that you do together for fun: since people eat out later on the Continent, let the kids stay up. Let them try some wine, diluted with water if necessary. Let them smell it before they taste it. Make it an adventure.

Try to get them involved in food: Let children handle the produce at farmers' markets, and teach them how to prepare food for picnics and evenings in.

Take them into the kitchens: Restaurants abroad are much more amenable to this than they are over here. It's like being on an aeroplane and being allowed to look around the cockpit. If they are serving lobsters, get the chef to show them one. Kids are excited by things that are strange and new.