{"id":31258,"date":"2013-10-20T08:21:07","date_gmt":"2013-10-20T12:21:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/?p=31258"},"modified":"2022-05-04T20:38:58","modified_gmt":"2022-05-05T00:38:58","slug":"try-encourage-kids-families-try-new-foods-epcots-international-food-wine-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/try-encourage-kids-families-try-new-foods-epcots-international-food-wine-festival\/","title":{"rendered":"TRY IT! or how to encourage kids and families to try new foods at Epcot\u2019s International Food and Wine Festival"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"2013<\/a>
2013 Epcot International Food & Wine Festival<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While some kids embrace new foods easily getting kids to try new dishes is not always an easy task. Dining out at a pricy restaurant is not the right setting to introduce new foods to your children and here is where a discovery tour around the 30 booths of the World Showcase Lagoon at Epcot comes in handy.\u00a0 Being a good role model is a must and setting the rules is the next step. I suggest that your child takes at least three bites and if he or she really does not like it a polite \u2018no thank you\u2019 should be your queue.<\/p>\n

The basics<\/b>: This year\u2019s festival, which started at the end of September, runs through November 11. \u00a0In addition to the International Food Booths and displays the event offers many special programs such as Signature Diners, Culinary Demonstrations, Eat to the Beat concerts and much more. If you enjoy cooking with your kids the Festival Center offers reasonably priced culinary demonstrations, which cost about $14 per person. The Eat to the Beat Concerts are free of charge and are held nightly at the America Gardens Theater.<\/p>\n

\"Sister<\/a>
Sister Hazel performance at Eat to the Beat Concert<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

TRY IT!:<\/b> Disney in an attempt to encourage kids and families to try new foods suggests six dishes which are labeled TRY IT! Should you or your kids have any allergy or dietary restriction each booth has a list of all dishes and their entire ingredients.\u00a0 The TRY IT! dishes, like all food offerings of the Marketplace booths are eligible as a snack for those having the Disney Dining Plan.<\/p>\n

I tried all six dishes and I must say that the choices where interesting but not necessarily what I would have picked to introduce my child to new foods.\u00a0 I started at the Terra booth and sampled the Chili Colorado with House-made Chips & Cashew Cheese featuring Gardein Beefless tips<\/i><\/b>.\u00a0 The dish smelled and tasted good. The chips were excellent. At $3.75 I give the dish a thumbs up.<\/p>\n

\"Chili<\/a>
Chili Colorado with House-Made Chips & Cashew Cheese featuring Gardein Beefless Tips<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Next I tried the Seared\u00a0Mahi Mahi with Jasmine Rice & \u201cSinga\u201d Sauce<\/i><\/b>\u00a0at the Singapore booth.\u00a0 I loved the dish and while kids won\u2019t have a Singa beer with it I strongly recommend mom and dad to do so.\u00a0 Picky eaters might be reluctant to try fish but the dish does not taste very \u2018fishy\u2019 and at $3.75 certainly worth trying.<\/p>\n

\"Seared<\/a>
Seared Mahi Mahi with Jasmine Rice & “Singa” Sauce<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A no brainer was the Zapiekanki <\/b>(Toaster Mushroom, Caramelized Onion & Cheese Bread with House-made Ketchup) at the Poland booth.\u00a0 You could easily sell this one as a Polish Pizza. It was yummy and at $3 very filling. I personally preferred it minus the ketchup.<\/p>\n

\"Zapiekanki<\/a>
Zapiekanki at the Poland Booth<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Steamed Green Lip Mussels with Garlic Butter & Toasted Bread Crumbs<\/b> at the New Zealand booth are a stretch considering that seafood is not part of most kids diet. And while I love mussels this dish was very disappointing.\u00a0 The mussels were totally overcooked and anything but tasty. At $3.50 the dish gets a sound thumbs down.<\/p>\n

\"Steamed<\/a>
Steamed Green Lips Mussels with Garlic Butter & Toasted Bread Crumbs<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For $4 you can get A Taste of Greece<\/b>: Grilled & Marinated Calamari, Hitipiti, Eggplant Dip, Olives & Pita Bread at the Greece Booth. Just like the mussels, the calamari might be a challenge for the kids but unlike the mussels they were tasty and the variety of the dish a great introduction to Greek food.<\/p>\n

\"As<\/a>
As Taste of Greece<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The sixth and last TRY IT! dish was at the Scotland booth.\u00a0 For $3.25 the vegetarian version of Haggis with Neeps & Tatties<\/b> (Griddled Vegetable Cake with Rutabaga & Mashed Potatoes) was my favorite dish of the day.\u00a0\u00a0 Granted, I tried the real thing once and was relieved that this dish was 100 percent vegetarian.<\/p>\n

\"Haggis<\/a>
Haggis with Neeps & Tatties<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Overall I enjoyed my experience but I did not \u2018get\u2019 the choices Disney made for the six TRY IT! dishes.\u00a0 So, without further due here is what I would recommend to try with your kids:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Grilled Lamb Chop with Mint Pesto & Potato Crunchies \u2013 Australia $6<\/li>\n
  2. Seared Mahi Mahi with Jasmine Rice & \u201cSinga\u201d Sauce \u2013 Singapore $3.75<\/li>\n
  3. A Taste of Greece \u2013 Greece $4<\/li>\n
  4. Haggis with Neeps & Tatties \u2013 Scotland $3.25<\/li>\n
  5. Kielbasa & Patato Pierogi with Caramalized Onions \u2013 Poland $5.25<\/li>\n
  6. Baklava, one must have desert! \u2013 Morocco $2.95<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    While some kids embrace new foods easily getting kids to try new dishes is not always an easy task. Dining out at a pricy restaurant is not the right setting to introduce new foods to your children and here is where a discovery tour around the 30 booths of the World Showcase Lagoon at Epcot…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":68,"featured_media":31259,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1688,1695,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31258","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wdw-dining","category-theme-parks","category-walt-disney-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31258","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/68"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31258"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31258\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":84697,"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31258\/revisions\/84697"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31259"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31258"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31258"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31258"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}