Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. While most kids his age love nothing more than tucking into a basic mac and cheese, Levi Zhang has a more refined palate.
The two-year-old toddler has a taste for gourmet food such as roasted pork belly, spiced red lentils, beet pomegranate puree, beet greens and apple salad.
Levi’s father, Jack (31), is a professional chef and earlier this year he and his English professor wife, Emily (28), started documenting the meals they prepare for their son on social media.
In some of the videos, Levi helps his dad in the kitchen as they serve up tasty new dishes.
He’s already become quite a foodie and one of his favourite things to say as he critiques his dad’s food is “pretty ten-dah”, referring to the meat being ternder.
While most parents keep their meals basic and easy for their toddlers, Jack believes expanding his son’s palate will encourage him to be an adventurous eater.
The chef dad, who has a decade of experience in the culinary field, says that he’s learnt to make a wide variety of dishes from around the world and uses his knowledge to cook for his son.
At just two years old, Levi has already feasted on salmon, lobster, scallops, ratatouille, pork dumplings, cauliflower puree, quick-pickled cucumbers, radishes, microgreens and flying fish roe (tobiko).
“The food that surprised me the most was sea scallops,” Jack says.
“He loves them and finished his whole plate, then asked for more. He’s enjoyed most of the seafood he’s tried.”
Jack’s love for cooking stems from eating home-cooked meals as a little boy and now he wants to do the same for Levi.
“In the beginning, I would try to introduce him to protein like fish and meat,” he told the New York Post. “I would make rice, salmon and peas and cook it all up and blend it into a baby-food consistency.”
As soon as Levi could eat solid foods, he started to develop unique recipes that would encourage Levi’s “curious palate,” he says.
“We make food fun. They (toddlers) want to experience different textures.”
Jack and Emily are motivated and inspired by comments from their followers on social media who say that their videos brighten up their day and bring families together through cooking.
Their videos have also caught the attention of celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, whose reaction to Levi’s oxtail video went viral on TikTok.
The Michelin-starred chef seemed impressed by the meal and said “this is proving to be a delicious masterclass for Levi”.
Jack told People Magazine that it “felt completely surreal seeing Gordon react to my cooking and commenting on how adorable Levi is”.
Jack and Emily recently published a cookbook to encourage parents to coach their kids into exploring new and different foods.
In their book, Cultivating a Curious Palate, they share many of Levi’s favourite recipes as well as a chapter dedicated to gourmet baby foods that helped introduce him to different flavours and textures.
“His [Levi’s] palate is always changing. It’s never too early for kids to learn,” Jack says.
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