This article appears as part of the Food Matters newsletter.
Call me callous if you like, but I have very little patience for fussy eaters.
It could be because of shrewd tactics adopted early on by my mother, who told each of my siblings in our younger years that we were allowed a total of just five ingredients or meals to veto.
To add something new to the list, a previous entry would have to be stricken off and added back into the week’s meal plans.
As a result, I distinctly remember a cruel sense of delight as my sister struggled to make Sophie’s Choice between tomato soup and garden peas.
At the time it seemed terribly unfair, but I now understand that it was an inspired system to ensure we were taking the time to consider whether we actually did hate the taste of broccoli rather than just baulking at its suspiciously healthy-looking greenness and strange shape.
And in hindsight, she was likely well aware of the offenders which would cause a genuine dinner-time drama.
Nowadays when trying to make dinner plans with any of my pickier friends, I can’t help but wonder if this should be a more widely adopted approach.
Of course, there are dishes that I happily swerve if the choice is presented.
I never did develop an appreciation for goat’s cheese, and wouldn't thank you for a Christmas Day prawn cocktail, but there are very few things you could present on a plate that I wouldn’t at least give a go.
It’s a real shame to think of all the wonderful experiences that are missed out by a flat-out refusal to expand any culinary horizons.
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Offering an interesting solution to this dilemma, last week I was invited along to Six By Nico on Byres Road to give a menu celebrating the group's 6th year anniversary a go.
The concept is simple, asking diners to place their trust in the hands of the chefs and later guess which ingredients have been utilised for each of the mystery ten courses.
Blank cards and biro pens at the ready, our group was put through their paces as we struggled to identify the difference between umami flavours of mushroom or black garlic or question exactly what had been used to achieve puzzling layers of texture.
Not every course was a winner, and I won’t spoil any specifics in case they should feature again during the menu’s limited run, but stripping away the element of choice and encouraging us to truly explore each different flavour element cleverly made for an evening where the attention remained firmly on what was coming out of the kitchen.
Although of course not marketed as a radical remedy for picky eaters, it’s an experience that I’d recommend to anyone who is looking to challenge their tastebuds.
Trust from Six by Nico is available on Sundays and Mondays only at the group’s restaurants on Byres Road in Glasgow, Aberdeen, Belfast, and Canary Wharf.
The 10-course tasting menu is priced from £45 per person with matching wines from £35.
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