Wanna feel old? You know that plucky gang of fresh-faced uni pals who launched YouTube food channel Sorted Food? Well, “the guys have now grown up, become dads and experienced first-hand the problems with children’s eating”.
Founded by Ben Ebbrell, Barry Taylor, Jamie Spafford and Mike Huttlestone more than 15 years ago, the millennial and Gen Z-focused food channel, watched by millions every month, has launched a side channel aligned with their (and their audience’s) current life stage: Sorted Kids.
Designed for primary school age children, the five- to eight-minute videos (a healthy duration for young ones) show kids in a studio kitchen getting up to all sorts – be it trying odd ingredients, testing out novelty kitchen gadgets or conducting foodie science experiments.
In one video, two kids try ‘grown-up’ foods like kimchi (“bitter”), chicken liver pâté, wasabi peas (rated “a two, a negative two”) and snails. In another, kids find which food makes the loudest crunch. Crucially, they’re having fun and – with persistent encouragement – are keen to at least try new foods. Healthy options are subtly championed, but not exclusively.
Kids love to copy what they see and the audience will surely be urging parents to raid the larder to set up their own tasty tests.
Research carried out by the channel with Netmums found half of parents say their child won’t try new foods, with anxiety, texture issues and sensory overload often to blame. This channel hopes to make mealtime fun, rather than a flashpoint.
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