So Your Kid Wants To Be A Restaurant Critic?

I’m not as appalled as the Slate magazine writer who complained about the emergence of the child foodie movement. Actually, the NY Times story about 12-year-old restaurant critic David Fishman is a gem. Clearly, he’ll have to get sorted on the note-taking while on the job — these days, most critics are using their smartphones — but otherwise he’s on the right track…especially by sampling the tripe. A chicken fingers-only diet won’t cut it if you want to be a food writer — you’ve got to be willing to sample the surprising, the intimidating…the downright unappetizing. So I’m not feeling threatened in my own food editor gig. The number of North American youngsters who will opt for offal over McMeat is infinitesimal, frankly. I am more befuddled by the magazine’s feature, Cooking with Dexter. Are we to believe that this four-year-old drinks “two ounces of good, strong coffee” every morning (after grinding his own beans, to boot)? His dad, and writer of the piece, Times dining editor Pete Wells, is obviously unhinged. Or at least, he soon will be, with a pre-schooler all hopped up on caffeine running amok.

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Deana Lancaster is an authentic pop culture vulture who will cop to an addiction to EW.com that is as insatiable as those she has for all things gourmet, great shoes, cool tunes and the Huffington Post. A 12-year staffer at the North Shore News, she serves as the paper’s food & wine editor, features editor, and dabbles in some selective freelancing. If she’s not at her computer, she’s likely hanging with her family — or depending on the season — surfing at Long Beach or snowboarding Cypress.

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