Kid Stuff: The Great Taste Test Competition of 2010

Recently, while watching "Top Chef," Leo and I decided we should try our own version of the blindfold taste test. In this test, chefs are blindfolded and have to taste various foods to try to identify them. Leo and I decided we ought to try this and see how sophisticated our palates are. But then we realized it would be way more fun to do this with the kids. Here's how we did it:

We went to Whole Foods with the kids and split off into teams. Each team had $5 to spend on fruits, vegetables, nuts, or sauces, and anything we already had in the house was fair game. The kids picked out and weighed their own produce, and took everything to the checkout to pay, and Leo and I chose our items and paid separately. 

The food items the kids chopped up for Leo and me to test.

When we got home, we created score sheets on the computer (the kids like using WordArt in Word) and Leo and I went upstairs while the kids prepared their items. If you have younger kids, I'd recommend splitting teams so that there's one parent on each team who can supervise chopping. Then, the kids covered up all the dishes and called us downstairs. We were blindfolded (thank you, American Airlines, for the sleep masks from Business Class, which turned out to be perfect for this game) and in turn, given spoonfuls of each food to identify. 

Beware: eating a large spoonful of onions isn't the most fun you can have, and it stays with you. :D

After Leo and I did our taste test and our scores were tallied, we sent the kids upstairs and prepared their test. We were all surprised at how well we did, which makes me wonder how the chefs on "Top Chef" can do so poorly, but then, I think part of our success had to do with how many items that were already in our kitchen were used - I know my ingredients pretty well, but given an unfamiliar ingredient or given something I didn't already know I owned...I'm not sure how well I would fare.

In the end, the kids definitely won, and a great time was had by all. Give this one a try in your own home - it's a lot of fun!