Tweens/Teenagers meal choice?

Liam McPoyle · 22-04-2015 01:40PM

We have 4 kids at ours, two 12 year olds, a 10 and an 8 year old.

They are getting chicken goujons and chips for dinner and ice cream for dessert.

stickybookmark · 22-04-2015 02:36PM

Business Cat wrote: »

We have 4 kids at ours, two 12 year olds, a 10 and an 8 year old.

They are getting chicken goujons and chips for dinner and ice cream for dessert.

We will have hmm....2 babies, a 1yo, a 3yo, a 4yo, a 5yo, two 8yos, a 9yo, two 10yos, three 11yos, a 12yo, a 14yo, a 15yo, two 19yo

I think that's it!!

I'm not worried about anyone except the 11-15 age bracket. Think I have the solution now anyway!
The two 19yos are on OH's side (his first cousins) and he reckons they might chose the chicken & chips option as well but feck it I'm not asking their parents (!!) we'll pay for a full dinner for them, if they don't eat it so what.

stickybookmark · 22-04-2015 02:39PM

ahayes84 wrote: »

Remember also its not just the meal you are paying for. When it comes to adults you are also paying for alcohol. I know there are always some nondrinkers but they are usually balanced out by the heavy drinkers. Paying full whack for a child just doesn't seem right.

Unf in our venue the 65 euro is just for the dinner (starter, main course and dessert) it doesn't cover any alcohol, canapes or late night food. That is all separate

Milly33 · 22-04-2015 03:54PM

Really, this isn't inc the wine for reception or late night nibbles? €65 a head for just dinner I would be asking them to give whatever ye wanted... Think we have ours coming in for €40ish (more on the less) a head I know it is different set up but that is including canapés, main meal inc dessert, and late night nibbles

fits · 22-04-2015 04:09PM

For children at ours (under 12) it is 30 euro. Our meal set up is similar to sticky's

Liam McPoyle · 22-04-2015 04:16PM

We are been charged €20 per child which I thought was a bit much,clearly it isn't.

Another thing the hotel suggested was having a small soft drinks tab for the meal. Obviously water will be available but people can get sick of it. The hotel brought up the point that it can leave a sour taste when non drinkers, pregnant women or kids have to pay for a drink while everyone else can avail of free wine.

Tbh it's something that never even dawned on us and but we cannot disagree with it so we are goin to have a tab of €60 for soft drinks for those that want them.

fits · 22-04-2015 04:20PM

Business Cat wrote: »

We are been charged €20 per child which I thought was a bit much,clearly it isn't.

.

Big difference between chicken goujons and a half portion of a cooked to order meal. I suppose we should consider the chips option as well. But a fair few of the kids would kick up at that too. Theyd want to have the same as the grownups. And i see them as important guests so i want them to eat well too.

alroley · 22-04-2015 04:30PM

Anyone over 12 should not be eating off a kids menu imo.

Milly33 · 22-04-2015 05:11PM

Why jes id still order from the kids menu for the run of mill places if I could.. Simplier menus...

I agree with the drinks thing but I would have thought maybe the hotel would provide a few free soft drinks for the guests who weren't drinking.. Would ye ever think of buying some nice lemonade and having jugs of it on the tables for the non drinkers..

I am beginning to see now where prices make a difference for self catering weddings to hotel weddings

hdowney · 22-04-2015 06:30PM

skallywag wrote:

Could not agree more with this. I think it's pretty selfish of any B&G who won't offer a burger & chip style option for the kids.

Whereas I don't get the whole 'kids menu' thing - stuffed full of this that the other and chips. Why must all kids menus be that kind of food. Why can't it just be half portions of the regular menu items. I know that's what I'd do and what I'd want my kids to have (not that I have any) and would have raised them eating. Not chips and goujons all the time. Personal opinion but I just don't get it.

dr.fuzzenstein · 22-04-2015 06:34PM

The Cunning Linguist wrote: »

She's having a laugh. 3 children's dinners is what I'd be ordering. If they don't want burgers & chips would it be possible to get a child's portion of the adult main?

And that's why Irish people are fat, because they are given that sh*t as kids and told "this is normal, every day food"
So of course they grow up eating trash. A lot of Irish people still eat like they're 8.
In any European country kids eat whatever the adults eat (unless they're 3), but a smaller portion of the adult meal makes sense.

OP, 65 a head for the food? That better be the Ritz!:eek:

fits · 22-04-2015 06:37PM

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

And
OP, 65 a head for the food? That better be the Ritz!:eek:

Id say its better than the ritz

but also far from most expensive in the country.

dr.fuzzenstein · 22-04-2015 06:43PM

fits wrote: »

Id say its better than the ritz but also far from most expensive in the country.

Consider bringing in your own wine from France, usually a fraction of the price than here and the good stuff, not the crap they send us foreigners.:P

stickybookmark · 22-04-2015 07:19PM

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

And that's why Irish people are fat, because they are given that sh*t as kids and told "this is normal, every day food"
So of course they grow up eating trash. A lot of Irish people still eat like they're 8.
In any European country kids eat whatever the adults eat (unless they're 3)

I agree with you 100% but is my wedding really the place to start trying to challenge social norms and improve the eating habits of other people's kids? I think not! I have enough on my plate. ....we just the day to go smoothly. I think that's what the head chef was getting at when he said just give them chips, it's not the time or the place for scenes, arguments, food negotiations between parents & kids. I would be happy if there are some healthy options on the children's menu like pasta so those parents that want to make a point of never giving their kids chips can be happy too

Milly33 · 22-04-2015 07:21PM

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

And that's why Irish people are fat, because they are given that sh*t as kids and told "this is normal, every day food"
So of course they grow up eating trash. A lot of Irish people still eat like they're 8.
In any European country kids eat whatever the adults eat (unless they're 3), but a smaller portion of the adult meal makes sense.

OP, 65 a head for the food? That better be the Ritz!:eek:

Jes that's a bit of a harsh statement, its like they are eating it everyday your talking one day at a wedding. I am sure we would all like whatever we want to an extent at a wedding but sometimes its just not possible

stickybookmark · 22-04-2015 07:23PM

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

Consider bringing in your own wine from France, usually a fraction of the price than here and the good stuff, not the crap they send us foreigners.:P

I hope that's not true, I got my wine in Supervalue/Musgrave's recent Easter deal. It's french. No time to go to France for it!

Milly33 · 22-04-2015 07:27PM

We went to supervalue too after keeping an eye on deals around the place and you leaving comments saying about the deals, I don't think youd get much better with them. Unless you knew someone or was travelling to France yourself for another reason and so much nicer knowing it is going local

stickybookmark · 22-04-2015 07:28PM

Business Cat wrote: »

Another thing the hotel suggested was having a small soft drinks tab for the meal. Obviously water will be available but people can get sick of it. The hotel brought up the point that it can leave a sour taste when non drinkers, pregnant women or kids have to pay for a drink while everyone else can avail of free wine.

Tbh it's something that never even dawned on us and but we cannot disagree with it so we are goin to have a tab of €60 for soft drinks for those that want them.

That's a great idea. I think we're going to have jugs of cordial or something. How will you communicate that there's a soft drink tab, will waiter take orders from non-drinkers at each table or what?

Liam McPoyle · 22-04-2015 08:05PM

stickybookmark wrote: »

That's a great idea. I think we're going to have jugs of cordial or something. How will you communicate that there's a soft drink tab, will waiter take orders from non-drinkers at each table or what?

When serving wine if anyone declines they will be offered a soft drink instead.

stickybookmark · 22-04-2015 08:51PM

Business Cat wrote: »

When serving wine if anyone declines they will be offered a soft drink instead.

That's a good idea. Might do that too. What if people keep ordering multiples then and the 60 euro has run out?

Liam McPoyle · 22-04-2015 09:22PM

stickybookmark wrote: »

That's a good idea. Might do that too. What if people keep ordering multiples then and the 60 euro has run out?

Havnt addressed that but its in our contract that anything "extra" that crops up over the course of the day/night that we will settle up on check out.

dr.fuzzenstein · 22-04-2015 10:03PM

stickybookmark wrote: »

I hope that's not true, I got my wine in Supervalue/Musgrave's recent Easter deal. It's french. No time to go to France for it!

Sadly its true, we pay he highest taxes on wine in Europe.
http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/irish-drinkers-pay-highest-taxes-on-wine-in-europe-288666.html

That bottle that costs €12-15 here probably costs a fiver in France.

hdowney · 22-04-2015 11:23PM

stickybookmark wrote: »

I agree with you 100% but is my wedding really the place to start trying to challenge social norms and improve the eating habits of other people's kids? I think not! I have enough on my plate. ....we just the day to go smoothly. I think that's what the head chef was getting at when he said just give them chips, it's not the time or the place for scenes, arguments, food negotiations between parents & kids. I would be happy if there are some healthy options on the children's menu like pasta so those parents that want to make a point of never giving their kids chips can be happy too

Id say if you have a mix of the 'kiddie food' (goujons) and small plates of adult food that would be brilliant. You'd be surprised how many kids would like to try what the grown ups have and will be delighted with the choice.

Business Cat wrote: »

When serving wine if anyone declines they will be offered a soft drink instead.

I think that is a brilliant, considerate idea

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

Sadly its true, we pay he highest taxes on wine in Europe.
http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/irish-drinkers-pay-highest-taxes-on-wine-in-europe-288666.html

That bottle that costs €12-15 here probably costs a fiver in France.

hell yes. 11/2l of wine in Italy for like €3. Heaven

stickybookmark · 23-04-2015 08:23AM

PhoenixParker wrote: »

Does your venue not have a rule on this?
Many restaurants and venues say no kids meals for over 10s.
.

I'm glad you brought this to my attention. Hadn't occured to me but they might well have, they'd be just the type of venue that would have such a rule actually. So before I start divulging ages of guests etc, I'll ask what the usual policy is.....
worst case scenario we end up having to pay 65 for anyone over 10 regardless of whether they order the kid's meal or not. I'll just have to hope they're more flexible than that.

stickybookmark · 23-04-2015 08:30AM

Milly33 wrote: »

We went to supervalue too after keeping an eye on deals around the place and you leaving comments saying about the deals, I don't think youd get much better with them. Unless you knew someone or was travelling to France yourself for another reason and so much nicer knowing it is going local

I agree and the off licence manager in my local Super Valu could not have been more accommodating/helpful. I was so impressed with her! Met me at weekends, gave me free bottles of wine to taste, was really flexible and tried her best to get me the best deal possible. 10/10!

Gatica · 23-04-2015 03:57PM

I'm sorry but offering a 19 year old a kid's meal is a bit stingy and a slap in the face to them. They're adults and should be treated as such....
Maybe 11/12 year olds can be seen as borderline, but over 18's is really far stretching it.
also, many over 12's eat as much as an adult as they're in the spurt growing phase.

PS:
Sorry, stickybookmark, just re-read your post properly and can see you did say you're giving them the adult menus.

stickybookmark · 28-04-2015 10:41AM

So met the hotel yesterday for the final planning meeting. Wasn't too impressed with their response on this point I have to say. They said we pick one item from the children's menu (the choice is goujons & chips, burger & chips, roast chicken, veg & potatoes, fish fingers and chips etc) and we pick it in advance and that's what every child gets plus ice-cream. No starter and no choice for the children.

The meeting was with the 2 wedding planners, me & OH and I started saying I want a choice and I want some adult options in there so the same menu can be used for the tweens as well and the 2 wedding liason and OH all turned on me and started saying that was stupid and it's much better to just pick what they're having now and not give them any choice etc ! Hadn't counted on that haha....I said to OH let's take this discussion offline!

I'm p!ssed off I have to say that for the money we're paying etc and the fact this venue sells itself on its culinary excellence....that there's not more options when it comes to this. I'm going to insist on at least a choice of 2 things - one typical kids fish & chips or whatever and the other maybe a pasta dish or the roast chicken & veg. They said they will have to see if that can be done for 15 a head though, it might cost more to have a choice. And when I asked why there was no starter on the kid's menu they said the kids barely finish their dinners not to mind wasting a starter on them.
Hmmmm....I had a dream about this last night! Stressed out !! :-o

solerina · 28-04-2015 10:46AM

stickybookmark wrote: »

So met the hotel yesterday for the final planning meeting. Wasn't too impressed with their response on this point I have to say. They said we pick one item from the children's menu (the choice is goujons & chips, burger & chips, roast chicken, veg & potatoes, fish fingers and chips etc) and we pick it in advance and that's what every child gets plus ice-cream. No starter and no choice for the children.

The meeting was with the 2 wedding planners, me & OH and I started saying I want a choice and I want some adult options in there so the same menu can be used for the tweens as well and the 2 wedding liason and OH all turned on me and started saying that was stupid and it's much better to just pick what they're having now and not give them any choice etc ! Hadn't counted on that haha....I said to OH let's take this discussion offline!

I'm p!ssed off I have to say that for the money we're paying etc and the fact this venue sells itself on its culinary excellence....that there's not more options when it comes to this. I'm going to insist on at least a choice of 2 things - one typical kids fish & chips or whatever and the other maybe a pasta dish or the roast chicken & veg. They said they will have to see if that can be done for 15 a head though, it might cost more to have a choice. And when I asked why there was no starter on the kid's menu they said the kids barely finish their dinners not to mind wasting a starter on them.
Hmmmm....I had a dream about this last night! Stressed out !! :-o

I would be really annoyed about this, as I said earlier we had 10 is tweens at our wedding (8-15 yrs) and they all got starter, soup, main and dessert. Most took the kids meals but not all took the same one (sausages, chicken goujons, fish goujons + chips) and I think 3 took the half adult meal....only one took the adult dessert.....your hotel is making a lot of money out of ye so its very unfair to cause this much hassle over a few kids meals (our adult meals were 70 euro, kids were 20). I would be fuming at OH for not backing me up too...don't blame you for being stressed !!!

stickybookmark · 28-04-2015 10:56AM

solerina wrote: »

I would be really annoyed about this, as I said earlier we had 10 is tweens at our wedding (8-15 yrs) and they all got starter, soup, main and dessert. Most took the kids meals but not all took the same one (sausages, chicken goujons, fish goujons + chips) and I think 3 took the half adult meal....only one took the adult dessert.....your hotel is making a lot of money out of ye so its very unfair to cause this much hassle over a few kids meals (our adult meals were 70 euro, kids were 20). I would be fuming at OH for not backing me up too...don't blame you for being stressed !!!

Oh believe me...he got it in the car afterwards! :mad:

I discussed all this with him last week, told him about yourself and ahayes84 as well and how I wanted what ye had as it is the solution to the problem and I thought he said he agreed and it was all fine. Then he starts arguing against me in the meeting. I shouldn't have brought him haha.....

I think I'm going to kick up a stink over it to be honest....
They told me we have to pick in advance because they need to know exact numbers so they can prepare the food as required as it's a private venue (i.e. there will be nothing else on there that weekend apart from our wedding) but come on...how hard is it to take a few goujons or a burger out of the freezer and throw it on!!

fits · 28-04-2015 11:13AM

That's really disappointing. I think you are right to kick up.

Tweens/Teenagers meal choice?

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