Keeping your kids happy and well fed while traveling are not competing interests in the land of wine and food. Some of California’s top restaurants and vineyards cater specifically to kids and many Golden State resorts and cooking schools are getting into the act with children’s cooking lessons and holiday-themed culinary events.
Berkeley is home to the famous Edible Schoolyard. Alice Waters of Chez Panisse oversees a garden run entirely by kids to help them learn the importance of farming. The Edible Schoolyard is an ongoing program for local school-age kids but tours are available and highly recommended.
For a more hands-on experience, Relish Culinary Adventures offers a children’s cooking series in Healdsburg. Campers start their week with a field trip to an organic farm to purchase the food they need to prepare a fresh meal for their parents. Marin County’s What’s Cooking also offers one-day kids literature and pop culture programs (think Harry Potter and Ratatouille) cooking classes for kids aged three and up.
For less intensive adventures, join them on a day trip to the Cowgirl Creamery in Point Reyes Station, where tours and lessons on how cheese is made are given on Fridays. Or head to the Springfield Trout Farm, where they’ll set you up with fishing gear and your kids can catch their own dinner. On the Central coast at Swanton Berry Farm, kids pick their own strawberries. At Gizdich Ranch homemade popsicles and slushes are created from the berries grown at the ranch.
Your kids don’t even have to leave the hotel grounds in some places in order to get a culinary education. In San Diego, Loews Coronado Bay Resort offers a rollicking kids program with marshmallow roasts on the beach, "refrigerator raids" led by the resort chefs and trips to the local farmers market. This year, The Grand Del Mar resort’s Culinary Series paired dads and kids together to create a meal for mom on Mother’s Day. Up the coast at the Half Moon Bay Ritz Carlton, table etiquette classes are offered throughout the year along with seasonal Thanksgiving history and cookie-decorating lessons.
Do you skip three-star restaurants when with the kids? At esteemed Chenery Park Restaurant in San Francisco every Tuesday is kids’ night, where you’re encouraged to bring the whole family. Other restaurants respect children’s palates by forgoing chicken strips and mac-n-cheese for slightly more adventurous fare: Half Moon Bay’s Cetrella offers fried calamari and cheese ravioli, San Francisco’s Lark Creek Steak serves a mini filet mignon and Marin County’s Boca feeds its tiny diners lobster corn dogs.
California brings food culture right out into the street. Take a family tour of taco stands and old-fashioned homemade candy shops on Olvera Street in Los Angeles. Reynaldo Salazar’s Candy Shop is steeped in the colors and music of Latino culture. In San Francisco’s Chinatown, enjoy famous Chinese desserts made at the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie factory or sample local dim sum restaurants.
In wine country, while kids may be too young to imbibe, it’s never too early to start learning about the land. Sterling Vineyards offers fermentation lessons, tram rides and sparkling juice in their tasting room. At St. Supery, kids can stick their noses in the smell-testers to guess at what flavors are present in certain wines and Benzinger Family Winery’s insectory is a fun spot to learn about how certain bugs and other squirmy crawly things help with the grape-growing process.
The diversity and accessibility of California’s culinary offerings make a fun and fulfilling outing with kids enjoyable for the adults in the family, too. Explore all that California has to offer and get a taste of the good life.
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