TV shows and movies about food for picky eaters

Watching TV shows or movies which feature food are a great way to encourage an interest in food. It can help children who are picky eaters and those who have food phobias to normalise food and make it seem less scary. 

There are 3 different types of shows which can be used for this:

1. Entertainment shows – shows where the main aim is to entertain the kids but there happens to be some fun food moments included
2. Cooking or baking shows – where food preparation and cooking is the focus
3. Food education shows – which aim to educate children about food

Entertainment shows

These can work really well to help kids to make fun associations with food, especially if the show has a funny moment about food which they may like to copy or talk about. Some of the ones we like are:

• Ratatouille movie – A rat in Paris wants to be a chef, really funny and the movie talks a lot about flavours, ingredients and a love for making food!
• The Garfield Show – Garfield the cat talks so much about how he loves lasagne that it inspired my son to try lasagne for the first time
• Lady and Tramp – The spaghetti scene!
• Despicable Me 2 – My son finds this movie hilarious and the guacamole chip hat scene in particular. After watching this movie he wanted to try making guacamole and putting on a ‘Gru’ voice, and he loved the guac!

Cooking shows

There are of course heaps of great cooking shows out there, these kids versions are all family friendly:

• Disney cooking show – features food related to the movies
• Junior MasterChef – kids can get really into the competition side of it
• Chopped Junior – another little chefs competition

Food education shows

• Phenomenon – Online library of videos and audio which is produced as resources for primary teachers (years 3 to 6) but we’ve been watching at home too. Lots of age appropriate and interesting food science created by a teacher in Melbourne.
• Cookie Monster’s Food Truck – For younger kids Cookie Monster does some funny 5 minute shows teaching about where food comes from and how we make some common meals

We hope you find these food-related TV show and movies useful for your kids, there are so many more out there, we’d love to know which are your family’s’ favourites and add them into the list!