Kiddie Chefs Should Go to Their Rooms

Rachel Ray's smile may curdle your soul, but it's nothing next to the "absurd" child foodie trend, writes Regina Schrambling in Slate. From a 12-year-old restaurant critic to a 5-year-old host of a cooking show, a woeful food movement is upon us: "Today chefs barely out of high school are competing on reality cooking shows, and the bar keeps being lowered," Schrambling laments.

Not only is the kitchen a dangerous place for kids, but—narcissistic parents take note—scientific research tells us that kids' taste buds are far less developed than ours. Take the delectable zucchini chocolate-chip bread presented by one child star: "It was as subtly flavored as an all-day sucker," writes Schrambling. "The movement devalues the very subject it pretends to celebrate."
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