by Josh Evans.
Two Saturdays ago, we packed up the ice cream bike and headed out to Tiøren at Amager Strand. The occasion? Meyers ‘Madmodsløb’, literally ‘Food courage race’ – a big event to challenge kids to try new flavours and unfamiliar foods.
The response was for the most part extremely positive. Sometimes we told them what it was beforehand, as a challenge to incite their competitive spirit; other times we told them what it was afterwards, to get them to try it at all. It took some discretion but our goal was to get that seaweed into as many mouths as possible. Just like with the insects, the first taste is the hardest, and after that it only gets easier.
With some of the children, we could see the transformation bloom across their face. It was dramatic: at first, they were shy or skeptical or disgusted – but within half a minute they had slurped up the little dish and were beaming to their parents. My favourite moments were when the eager ones asked for more.
Maybe next time they’re at the beach, or the store, or an East Asian restaurant, they’ll interact with sea veggies in a new way.
We made it through all six paco-containers (about five litres) of ice cream that day. Success was written on hundreds of sticky faces and in sweet, melted dregs.