Chef Tony Sharpe of Aspen Bartini
Entrées:
Pizza-Wrapped Hot Dogs
Mac and Cheese Balls
Fried Ravioli with Homemade Tomato Dipping Sauce
Assorted Mini Pizza Pockets Station
Chicken and Veggie Quesadillas
Captain Crunch Chicken Tenders with Dipping Sauces
Dessert:
Assorted Candy
Mini Cupcakes
Assorted Fresh Fruit and Jello Station
Drinks:
Lemonade
Fresh Fruit Punch
Root Beer Floats
Chef Paolo Tondo of Taverna Fiorentina
I would serve penne with ragoût for an entrée, then a macedoine of fruits with a small ball of vanilla gelato. All of these ingredients are healthy and made from scratch, so the kids would love them.
Chef Patric Bell of The Barrelhouse
When I was 10 years old, I considered myself more gastronomically astute than my age group, so can I pretend this is a party of 300 clones of myself at the age of 10?
But seriously, folks…
I’d do a theme. Kids dig themes—like “bugs” or “superheroes” or something like that. And anything kids can hold in their hands and run around with is great: cupcakes (sweet and savory), mac ‘n’ cheese “lollipops,” smoothies—things like that. I actually did a birthday party for a group of kids once, and we made superhero smoothies. We had a green one for the Incredible Hulk that had more spinach in it than fruit, and the kids couldn’t get enough of it.
Most people think kids won’t eat anything but chicken nuggets and french fries with ranch dressing, so that’s all they’re given. In fact, most kids will eat lots of things if they’re presented the right way.
Chef Christos Giannes of Kouzina Christos
I’d make things that I know well: horiatiki salada (a cucumber and tomato-based salad), chicken kabobs, fresh pita, spanakopita, and homemade hummus.