Gastro pups! It sounds like gas-inducing hushpuppies, or some sort of pickled British pub food. In fact, the regrettable term appears to have been coined by Rozanne Gold, author of Kids Cook 1-2-3, to describe a new generation of Food Network–inspired kids who are interested in gourmet food, as evidenced by a recent USA Today article on the decidedly-not-new trend.
Kids used to whip up culinary delights in an Easy-Bake Oven or a Snoopy Sno-Cone machine. Today, they’re more likely to pull a quiche out of Mom and Dad’s Viking.
In increasing numbers, children are becoming pint-sized foodies. They pore over cookbooks, gobble up TV’s cooking shows, prepare the family dinner and turn a food-themed animated adventure, the Disney/Pixar movie Ratatouille, into a summer blockbuster. They eat at restaurants that never deigned to put together a kids’ menu. They dream of becoming chefs, food critics and restaurant owners. …
‘I call them gastro pups,’ says Rozanne Gold.
“If stupid were a home run, this would be over the train tracks and bouncing on the Mass Pike,” says the reliably witty Gurgling Cod:
This term must be nipped in the bud. In a world where parents like Neal Pollack are free to roam the streets, this is not the kind of thing to be encouraged. May I suggest ‘insufferable twerp’ as a replacement?
It’s not the kid’s fault that they think making food is cool–it’s USA Today’s fault for publishing that term. (which reminds me–how many of today’s ills can be laid at the feed of USA Today?)
However, whenever I see the Food Network or someone go on and on about kids in the kitchen, all I can think is “Keep your kids out the industry!” Honestly, parents, do you really want your children to become poorly paid, nearly alcoholic malcontents with temper issues? My parent’s sure didn’t. Too bad for them.
don’t worry, kids won’t be on Food Network any time soon. They don’t fit into the wonderbras.
“Gastropups” sounds like some terrible intestinal disease, perhaps a parasite.
“We’re sorry, Mrs. Wilkins. We couldn’t save Jimmy. he had the worst case of acute gastropups we’ve ever seen. It was a slow, painful, gassy death.”
Let this be a lesson to us to purify our kids’ drinking water before they get the gastropups.
“‘insufferable twerp’” So THAT’S what they called little Bobby Flay… before he grew up to be simply an asshole!
But, “gastropup”? Sounds like an overpriced hot dog, served with imported Alsatian choucroute and truffled mustard on a brioche roll.