As a full-time chef Juan Rodriguez melds his cooking experience with his passion for food on a daily basis at the Reata Restaurant in Fort Worth. His kid-friendly training includes instructing several children’s cooking camps, during which, he says, he discovered the key for getting kids involved in the kitchen …“Get their hands dirty!”
On that note, Rodriguez selected one of his favorite desserts to share with hungry DallasChild readers: banana pudding. “What’s so great about this recipe is that it’s so easy, involves fruit and most likely you will have all of the ingredients at home,” he explains. “When I was a kid, I would always beg my mom to make Jell-O instant pudding … it’s so good!”
The banana pudding recipe combines six affordable ingredients, making it “a cheap and fairly low in calorie treat for kids,” Rodriguez says.
The longtime chef says he enjoys interacting with kids in the Reata dining room, especially when it comes to delivering sweet dessert treats. “It’s important to eat vegetables,” he acknowledges, “but we all need a little bit of sugar, even kids. The kitchen is a place where kids should have fun.”
