For young sushi kings only

Foodies are getting younger and younger these days and the Nobu restaurant, in Cape Town, has developed a bespoke, gourmet children's menu that caters for fledgling connoisseurs.

The restaurant - under the leadership of head chef Keisuke Itoh - has created a vegetarian and a seafood platter aimed at children with a penchant for fine dining.

"A lot of kids either won't eat sushi or know more about it than their parents," said Amir Sardari, general manager of Nobu.

"[We developed the menu] to accommodate the growing surge of kids who are interested in sushi and aren't afraid of eating fish or more experimental foods. And also [to] give them something they can identify with, instead of just ordering burgers or chips from a [regular] kids menu."

But that taste for the finer things comes at a cost to the young food lovers' parents. The vegetarian platter is sold for R195; the sushi platters cost R295.

Platters include six pieces - designed as mini-burgers, pizzas or parcels - but with exotic ingredients such as inari (a type of sushi), creamy spicy shrimp and salmon infused into them.

Sardari said the design was made to appeal to children who had not eaten sushi before but was sufficiently elegant to reassure more experienced young patrons that they were not being patronised. Children's sensitivities to various tastes were also considered when creating the sushi fusion.

Said Sardari: "All the flavours are designed to appeal to a younger palate. So [they are] slightly sweeter [and] not quite as salty or spicy."

The menu was launched on Sunday at the One & Only Hotel where Nobu is situated.

The hotel's marketing executive, Ashleigh Fleming, said the response was good. "We've had little ones from 18 months old all the way up to 13, and they were all getting stuck in," she said.