WTF of the Day: Baby Food Tasting Bar

Are rich parents thoroughly insane?

That’s the only remotely possible explanation for this: there is now, in Newport Beach. Cailifornia, a “tasting bar and lounge” exclusively for babies. Pomme Bebe sells baby food at its bebe bar and bebe lounge – which allow their drooly customers to try all the store’s offerings.

But this isn’t just any baby food, the kind that people who push – gasp – Graco strollers or whose children wear – quelle horreur -clothes from Target might buy, poor dears. No, “Working under the close supervision of Executive Chef Laurent Brazier, our team of chefs peels, steams, and purées by hand every single nutritiously wholesome, organic baby and toddler meal.”

Seriously, a team of chefs. To do what even I, an incompetent baby-food-maker at best,  can do in three minutes with some produce and a $2 potato masher. And how bad does one have to have fucked up one's culinary career to end up as executive chef for a line of overpriced, upscale baby food?

A 100 gram container starts at $US3.75, aka six times what the jar of Heinz applesauce I fed my son for lunch cost. Ingredients: apples, filtered water. Ingredients for Pomme Bebe's: apples, filtered water. 

Look, I am as much a lover of quality food as the next reasonably sane person and understand wanting your kid to have a discerning palate. But for God’s sake then do the food mill thing – it will likely cost a lot less than $US3.75 per serving and you get the satisfaction of knowing you cooked for your little one (or shared your meal from your favourite restaurant, as the case may be).

Perhaps I am just cranky because I wake up every morning to more news that the auto industry, which affects just about every job in my state, is about to implode, but this really ties into two stupid shallow yuppie trends I hate – ridiculous foodieism and baby-as-status-symbol.  It’s bad enough to be a douche who would spend $US3.75 on chef-prepared baby food, but leave your kids out of it.