Meet Our ChopChop Kids Advisory Board: Henry Murphy McFetridge
We’re excited to introduce our ChopChop Kids Advisory Board (KAB). This group of cool kids was hand selected from kids that applied. They’ll help us to test recipes, think of new ideas for the magazine, and make sure ChopChop gets the kid approval. For the next few weeks we’ll be spotlighting different members of the board. This week, meet Henry!
Henry programmed a simple video game for ChopChop using the MIT developed program called Scratch. Henry says, “Parents, check it out! Show your little ones how fun it can be to make a salad.” (And then of course, you should make a real salad. Find some great recipes here.)
Name: Henry Murphy McFetridge
Location: Hanover, NH
Age and Grade: 11 years old, 6th Grade
How I got involved with the Chop Chop Kids Advisory Board: Mrs. O’Donnell, one of my neighbors who used to be the physical education teacher at my school and loves to cook, and knows I do too, introduced me to the magazine. She saw the call for a KAB and suggested I apply. My mother thought my chances were as good as winning the lottery. I guess I won!
I learned to cook from: my dad, who is also very enthusiastic about cooking and who is always trying to force feed my brother the broccoli that he (my brother, not my dad) refuses to eat.
Something all kids should learn to cook is: a good panini. A panini is one of the first things I learned to cook.
My favorite food is: I have many, many favorite foods, so it would be next to impossible to tell you just one. Instead, let me narrow it down for you by telling you my favorite type of food. Mexican cuisine is amazing. You have cheese, spice, meat, and tortilla, which together can make soft tacos, burritos, nachos, and much more! Who wouldn’t like that?
If I was a vegetable or fruit, I would be: I would be a mango, because mango goes good with anything, and if I were a mango, I would be the first eaten.
My favorite thing to cook is: a pancake — for breakfast, lunch and dinner! You can get the recipe on my blog under the post: “THE BIG APPLE PANCAKE” recipe.
The first thing I ever cooked was: The first thing I ever cooked was a lasagna. For the longest time, my favorite food was lasagna, so I helped my mum make them. The first thing I ever cooked pretty much on my own was a mushroom and manchego cheese panini.
My secret ingredient is: basil. It goes good on everything but the kitchen sink (and maybe even including the kitchen sink!), and it is easy to grow. My family grows herbs in our backyard, including basil, and I like to use this herb as a garnish as well as in a good sandwich.
Something I didn’t used to like to eat, but I do now, is: I used to greatly dislike almonds but recently, as I started volunteering at Chop Chop, I have grown to like them.
Some of my hobbies are: In my my spare time, when I am not eating or cooking, I enjoy skateboarding, playing acoustic and electric guitar, playing tennis, swimming, biking, skiing, playing poker and other card games (for fun, not for money, of course), and flying four propeller drones.
A fun fact about me: The first word I ever said was “Porter”, the name of my Chesapeake Bay Retriever.
You can find Henry’s blog at murphysmesshall.wordpress.com. He wants readers to know he always answers comments if you have any questions for him.