A musician is desperately trying to get her boyfriend to eat 'normal' food after years of almost exclusively scoffing - chicken nuggets and fries. Comedian Jo Brand's daughter Maisi has undertaken the wholesome mission of helping her boyfriend to try new foods.
The 21-year-old met boyfriend Alfie, also 21, during their first week at university in 2019. But since Maisi has known him, Alfie's diet has consisted of chicken nuggets, chips, and a few types of fruit and snack.
Maisi, from London, said: "The only evening meal he has is chicken nuggets and chips, he'll eat toast, some fruit and other snacks, but his meals are chicken nuggets and chips. He would sometimes have peas if I was having them and made extra."
Last September, Maisi decided that it was time for Alfie's diet to change and embarked on a mission to get him to try new foods. So far, the couple have seen a few breakthroughs as a result of their project, the main being pesto pasta, which Alfie, adored, and Greggs sausage rolls.
But some foods did not pass Alfie's taste test, including BabyBel, Dairylea triangles and omelettes. Even Heinz tomato soup didn't make the grade for Alfie.
Maisi added: "I think he's found the project really heartwarming. It's amazing to see it's actually reached people."
On the omelettes she said: "It's just the texture, Alfie's never had eggs before and I guess it's a very strange texture for him. There was a little bit of gagging. It's like butter's evil cousin."
The project was completely unplanned. Maisi made dinner one night and decided to film Alfie while he tasted the food.
The next morning, the video had over 1 million views. Maisi has continued to document Alfie's journey with regular video updates of her boyfriend trying new food and his reactions.
She added: "I didn’t ever think that starting this series would help others, but it has. I’ve had so many messages from people saying they’ve helped them and thanking us for normalising these type of problems.
"It has encouraged people to get help and not be embarrassed to talk about these problems."
The project has raised questions that Alfie may suffer from avoidant restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) which is an eating disorder causing extreme pickiness. "I think it’s definitely possible, but I wouldn’t wanna say without actually knowing. But I’d definitely say it’s more than just being picky," Maisi added.
"It’s something he’s struggled with all his life and has been really tricky. I think picky would be putting it lightly.
"He’s had so many people reaching out saying they suffer with similar issues and the series has really helped them. He’s also really pleased that he can eat more foods, specifically more healthy foods, because for him the focus is now on getting healthier as a result of these videos.
"I think that since he’s been eating better he’s definitely seen a difference in how he feels. I think it would have an impact on anyone having such a restricted diet."
