Hi. I know this thread is a bit old but I just stopped by and saw this question which seem to related to op too
Ds is very picky about textures. At almost 15 months still refuses meat. Tried making a potato mash of sorts won't eat that.
The foods previously mentioned (fish pie etc) were also foods my DS would not have even contemplated eating, however I never considered him fussy because to me fussy is so limited that a balanced diet can't be achieved and mine actually eats lots of different things, but he is also sensitive to texture in foods.
He has never eaten mash potato, once he put one bit in his mouth and almost gagged. He has never eaten rice, again when he was feeling brave he tried it and gagged. cous cous - no it's grainy. spag bol - no it's got minced meat in it, ditto spag bol, ditto shepherds pie with the double no because it is topped with mash. Anything mashed is a no, anything grany is a no, anything mixed up is a no. But I don't think him fussy.
Food that are mixed up (eg spag bol or other pasta dishes, stew) I separate into little piles, yes it takes a bit of extra time, but he then eats all of one pile, all of the next, etc until it is all eaten (not the meat or fish), everything is chopped into manageable finger food size, so my stews went chunky as did pasta dishes, makes it easier for me to section it all into piles and easier for him to identify the food and pick it up (with fingers or fork), he likes to know what he is eating. Fair enough, so do I.
If our family meal involves mash I lift out a few boiled potatoes before the mashing takes place. I toss the boiled pots in butter or mint sauce. For a LONG time he would not eat potato at all, then not unless it was roasted or chips or baked wedges, but now he will eat boiled so long as there is a dressing. Not mash yet. But I am happy that I kept offering the boiled pots this way as eventually he ate them, new potatoes he likes and pot salad, so the food list grows but by bit.
If our family has something involving rice, say curry, I give him the main meal without rice, a small bowl of rice next to his plate (so it does not contaminate his plate) if he wishes to try it (he doesn't) and provide a different carb, naan bread, chapati or tortilla wrap.
Meat and fish he tried anything when he was 6 or 7 months then didn't want any for ever. I made lots of lentil or bean burgers/fritters good finger food, good for out and about lunches or snacks and he got his protein that way. I discovered he would eat shop bought fish fingers and sausages, not my preference but I wanted him to start somewhere. So if we ate fish he had fish finger and a tiny piece of real fish put on his plate which he never ate but looked at. Initially he refused my home made fish fingers but I eventually found a way to make them good enough and he then ate a variety of fish so long as they were perfect rectangles, crumbed and fried. It was a drag but it was worth it, over time he has learned the flavours and textures of real fish and he will now eat real fresh fish without any special cooking. I also learned that breakfast was a great time to try different foods. As we had low protein intake I made breakfast a protein meal (omelet or sausage) which he would eat at that time but not other time of the day, once he'd had his egg or sausage in the morning I didn't need to stress over whether or not he took fish or meat for lunch of dinner, it just didn't matter any more and made life easier.
At 2 and 2.5 I saw significant developments in what he would try to eat, esp fish, meat. So I suppose I wanted to say hang in there, keep offering and accept that they have their preferences esp for textures etc but if you keep moving forward they can still have a wide range of foods they love and a balanced diet.
