BIGGEST FOOD TRENDS OF THE LAST 10 YEARS
From hybrid foods that took on lives of their own to a flood of meat and dairy alternatives, the last decade saw some remarkable food trends.
Here’s a look at 10 of the most notable:
10. BOWLS
“Bowl food” may have reached its apex when royal chef Mark Flanagan sparked incredulity by serving it at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Windsor Castle wedding luncheon last spring, but it was a slow burn throughout the decade. Smoothie bowls and açai bowls have become juice bar staples. Beyond “wellness”-oriented menus, though, Nigella Lawson sang the praises of bowl food in Simply Nigella (2015), as did the likes of Allison Day in Whole Bowls (2016) and Lukas Volger in Bowl (2016).
9. FOD SAFETY
In a case of salad bar déjà vu, we’re closing this year just as we did the last: By wondering why romaine lettuce is repeatedly recalled due to of E. coli contamination. According to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), “Romaine lettuce produced in Canada is safe to eat. Consumers should verify where the product came from before consuming.” But it’s not just recalls of lettuce. From warnings to beware of fake olive oil and fraudulent fish, and reports of the CFIA staving off adulterated imported honey, a lack of traceability and transparency has called the authenticity of some of our foods into question.
8. FOD TV RENAISSANCE
From the Netflix series Chef’s Table (2015-present) and Samin Nosrat’s Salt Fat Acid Heat (2018), to PBS’S The Mind of a Chef (2012-present) and CNN’S Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown (20132018), food TV has been fleshed out during this past decade. No longer confined to a studio setting, or presented as special interest, the food TV renaissance — whether aspirational or educational — puts food back into its broader cultural context.
7. RISE OF CHEF-ACTIVISTS
While some chefs have been content with cashing in on their rock-star status, others — including Asma Khan (Darjeeling Express), Gabriela Cámara (Contramar, among others), José Andrés ( World Central Kitchen), exNoma chef Dan Giusti (Brigaid) and Massimo Bottura (Food for Soul) — have used their standing to change the world for the better.
6. FERMENTED FOODS
Kombucha, krauts, kimchi and kefir — fermented foods form the foundation of many of the world’s food cultures. In what Food Navigator terms a “mega-trend,” fermented foods have risen in popularity in North America and Europe over the decade. According to Upserve, consumption of fermented foods increased nearly 150 per cent in 2018 alone. And it’s showing no signs of slowing down.
5. HYBRID FOODS
In 2013, the Associated Press referred to hybrids as “hipster” foods, which in itself is a commentary on the past decade. The most famous hybrid of them all — surpassing the ramen burger (2013) and even KFC’S Double Down sandwich (2010) — has to be the Cronut (2013). With the debut of his signature croissant-doughnut mash-up, pastry chef Dominque Ansel spurred countless imitations and cemented his place in culinary history.
4. QUINOA
Quinoa — a food that once required definition and pronunciation guidance in Canada, the U.S. and Europe — has become ubiquitous in the space of a decade. The stuff of granola bars, breakfast cereals, salads and pilafs, its global popularity has extended far beyond its native Andean region of South America. While most of it is still grown in Bolivia and Peru, the seed is now also produced in countries including Canada, India and Sweden. And despite reports that rising prices precluded people in traditional growing regions from being able to afford it, as NPR’S The Salt reported in 2016, our global appetite for quinoa actually helped rather than hurt. “It’s really a happy story,” economist Seth Gitter reportedly said. “The poorest people got the gains.”
3. GLUTEN-FREE IN FULL FORCE
No longer a niche market filling a need for the one per cent of the world’s population with celiac disease, the range and availability of gluten-free products has boomed over the past decade. In 2010, according to the Canadian Medical Association Journal, sales totalled $2.5 billion — a number that Statista estimates will soar to $10 billion by 2020 (an increase of 300 per cent). In Canada, seven million people — more than 20 per cent of the population — avoid gluten as a lifestyle choice alone.
2. MEAT AND DAIRY ALT ERNATIVES
Perhaps one of the most polarizing food topics of the decade, the push to bring meat and dairy alternatives to market has resulted in some companies scrambling to cash in and others fighting to maintain the status quo. Whether you prefer to call it milk or mylk, you can now stir oat, hemp or pea versions into your coffee, and order a Beyond Meat Sausage & Egger at A&W, which would have surely blown our 2010 minds.
1. AVOCADO EVERYTHING
Twenty dollar slices of toast, grave hand injuries, marriage proposals and a bloody cartel war. The decade of the avocado has been a rocky ride, mirroring our own every step of the way.