Why the food on our plates is latest thing to brag about

IT used to be snaps of themselves or their children.

But now the pictures our friends post on social media are just as likely to be of food.

One in five of us admits to sharing a ‘diner plate selfie’ in the past month.

Where once Britons were anxious to show off their latest fashion purchase or new car, the food we eat is the latest status symbol.

Hence the trend for culinary oneupmanship is rising, with one in three of those aged 18 to 34 regularly publishing images of their meals, while 44 per cent say they make more effort with their cooking if they plan to share a picture of the result.

The phenomenon has been identified in an annual food and drink report from Waitrose. It says that as a result Instagram-friendly dishes such as picanha (a

‘Expressing ourselves through food’

cut of beef popular in Brazil) and Chinese steamed bao buns have become particularly trendy.

Waitrose managing director Rob Collins said: ‘Self-expression comes in many forms. The clothes people wear, the cars they drive and the music they listen to all tell us a little about who they are. Now, people are increasingly seeing food as a part of their identity, taking pride in what and how they eat.

‘Food is today’s hottest social currency. As a nation, we’re expressing ourselves through food as never before.’

The report suggests shoppers are keen to latch on to the latest healthy eating fads. Coconut flour, cactus water, buckwheat, chia seeds and seaweed were among the top food trends over the past year.

The supermarket’s top selling gadget in Waitrose in the summer was the spiraliser, which turns vegetables such as carrots and courgettes into a nutritious alternative to pasta. And a marked shift to ‘lighter and fresher’ eating, such as choosing smaller-sized treats, led to a 165 per cent leap in sales of mini Easter hot cross buns, it said.

A survey of 2,000 adults found that eating sensibly was part of a daily routine for 53 per cent although only 30 per cent consciously counted calories when trying to lose weight

Some 60 per cent of shoppers say the food they choose is naturally lighter and fresher then five years ago and 71 per cent say eating healthily and looking after themselves is ‘part of who they are’.

Waitrose predicts that aubergine sales, up 18 per cent in the past year, will continue to soar, while Polynesian food could be the next big thing. Hawaiian poke – a raw fish salad marinated with lime, soy and sesame and often served with rice – looks likely to be 2017’s ‘musteat snack’ the report says.

It is also predicting big things for watermelon juice and for vegetable yoghurt. ‘In the US, they’re infusing the flavours of carrot, beetroot, sweet potato and tomato into yogurt for a savoury, with a hint of sweet, accompaniment to all sorts of food. It won’t be long before we’re adding it to our weekly shop,’ it says.

Waitrose says many of us throw away less food than we did, partly because we shop more frequently for smaller baskets of food.