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It’s the end of the year and the usual predictions about what we’re going to be eating in the coming year are popping up like mushrooms (yes, one of next year’s trend) on a wet lawn. However, it’s also the end of a decade and it’s worth looking back at the foods that defined the years 2010 to 2020.
Charcuterie
Not so long ago charcuterie was but a distant memory from rustic France and 70s dinner parties, but at the start of the decade, the cheese and cured meat platter made a major come back. So much so that it seems like it’s always been as popular as it is today. With plant-based and dairy-free eating trends only set to grow, it remains to be seen if attitudes to this animal protein extravaganza stay as popular as it is today.
Red Velvet Cake
An Instagram favourite, the Red Velvet cake exploded because of its relative ease to bake and it’s rich luxuriant appearance on millions of posts. A little bit retro, homely, yet luxurious it’s the equivalent of the gastronomic humble-brag.
Pulled Pork
First no one knew what pulled pork was, then it was everywhere. Many still don’t seem to know what it is, but it propped up an economy of hipster-themed diners. As much a part of the culture as tattoos and piercings.
Mini Cupcakes
For some reason, millions upon millions of people chose to express their dormant creativity through the medium of the mini cupcake.
Craft Beer
One of the best, most disruptive food and drink trends of the decade was the democratisation of the brewing process, eclipsing the mass-produced insipid beers we’d come to know and replacing them with complex full-flavour brews. This was a major shift rather than a trend.
Pumpkin Spice
Pumpkin spice from autumnal treat has become to year-round everything. This flavour peaked a couple of years ago and is probably on the way out.
Kale
Kale was king for a number of years mostly because of a health-benefits myth propagated by food influencers and dodgy nutritionists. Yes, kale is vegetable, but there’s nothing particularly super about this superfood. A balanced diet of varied greens and vegetables is far healther than chomping down n copious amounts of kale leaves. The kale explosion was perhaps a shift in people’s attitudes to vegetables and plant-based eating in general and fixating on something that was previously seen as peasant food or uncool and elevating it to something virtuous and aspirational.
Poke
Healthy, Instagram-friendly, delicious and little known ‘ethnic food’, poke ticked all the boxes for food trends in the last decade. Add in the fact that it’s very easy for restaurants and fast food outlets to prepare and you’ve got a winner that works for everyone. This trend looks to have legs.
Ramen
The world woke up to Japanese food this decade and the perfection of a bowl of ramen was embraced by almost every country. Healthy, comforting and delicious ramen also carries the knowledge from one the world’s most ancient gastronomic cultures.
Unicorn Cake
We’re still perplexed by this one, but the rise of the unicorn cake to the world’s most searched food on the Internet surely has its basis in the rise of Instagram. As the social bakers moved away from the mini cupcakes and began to hone their frosting skills we saw them completely let loose and dive down a rabbit hole of multi-coloured dessert madness.
Impossible Burger
Plant-based meat became a reality when technology and climate change converged to produce both necessity and capability. It’s still very early days in this trend but it could have the potential to completely change the way we eat in the western world with transformative effects on economies.
Miso
Fermentation became a kind of food alchemy in the last decade and as more people woke up to the flavour potential it unlocks, the more miso became a mainstream product.
Gin
Gin had a major moment in the last few years knocking vodka off its perch. These things are cyclical though and we’ll most likely see vodka strike back. Rum is also overdue a resurgence.
Carbonara
Italian cuisine is the most popular on the planet and the carbonara epitomises why everyone loves it so much. Delicious and so simple to make, everyone could experience and authentic plate of Italian cuisine at home.
Avocado
The fruit came to symbolise millennial spendthrift ways thanks to Australian politician claiming that the generation would be able to afford homes if they stopped eating avocado toast. It then became a proud symbol of a younger generation determined to eat a more plant-based diet and ‘healthy-fats’. However, the reality is that the demand for avocados is having a negative impact on the environment and when people realise, the avocado may be something people think twice about placing in their shopping carts.
Zucchini pasta
Paleo diets, vegetarianism and spirulina were responsible for people making spaghetti from zucchini/courgettes. Nothing more than a fad, born more from people’s desire to eat more vegetables and reduce carbs while not particularly liking vegetables.
Non-dairy milk
After 10,000 years, it seems people hare falling out of love with cow’s milk. Plant-based eating, the rise of lactose intolerance, climate change and animal welfare concerns have all conspired to point people towards oat, rice and almond alternatives.
