Specialty Food Magazine is the leading publication for retailers, manufacturers and foodservice professionals in the specialty food trade. It provides news, trends and business-building insights that help readers keep their businesses competitive.
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/838473
Consumers' ideas of a dining experience have evolved from five-star French restaurants to fast-casual food halls. Here are some highlights of the trends and movements that have shaped popular cuisine. DINING TRENDS 1950s-TODAY 90s: It's the decade of the celebrity chef. Bobby Flay, Emeril Lagasse, and Jamie Oliver become household names. Fusion cuisine, made popular by chef Wolfgang Puck, grows even more prevalent. More healthful foods come into focus as consumers seek products that are natural, organic, and produced in socially and environmentally conscious ways. 2000s: Foams, made famous by chef Ferran Adria, had their moment on stage. By the decade's end, food trucks begin serving up every- thing from cupcakes to Korean barbecue. 2010s: Farm-to-table restaurants empha- size local and sustainable ingredients. With the rise of gourmet fast-casual, food halls emerged and shifted how consumers experience meals. Younger consumers are drifting from long, pricey, multi-course feasts to casual meals in communal settings with menus offering global bites from Bolivian saltenas to sushi burritos. 70s: Demand for Chinese food explodes, inspired in part by President Nixon's 1972 visit to the coun- try. Vegetarian cuisine becomes trendy with Mollie Katzen's Moosewood Restaurant and cookbook help- ing lead the way. Alice Waters opens the famed Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California, the advent of California Cuisine. 80s: Nouvelle Cuisine was all the rage. The focus on fresh ingredients, lighter preparations, and creative presentations dovetailed with the coun- try's "let's get physical" fitness craze. Tex-Mex foods gained traction. Young urban professionals and double-income households lead to a growing phe- nomenon—prepared foods for in-home dining. Convenience Food: Then and Now I n the post-war 1950s, TV dinners, canned foods, and cake mixes were mak- ing mom's life easier. In the 1960s, "just add water" products took off with Taster's Choice in the coffee mug and instant mashed potatoes on the stove. With the introduction of the microwave in the 70s and 80s, consumers could prepare food even faster. Prepared food counters flourished in specialty food stores and premium super- markets. Now, the height of con- venience is online ordering and home delivery with ser- vices like FreshDirect bring- ing groceries to the kitchen, apps like Seamless driving a world of restaurant take- out to the front door, and companies like Blue Apron, creating pre-made meal kits so that consumers can cook at home without the hassle of shopping. 50s: Affordable fast-food restaurants take off with Americans loving the speed and consistency they offer. Also, restaurant carry-out appeals to families staying home to watch TV. 60s: French food goes mainstream with Julia Child helping cement its appeal and accessibility with her cookbook, "Mastering the Art of French Cooking," published in 1961. American counter culture draws atten- tion to health and ethnic foods that will expand in the coming decades. PHOTO: MELISSA HOM Gotham Market 42 ❘ SPECIALTY FOOD MAGAZINE specialtyfood.com