I have a love/hate relationship with food trends.  Being food passionate, I DO want to know what is new in the culinary world, but I also hate them, because as many of you know, the “trend” soon becomes a never-ending barrage of articles, shows etc. about said food and that turns what was initial excitement into outright loathing.  It is at that point, just when you think if you read one more article on the wonder that is kale, that you will be forced to act out by over-turning kale displays in the local supermarket, that a new “trend” magically appears and kale starts to turn up in salads at Burger King.  Yes, you know a trend has died when you see said food incorporated into menu items at fast food and fast casual restaurants.  For example, the pretzel buns that are now being advertised at Sonic and Red Robin.  Do I ever get sucked into a food trend? Yes! I recently became obsessed with Cronuts and must admit that I am fascinated with the Ramen burger.  So, if you will, indulge me while I rant (and rave!) about food trends.

Who starts these food trends any way?  I imagine a bunch of food critics and bloggers huddling together in a dark, hot room smoking cigarettes and downing lattes while they conspire to “inform” the general public about what is up and coming on the food scene.  I can hear them arguing, “No! We can’t use organic baby purple spinach! We JUST had kale.”  Or “Cronuts were huge! How about a confection  that combines bacon (a food trend that just keeps going)  and ramen? We’ll call it a Bacra!”  Okay, I know this isn’t exactly how it works, but sometimes it feels that way.  I mean, really, how can ten food writers ALL come out with an article about Cronuts on the same day?  And, who decides what is trend worthy and what isn’t?  I mean, why kale and NOT swiss chard?  Somebody, or a group of somebodies, made the decision to promote one food over the other.  I would just like to know the process… That being said, here is my list of some of the more annoying, at least to me, recent food trends.

First, I must address kale.  You know, I always liked kale.  I would saute it with a little lemon and garlic, toss it in my salads and sometimes use it in place of cabbage in recipes.  But then the trend happened and I found myself hating kale.  Kale was everywhere: Guy Fieri was making kale salads, kale chips were in the grocery store, kale recipes were in every food blog and every chef put a kale dish on his menu.  There was even a kale diet advertised!  Enough!  Yes, kale is good for you.  Yes, it adds a nice texture to salad.  Yes, it is versatile.  But after the food trenders (okay, I made up a word) got through with it, you would think that kale was the answer to every problem that ever ailed you and that if you weren’t experiencing the wonder that was kale there was not only something wrong with you, but you may also be, gasp un-American!

Secondly, I am going to address the recent food trend that is the Cronut.  Haven’t heard of it?  How?  The Cronut has been featured on several television news shows, on podcasts, in magazine articles, recipes, reviews, etc.  Basically it is a donut made from croissant dough, thus a Cronut.  Sounds sinfully delicious, right?  I must admit, after I read about them, I became obsessed.  It was easy to feed (pun intended) my obsession thanks to all the aforementioned coverage this food trend was getting.  Those that sold Cronuts could not keep up.  Lines formed around the block to try them and they would sell out in record time.  Scarcity always adds to a food trends popularity and notoriety.  I was dying to try this hard to find delicacy and just when I thought I would go to my death without eating one, the Cronuts trend died.  How do I know this?  Safeway now carries a Cronut.  So, while the trend that is Cronuts is dead, I will at least not die before trying one…

Finally, I will address one of the newest food trends, the Ramen Burger.  Yes, the Ramen Burger.  It is a hamburger that uses semi-fried (but still soft in the center) Ramen noodles as the bun!  And no, I am not making this up.  It is a real trend and restaurants, food bloggers, magazines and the like are already jumping on the Ramen Burger  bandwagon.  As I type this, people are waiting in line for hours to eat one.  Really?!  When I first heard about this trend I rolled my eyes, but as much as it pains me to admit it, after reading at least twelve articles on it, I am now curious.  What would a Ramen noodle bun taste like?  What EXACTLY is the texture? See?! I was sucked in!  Just like the food trenders hoped I would be…

What is a food passionate person to do?  Ignore food trends and consider them the falsely inflated and calculated machinations of the food marketing world or embrace them and look forward to discovering a “new” exciting product in the food world?  There is no easy answer.  I do not think all food trends are simply useless hype and propaganda.   For example, the farm to table trend, while the term has been bastardized and hijacked by marketers, the sentiment behind the trend was great.  I do think that the exposure this trend received educated many people about where their food comes from and that there are conscious choices one can make about what food producers they choose to support.  This trend also played into the organic food trend and the non-GMO trend,  Both of these “trends” have turned into movements and have served to make people aware of pesticides and genetically modified foods.  I guess one must pick and choose which food trends to follow or even pay attention to, for that matter.  I just wish that the food trenders would learn that sometimes (most times!) less is more and that we don’t need 30 different articles in one week on the joys of Kim Chi.