Food trends are the changes and shifts in consumer preferences, behaviors, and consumption patterns related to food and beverages. These trends can encompass a wide range of factors, including ingredients, flavors, cooking techniques, dining habits, and nutritional considerations. Some such trends prove to be long-lasting. Food trends are often discussed in magazines devoted to cuisine, and around the internet. Food trends have a profound impact on the culinary industry, transforming the way restaurants, cafés, and food businesses operate. Culinary experts, including visionary chefs and food entrepreneurs, play a pivotal role in driving and responding to these trends. They bring their creativity to the forefront, pushing boundaries and redefining culinary norms. The influence of food trends extends beyond the boundaries of individual establishments. Entire food markets are shaped by the demand for specific trends, giving rise to specialty stores that cater to niche preferences. Food festivals and events showcase the latest culinary innovations, acting as platforms for food enthusiasts and professionals to connect and explore exciting flavors together.

Duration

Although certain food trends may be more of a

fad A fad, trend, or craze is any form of collective behavior that develops within a culture, a generation, or social group in which a group of people enthusiastically follow an impulse for a short time period. Fads are objects or behaviors tha ...

(such as a

fad diet A fad diet is a diet that is popular, generally only for a short time, similar to fads in fashion, without being a standard scientific dietary recommendation, and often making unreasonable claims for fast weight loss or health improvements; ...

), some become long-lasting and, at times, a permanent fixture in the culture of food. In an article in ''

Bon Appétit ''Bon Appétit'' is a monthly American food and entertaining magazine, that typically contains recipes, entertaining ideas, restaurant recommendations, and wine reviews. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered at the One World Trade Center ...

'' the difference between a food trend versus a fad is discussed. Canadian journalist

David Sax David Sax (born 1979) is a Canadian journalist. Born in Toronto, Ontario, Sax has written for publications such as ''New York Magazine'', '' Vanity Fair'', ''Bloomberg Business Week'', ''The New York Times'', ''Saveur'', NPR, '' GQ'' and ''Toronto ...

states, "Think about

extra virgin olive oil Olive oil is a vegetable oil obtained by pressing whole olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea'', a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin) and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking for frying foods, as a condiment, or ...

—with the gourmands it hit big in the late '70s, early '80s, and it trickled down to everyone else in the '90s. It became the 'thing.' Now it's not a trend, nobody really talks about it. But it's the default oil. Food trends last a long time and are often good."

Discussions of trends

Authorities from ''

'' and ''

Food & Wine ''Food & Wine'' is an American monthly magazine published by Dotdash Meredith. It was founded in 1978 by Ariane and Michael Batterberry. It features recipes, cooking tips, travel information, restaurant reviews, chefs, wine pairings and sea ...

'' magazines to the top chefs of the world have driven and reported on these trends. For instance, ''Bon Appétit'' recently released their top 25 food trends for 2013 in their article "The BA 25: What to eat, drink, and cook in 2013",

Pinterest Pinterest is an American social media service for publishing and discovery of information in the form of digital Bulletin board, pinboards. This includes recipes, home, style, motivation, and inspiration on the Internet using image sharing. Pint ...

and

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

give links to sites listing what to serve this season. Pinterest is designed to display trends, and food is one of their biggest categories.

References

{{Reflist Food and drink culture