Toronto-based journalist and author David Sax recalls the moment he realized just how popular cupcakes had become. He was on a “Sex and the City Hotspots” tour in New York City a few years ago, and the bus had stopped in the West Village so that the passengers could explore the neighbourhood where the show’s main characters often spent their time. Among the locations the tourists were most excited to see was Magnolia Bakery, a local store whose delicate cupcakes were made famous from the show.
“There were two young women, early 20s, who were from Australia. They were probably 10 or 12 when the show had aired,” Sax told CTVNews.ca in a phone interview.
“They were on the tour and they had to go to Magnolia. That was one of those things that they had to check off of their list… They talked about how cupcakes were huge in Melbourne and this was a pilgrimage for them in a way.”
Foods fall in and out of fashion all of the time: It’s happened to cupcakes and bacon. It’s happening to kale and tacos. Magnolia Bakery in New York City regularly attracts thousands of tourists each year, and there’s an annual bacon festival in Chicago.
But have you ever wondered food trends seem to take hold? For example, why is it that so many are suddenly snacking on Greek yogurt? And why are we willing to line up to get food that’s been cooked on a truck?
These are questions Sax explores in his latest book, “The Tastemakers: Why We’re Crazy for Cupcakes but Fed Up with Fondue,” which hits shelves on Tuesday.
In the book, Sax outlines four different types of food trends that play a major role in shaping what we eat: cultural, agricultural, health, and chef-inspired.
From black rice (an agricultural trend) to so-called “superfoods” (a health trend), Sax examines the driving forces propelling the popularity of particular food items, noting that there are more factors shaping our desires than simple taste.
He uses the example of the cupcake, which exploded in popularity after making a brief cameo appearance in “Sex and the City” episode back in 2000.
The scene, which lasts a mere 20 seconds, turned the cupcake into the reigning food trend for more than a decade, Sax argues.
This is partly because the cupcake became synonymous with what the show was all about: popular culture, fashion, New York City, and a certain type of urban sophistication.
“The show was a tastemaker, blessing the food with its social capital,” Sax writes in the book. “It became cool to eat a cupcake, unlike, say a chocolate chip cookie or a brownie, neither of which were nearly as sexy anymore.”
And while the “froth” and hype surrounding many of these food trends can grow tiresome — after all, who really needs to see that many photos of cupcakes on Instagram – he says, at the end of the day, food trends are beneficial to both the consumer and industry.
Sax argues that the rising popularity of a particular food item ultimately pushes the industry to innovate and create new flavours. It also introduces the general population to new types of foods and cultural experiences that they might otherwise never have.
He gives the example of a food truck in Yellowknife that sells a decidedly non-local type of cuisine.
“It’s a Thai food truck, owned by a guy from Thailand,” he said, noting that Yellowknife has possibly the “least hospitable” climate to support food trucks.
“These global flavours, international flavours, creative things… all these things that make it the best time to be eating are now available to everybody. It’s more democratic now because of food trends.”
As well, Sax cautions that a world without food trends would ultimately be an unappetizing place to live.
“It would be a lot like what Canada was like the 1960s and 70s, which was a fairly bland place to eat. We’d all be still eating roast beef, mashed potatoes and frozen peas,” he said with a laugh.
As for future food trends, Sax believes South Asian cuisine will be one of the next major types of food to feature in the Canadian diet, albeit in new locations, and possibly in new formats.
“It’s going to move away from the traditional ethnic curry houses into malls and places where you wouldn’t have expected it,” he said.
“It could be a vegetarian pakora burger or masala French fries… I saw the other day, (an) advertisement for a butter chicken poutine.
“I think that’s been a long time coming.”
